Man was mauled by newly adopted dog as woman hid in pet cage, Florida sheriff says

A Florida couple suffered severe injuries when a recently adopted dog suddenly turned vicious, and began hunting them in their home, according to investigators.

It happened in New Smyrna Beach, and responding deputies were forced to shoot the dog to keep it from killing someone, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. New Smyrna Beach is about a 55-mile drive northeast from Orlando.

“When deputies arrived, the injured female victim had crawled into the dog’s cage to escape and protect herself, but the dog had turned to the male victim and was mauling him on their bedroom floor,” Chitwood wrote in a June 24 Facebook post.

“Unfortunately there was no choice but to fire at and fatally wound the dog to stop the attack. Deputies then immediately applied tourniquets to the victims’ severe injuries and provided medical care until EMS arrived. Both were transported to the hospital as trauma alerts and remained hospitalized for several surgeries.”

The attack happened on Mother’s Day (May 12), but details are only now emerging — as Darylyn Warner and Chad Bunfill are recovering, officials said.

Deputies Tyler Blackwell and Justin De La Rosa, and Sgt. Austin Hairston are credited with saving the couple’s lives, Chitwood said.

“I received a heartfelt email from (one) victim, stating that if deputies ‘had been one second later, we wouldn’t have made it out alive’,” Chitwood said.

“They will be receiving life-saving awards for their quick actions in frantic, challenging circumstances.”

Investigators say the dog had been adopted six weeks earlier and it “was the second attack in a week” at the couple’s home.

Details of what prompted the dog to attack were not released.

This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Man was mauled by newly adopted dog as woman hid in pet cage, Florida sheriff says."