15-year-old girl fatally mauled by dogs she was trying to help, Arkansas cops say
A 15-year-old girl was trying to take care of dogs when she was attacked and mauled to death, Arkansas deputies said.
Approximately 30 dogs were located at the fenced-in private property in Saline County, the sheriff’s office said in a June 11 news release.
The girl had been caring for the animals and helping to find them permanent homes when she was attacked, the sheriff’s office said.
“I watched the Saline County deputy come out and go up to the fence, and a bunch of dogs ran, run the fence,” a neighbor told KATV. “He pulled out his pistol and shot into the ground twice, and the dogs ran. And then he walked over and looked down and turned around and walked back. And so I moved, and I saw a body on the ground.”
The cause of the deadly attack is not known, deputies said. Authorities did not identify the victim.
“A tragedy occurred today,” Southern Hearts Rescue said in a Facebook post. “A series of unfortunate events lead to the horrific end of a young life.”
The rescue said the dogs were not intentionally bred by the people living on the property and called the area a “common dumping ground.”
“They were just someone else’s problem that they dumped off on these poor people,” the shelter said, later adding they were not involved in the incident.
Neighbors told KATV county that there is no humane society in the area to come take the dogs.
“I had called Saline County, and they sent a deputy, and said that there’s not any animal control in the county, and there’s nothing they can do,” another neighbor told the outlet.
The dogs on the property were seized by the sheriff’s office and Benton Animal Control, deputies said. Southern Hearts Rescue said they assisted with the removal of the dogs.
Saline County is about a 25-mile drive southwest from Little Rock.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 2:15 PM with the headline "15-year-old girl fatally mauled by dogs she was trying to help, Arkansas cops say."
