Disabled woman attacked by family dog, critically injured

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A woman is fighting for her life after she was attacked by a family pet inside her Little Village apartment in the 2300-block of S. Whipple.

The 34-year-old woman is undergoing surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital after suffering several bite wounds. Relatives said she is in critical condition.

"When I heard that the lady was screaming, she was calling, I think, the police. And then I saw another guy coming from inside screaming," said Isabel Martinez, a neighbor.

Neighbors were alerted shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday when police and paramedics were called to the apartment.

"They said the lady was on the floor and she couldn't move," Martinez said.

"I seen a lot of blood on the victim. It was pretty bad," said Josh Nelson, a local worker.

Sources said the dog had puppies recently and the woman was cleaning the floor and apparently didn't see one of the puppies. The mother dog then turned on the woman biting her in the arm, neck and face.

"That dog just had puppies so who knows what was in its mind to attack her like that," said Maria Perea, a family friend.

A family friend said the victim had physical disabilities.

"It's very, very sad. She was handicapped, she couldn't fight that dog off. So I don't know whats going to happen now," Perea said.

Chicago police said that the mother dog was taken away by Animal Care and Control. It's not clear what happened to her puppies.