CHARLOTTE — A dog attack survivor, left with severe scars, said she cannot understand why the dogs’ owner did not help her as she fought off a pack of dogs that mauled her.
Four people were injured on Aug. 26 when seven pit bull-type dogs attacked residents in the Claiborne Woods neighborhood off Mount Holly-Huntersville Road.
The attack happened after the dogs’ owner drove over a speed bump in a U-Haul, causing the rear gate to open and the dogs to spill out.
Now, a man and woman police identified as the dogs’ owners are under arrest.
Court documents show Rodney and Rychelle Morrow were charged Wednesday with offenses related to the attack, including animal cruelty, abandonment and failure to vaccinate the dogs.
Hayley Wright was hospitalized after the attack and told Channel 9’s Ken Lemon she thought she was going to die.
After seeing two of the dogs roaming loose, Wright believed they were lost and went outside to help. Instead, she was attacked. She is now learning to walk again.
[ READ MORE: 4 hurt after being attacked by dogs in northwest Charlotte neighborhood ]
Wright does not blame the dogs for the more than 100 bite wounds she suffered.
“I think about the incident every single day,” the survivor said.
She took Lemon to the spot on Thursday where she was attacked three weeks ago.
At the time, Wright did not know the dogs had fallen from the U-Haul after its rear gate opened when it hit a speed bump.
She said she believed the dogs were going to kill her in her own driveway.
“I was screaming,” she said. “I was screaming for help; begging, they’re killing me. There was seven of them killing me.”
Her boyfriend, Aaron Westphar, said he saw Rodney Morrow drive past them in the U-Haul during the attack.
“He saw us, drove past us, looked at us,” Westphar said.
“Why didn’t you stop to help me?” Wright said. “Why didn’t you come back? Why did you let that happen?”
A deputy used a Taser on one of the dogs before another was shot and killed.
Wright underwent two surgeries and spent 10 days in the hospital.
“Every time I hear a dog bark, I look,” she said.
According to court records, Rodney Morrow listed the dogs as emotional support animals.
Rodney and Rychelle Morrow face 42 misdemeanor charges. Many of the charges are connected to the attack and allegations of animal cruelty.
Wright said her injuries are serious and believes the charges should be, too.