Putnam County mail carrier attacked by dogs dies

A mail carrier who was mauled by five dogs in North Florida has died, officials said.

The 61-year-old woman, who was not identified, was a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. She was attacked after her truck broke down along a road in Putnam County.

Putnam County Sheriff’s deputies found the woman on the ground when they arrived at the scene in Interlachen Lake Estates on Sunday afternoon, sheriff’s officials said in a Facebook post. They also found the dogs inside a fence at a nearby residence.

A nearby resident told deputies they heard the mail carrier screaming for help and saw five dogs attacking her. Several neighbors tried pulling the dogs off the woman and one shot a gun into the air to scare the dogs away, the report said.

Deputies started first aid on the woman, who was severely bleeding. They applied tourniquets until a rescue unit arrived and took the woman to a hospital, officials said.

The woman was then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville, where she was in critical condition on Monday.

The county’s animal control unit took custody of the dogs.

An investigation is continuing.

WINK News contributed to this report.