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  "path": "/news/pit-bull-attack-death-neighbours-florida",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-24T12:05:19.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Dog owners used pets for ‘emotional support’ to get seat at restaurants",
    "Scuttle the tortoise rescued after eight-month wander just 300 metres from home",
    "British zoo welcomes first ring-tailed lemur babies in a decade – and they are twins",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA 50-year-old woman from Florida was fatally mauled by two pit bulls as her partner looked on helplessly and fought to rescue her.\n\nJodi Cowan suffered the deadly attack on Tuesday evening whilst out walking her small dog in a residential area close to Cocoa, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office's Animal Services unit.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHer long-term partner, Donnell Smith, witnessed the horrific incident unfold and rushed to intervene.\n\nMr Smith recounted to local broadcaster WESH that he returned to their property at approximately 1am and noticed that Ms Cowan had gone out with their pet dog.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe described hearing a faint cry for help before spotting the silhouettes of two dogs pulling Ms Cowan along the street.\n\nRacing to assist her, Mr Smith discovered his partner lying in a pool of blood, her body covered in bite wounds.\n\nThe animals returned and attempted to drag her away once more.\n\nMr Smith told WESH.\"I pulled my knife out, you know, just swinging with it one hand and holding the blood with the other, trying to stop her from bleeding.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEmergency services were summoned and Ms Cowan was airlifted to hospital, where she later died from her injuries.\n\nMr Smith said: \"It was brutal. Seeing the same woman I've loved for the last 25-30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just... I'll never get that image out of my mind.\"\n\nLocal residents had raised concerns about the two pit bulls prior to the fatal attack.\n\nNeighbour Bruce Midkiff informed The Daily Mail that his security cameras captured the horrific incident, with the footage now handed to investigating officers.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Dog owners used pets for ‘emotional support’ to get seat at restaurants\n  * Scuttle the tortoise rescued after eight-month wander just 300 metres from home\n  * British zoo welcomes first ring-tailed lemur babies in a decade – and they are twins\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAccording to Midkiff, people living in the area were well aware of the dogs and had grown increasingly worried about them.\n\nHe said that both he and other neighbours had lodged multiple complaints with the sheriff's office regarding the animals.\n\nAn unrelated incident saw one of the pit bulls attack another resident, and on April 30, the dogs trapped his wife inside her vehicle.\n\nAnother neighbour, Scott Chase, told Florida Today he had contacted authorities on two separate occasions to report the dogs.\n\nHe said: \"I've been afraid to get out of my house a few times. They just keep getting loose.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCowan's father Martin paid tribute to his daughter, describing her as someone with a \"big heart\" who \"could get along with anybody\" and loved animals.\n\nHe said: \"I'm not going to throw stones but it's tragic. I have lost my daughter. She was my little girl.\"\n\nBoth pit bulls have been taken into custody by animal control.\n\nNo charges have yet been brought against the owner, though the investigation continues.\n\nFlorida introduced tougher criminal penalties for owners of aggressive dogs following the death of eight-year-old Michael Millett in 2024.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Woman, 50, ‘dragged to her death’ by neighbour’s two pit bulls as husband watches on in horror"
}