A TEENAGE girl tragically lost her life while attempting to feed approximately 40 hungry dogs.
Makayla Fortner, a talented soccer player, was unexpectedly attacked while trying to assist the animals at a residence in Arkansas on Wednesday.
Residents in the Alexander area had cautioned that the dogs had been causing chaos in the neighborhood.
Furious neighbors claimed the dogs had been out of control, as reported by the ABC affiliate KATV-TV.
They alleged the animals had been malnourished by their owners.
Heidi Clay, a local, told the outlet the animals were not well treated.
“These dogs were very vicious at the fence to the point that no one wanted to let their children walk to and from the bus stop,” she said.
Fortner, 15, was attacked when she just tried to feed between 30 and 40 dogs with her mom, Stephanie Wilkie.
Cops swooped on the scene and one officer opened fire in a bid to get the dogs away from the fence.
Ralph Murphy, a local, revealed he saw a body on the ground.
“He pulled out his pistol and shot into the ground twice, and the dogs ran,” he said
“Then he walked over and looked down and turned around and walked back.
“Then I moved and saw a body on the ground.”
Days before the attack, Wilkie wrote on Facebook how she had found herself in a “hoarding situation.”
In the post, she put an appeal out, saying that animals needed spay, neutered, and wormed.
She was trying to raise money for vet costs.
Wilkie has not yet spoken out about her daughter’s death.
TRIBUTES POUR IN
Tributes have been paid to Fortner in light of her death.
She played for the Bryant Lady Hornet soccer school sports side and the team paid a glowing tribute.
“This week we lost one of our own,” a post shared on the team’s Facebook page said.
“Many knew Makayla as a classmate, a friend, and a teammate.
“She was part of our family. A kind, caring, hardworking, and passionate girl. She will be greatly missed.”
Erin Bowman, a family friend, described Fortner as a girl who had the “kindest soul.”
“Her smile could light up a room, and her laughter was the kind that made others feel instantly at ease,” she said.
Bowman said the teenager was “deeply loved.”
Cops revealed 14 dogs were removed from the property and euthanized and are investigating the attack.
More than $25,000 has been donated to a fundraiser that was created by Bowman.
The attack happened just months after little Eliziah Turner was mauled to death by one of her family’s pitbulls in Columbus, Ohio.
In March, LaVonne Hoff, who suffered from dementia, died after being attacked by 24 dogs.
Last year, Davina Corbin, of California, was mauled by a pack of 25 Great Danes.
Her body was found on a remote hiking trail in Sacramento and police said that her clothes had some of the dogs’ DNA on them.
