A pregnant neighbor, Maria Nava, grabbed the closest thing she could find Monday afternoon to help a mail carrier in serious trouble. "She was hitting them, like swinging at em. And they would come at her and she would just step back and then she hit one in the head real hard. And I guess it started running away," said Nava.
Sheriffs said the 36-year-old female carrier heard the dogs but before she could react they unleashed. "By the time she turned around and saw them the dogs were on her and had her cornered at the truck. The mail she was holding the dogs actually jumped up and bit the mail out of her hand."
Investigators said the carrier was delivering in the Mayfair area near McLane High School when she was attacked. "She was bleeding pretty badly from her right forearm and also had some bite wounds to her left shoulder. She was also missing a shoe at the time," said Chris Curtice with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department.
Neighbors said the dogs are well known. A next door neighbor told Action News they had to extend their fence upward after the pack killed two of their dogs. Others in the area say the pit bulls are often seen wandering the streets. "We're aware of those dogs. Hopefully they get rid of them," said neighbor Danny Miramontes.
Nava believes the mauling could've killed the mail carrier had she not been armed with a big garden tool and adrenaline.
The mail carrier was taken by ambulance to the hospital. U.S. Postal Service representatives said she on leave recovering.
The dog's owners declined to be interviewed. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the dogs could be put down.
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