Originally published Friday, February 18, 2011 at 7:50 PM

Deputies: Rottweilers fatally maul S.C. woman, injure owner

The nephew of a woman mauled to death by two dogs says his aunt was working in her garden, as she did every day, when she was attacked.

By The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The nephew of a woman mauled to death by two dogs says his aunt was working in her garden, as she did every day, when she was attacked.

Nijoku Odom said Sirlinda Hayes, 66, and the rest of his family weren't afraid of the Rottweilers, which sometimes got loose in their neighborhood in Dillon, a small city about 100 miles northeast of Columbia.

Dillon County Sheriff's Capt. Cliff Arnette said that when the dogs' owner tried to save Hayes on Thursday, they turned on him, too, biting him and causing injuries so severe he was still hospitalized Friday. Officers shot and killed the dogs because they threatened responders trying to help the injured people.

Arnette did not release the owner's name but did say he has not been charged in the incident.

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