CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The owner of two dogs that attacked a woman and her mother in University City earlier this week has been charged by police, detectives announced Friday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced that the dogs' owner was charged with unprovoked bite and a leash law violation, both of which are class 3 misdemeanors. Detectives also confirmed that neither dog had a current rabies vaccination and they were both euthanized following the attack. Lab tests determined neither dog had rabies, according to CMPD.
Hanyange Yodi said her mother was taking a walk near Mallard Glen Drive and Mallard Highlands Drive around 9 a.m. Monday when two cane corso dogs attacked her. Yodi's mother managed to call her for help and a witness crossed the street to stop the attack.
"I just started screaming, 'Stop, stop, stop,'" the witness said. "Her family showed up and they were yelling and screaming, 'Are those your dogs?' I just grabbed the dogs."
The witness said the dogs then snapped again, attacking Yodi.
“I was scared and I was trying to get to my mom -- the dogs immediately started attacking me, they ate my legs, all through my legs," Yodi said. "They ate at my arm, I can't move.”
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to call Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
GRAPHIC: Woman seriously wounded after dogs attack her in Charlotte
It poses the question, would you know what to do if a dog attacked you? Experts say anyone can become a victim.
“A lot of dogs do end up attacking because of prey drive," Kelly Daniel, the general manager of Obedient K9, said.
She said it's critical to train your dogs.
“There's always opportunities where you can lose control of your dog, but if you can put that work into teaching what your expectations are and put that work into how they should behave you have a lot more reliability and predictably about what their behavior is going to be," Daniel said.
Other tips include: Don't scream if a dog on the loose approaches you, don't look it in its eyes -- they take that as a sign of confrontation, and most importantly, don't run.