Authorities say a resident down the street from where 63-year-old Linda Oliver was killed on Monday saw him in the woods behind his house. Deputies responded to the area, and when the dog charged at a deputy near a ditch, the deputy shot him twice killing him.
Before she died, Oliver called her husband for help after being bitten by the dog. Police say it was a stray which they had taken in. It first attacked their smaller dog, then turned on Oliver as she tried to break it up.
The dog is a black mastiff-rotweiller mix with a white spot on its chest.
"Law Enforcement had planned to tranquilize the animal if possible but his aggressive nature prevented this," the Liberty County Sheriff's Office said in a prepared statement. "However, the end results for the dog would have eventually been the same."
Authorities say the dog's remains will be sent off to a laboratory in Katy for examination on Wednesday.
Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices