California woman fatally attacked by neighbor’s dogs, police say

A 93-year-old California woman was mauled Thursday by two dogs in the Central Valley town of Modesto, and she died the next day from her injuries, officials said.

Chanthy Philavong was knocked to the ground by the dogs outside her home, KCRA reported. “It was chaos, it was a matter of 80 seconds — looking back it was 80 seconds — and just like that everybody’s lives changed. It was awful,” neighbor Jenece Dendulk told the TV station.

The Modesto Police Department said it received a report of a dog attack on the 3600 block of Dothan Drive at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. At the scene, officers found Philavong with “major injuries”; she was rushed to a local hospital, the police said. The dogs were trapped and taken to the Stanislaus County Animal Shelter.

The sheriff’s office said it learned on Sept. 1 that Philavong had passed away. The police department said its investigative services division has taken over the investigation, and no additional information will be released until it’s complete. 

One of Philavong’s grandchildren posted a message on Facebook calling their grandmother’s death an avoidable tragedy. “I’m an animal lover and this incident is preventable if owners are responsible,” the message said. “It always takes a tragedy for something to change. I hope my grandmother’s life didn’t end for nothing.”

Stanislaus County Animal Shelter was not immediately available for comment on the breed of the dogs involved in the attack.