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Corpus Christi woman dog sitting a pit-bull mix dies after dog attacks

The dog was surrendered, euthanized after biting Rita Vasquez in the 6500 block of Lyons Street on Thursday.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi Animal Care Services was notified Monday that a 58-year-old woman who was attacked by a pit bull in her backyard died following that encounter.

Rita Vasquez picked up the dog from her daughter Wednesday and went back to her home in the 6500 block of Lyons Street to dog-sit for the day, animal care services program manager Joel Skidmore said in a statement to 3NEWS Tuesday.

The black-and-white pit-bull mix bit Vasquez, and police and an ambulance responded to the home at 11:54 a.m. 

"Sadly, the injuries the woman sustained were categorized as severe.  The dog in question was still in the backyard, animal care officers impounded that dog and brought it back to Animal Care Services for quarantine," he said.

The 58-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital, with severe injuries, Skidmore said, where she later died. 

The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday that the doctor performing Vasquez's autopsy is still reviewing her medical records, so an exact cause of death has not yet been determined, but that the dog bite she sustained was a contributing factor.

Vasquez's daughter surrendered the dog to Animal Care Services, Skidmore said, and it was euthanized. 

"She surrendered the dog, she surrendered her rights, Animal Care Services humanly euthanized the dog the same day that happened.  The dog was submitted for testing, came back negative," he said.

Skidmore said this type of incident that results in a person's death is extremely rare in our area.

He told 3NEWS this particular dog had no sort of reported violent history. 

"This has not happened to Corpus Christi in my career since I've been here with the city," he said.

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