DeKalb woman killed in home by pet dog

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County medical examiner says a woman found dead in her home was killed by at least one of her five dogs.

Twenty-three-year-old Rebecca Carey spent her life rescuing animals, taking several into her home to keep them from ending up at animal control.

Carey's best friend, Jackie Cira, went to Carey's home when she did not show up for work on Sunday.

"There was a lot of blood," Cira said. "And when first got there, it looked like she had fallen and hit her head."

The DeKalb County medical examiner ruled Carey's death was the result of dog bites.

Animal control took custody of the five dogs in the home – two pit bulls, two presas and a boxer mix.

Any dog that has bitten a person goes into a special isolation lockup at animal control.

Cira said she knows Carey's dogs, and actually owned one of them, a therapy dog, at one time.

"Any dog she came into contact with, she brought out the best in," Cira said.

Cira said she wanted the dogs she knew to be gentle to be spared punishment.

"I don't know who did what, but I can say with certainty who did not," Cira said.

Animal control's interim director Tim Medlin told Channel 2's Jeff Dore that the county can't risk putting a killer dog with a family, and they have all been put down.

"We didn't know which dog did which. I can't be wrong. Not just myself, no one can be wrong in putting out a dog that possibly had to do with these type of injuries. I will not put another person at that kind of risk," Medlin said.

Carey's family declined to speak with Dore, but they issued the following statement:

"Rebecca Carey of Decatur was 23 years old and an avid animal lover. Since the second grade when she read the book Throw Away Pets she vowed to be a voice for all animals. She attended Georgia Perimeter College and worked at a veterinary clinic. Upon placing her first abandoned animal in a permanent loving home in 2003, she volunteered countless hours with rescue networks and animal shelters. There she did what she loved the most: rescuing animals from untenable situations to find them safe, loving homes."

WSBTV