Owner of Animal Hospital Says Woman Mauled By Her Dogs Walked Them Because They Were Too Aggressive

IRVING (WBAP/KLIF News) — The owner of the Irving animal hospital where a woman was mauled to death by her own dogs is talking about what happened.

Dr. James Kang says Johana Villafane’s dogs were so aggressive that his staff was unable to walk them. As a result, she was told she would either have to walk them herself or move them somewhere else.

Kang says Villafane walked the dogs twice a day for a week without incident, but they turned on her last Saturday morning and killed her.

The dogs were being boarded at O’Conner Animal Hospital because they had broken through a fence and bitten a neighbor eight days earlier.

Dr. James Kang Released a Statement:

The Staff and I at O’Conor Animal Hospital experienced an awful, tragic incident in our hospital backyard on March 23rd 2019. We are so sorry for the loss of Johana Villafane and her family is in our prayers.

She brought 2 dogs for rabies quarantine in our office on March 18th 2019. I examined the 2 dogs at the time of admission. The male pit bull terrier was friendly, but the female pit bull terrier seemed to be scared as well as frightened. The next morning, our staff could not walk them in the backyard due to the dogs’ aggressive behavior. We called the owner and told her that we could not keep her dogs in our hospital for quarantine due to their aggressive behavior, and the dogs will only be able to stay at our hospital unless she is able to walk them. Their family came to the office, twice a day, walking their dogs for a whole week without any incident.

Johana came into our office at 11am on Saturday, March 23rd 2019 to walk her two dogs.

She let them out in the backyard at 11:10am. We were very busy taking care of clients and patients all morning that we were unable to hear any noise or screaming that occurred in the backyard. One of our receptionists saw her laying in the grass in our backyard at 11:45am. She called 911 immediately for assistance. We were trying to reach her, trying to rescue her but were not successful because the two dogs were guarding her. Paramedics came in at 11:50am but could not get to her until the police arrived at 11:52am. The police discharged their weapons and shot the two dogs, then the paramedics attended to her and took her immediately to Parkland Emergency Hospital.

Affordable homes nestled in nature, where families can exchange the hustle of city life for a hometown feel. Minutes from DFW entertainment and employment. Homes from the $190s.

Ad By Heartland

The whole situation was traumatic, chaotic, and emotional for everyone in our hospital staff, including myself. We are trying to overcome this tragic incident and move forward.