52-year-old found mauled to death by her French bulldog mix, Illinois coroner says

A woman in Illinois was mauled to death by her French bulldog mix on Saturday, the county coroner said.

Police found Lisa Urso, 52, unresponsive on the back porch of her Fox Lake home, WBBM reported.

Officials said they believe her French bulldog mix attacked her inside the home and that she was ultimately able to get out of the house and onto the back patio where she died, WMAQ reported.

Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper said the injuries were mostly to her legs and arms, not her neck, WGN reported.

“Some on her torso as well,” he told the outlet. “Just a lot of bites. A lot of scratching. I hate to say it but unfortunately, it was a vicious attack.”

Cooper added that Urso had recently adopted the dog and that it had previously attacked her boyfriend, who shared the home with Urso, WGN reported.

Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Hannah Goering told the Daily Herald that the dog is a 55-pound, 2-year-old French bulldog mix named Blue and that Urso had initially reported it to the agency as a pure French bulldog. Animal control officials said it’s actually a French bulldog-bulldog mix, according to the outlet.

Early reports suggested that the dog had been bred to fight, but Goering said it did not have the typical tell-tale signs of a fighting dog such as scaring or damaged ears, the Daily Herald reported.

Urso owned three dogs and all of them were taken to Lake County Animal Control after the deadly attack, according to WBBM.

Blue is expected to be euthanized, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“We have been in close contact with Ms. Urso’s family and our deepest condolences go out to them during this difficult time,” the Lake County coroner said in a statement obtained by the Sun-Times. “This is truly a tragedy.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to the newspaper.

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 10:58 AM with the headline "52-year-old found mauled to death by her French bulldog mix, Illinois coroner says."