He says his mother, 68-year old Virginia Lo Russo, can barely go outside of her home in rural Palermo, fearing she'll be attacked by her neighbor's dogs. And Sunday evening, her fear became a reality.
"She came out to look at her fruit trees, and they attacked her," said Lo Russo.
The two dogs that live next door, a pit bull and a heeler mix, did extensive damage. Virginia is in Oroville Hospital with severe injuries.
"Dog bit her right leg and broke her ankle with one bite, and the other leg from behind the calf, up to the knee cap, all the way to the ankle, shredded, gone," explained Lo Russo.
Doctors tell the family Lo Russo may need more surgeries, skin grafts, and extensive physical therapy in order to walk again. Lo Russo's granddaughter, Tisha Shoemaker, say's she's had run-ins with the dogs on several occasions when visiting her grandmother.
"It had trapped me and my two kids in the car for five or ten minutes until I got the homeowner to come out of the house after laying on the horn for that long," said Shoemaker.
Butte County Animal Control has taken the dogs from the property for quarantine. The Butte County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case, which will be filed with the district attorney's office. Family members say they expect justice.
"It's frustrating, where in America do you have to put a shotgun on your lawn mower to mow your lawn," said Lo Russo.
(KHSL - May 22, 2012)
