Clients start GoFundMe for 69-year-old dog walker brutally beaten in attempted carjacking

The clients of a 69-year-old dog walker who was viciously attacked Friday have started a GoFundMe page to help with her medical bills.

"She is like family to all of us, having cared for our pets for many years and spending time in our homes and with our families. Her kindness and generosity are astounding -- as so poignantly evidenced by her selflessness in protecting our pets from attack," they write on the page.

On Saturday, D.C. Police charged 16-year-old Kaveyon Andrews of Northeast D.C. and 17-year-old Thadduse Hartridge of Southeast D.C.

Investigators said Andrews and Hartridge attacked the 69-year-old woman just after 1 p.m. Thursday, striking her in the head with a pipe, and then tried to steal her vehicle.

Police say Andrews and Hartridge approached the victim at her car in the 1400 block of Euclid Street, Northwest.

According to the police report, the two men pulled the victim from her car and tried to drive off but she began screaming because she had dogs in her care in the car.

That's when they beat her, hitting her on top of the head with a pipe. A good Samaritan approached and they ran off, grabbing the victim's purse as they left.

"They were obviously trying to take the car, that seems to be corroborated from many different ways and she resisted that because she was very worried about the dogs and she pushed them away for the dogs and then they beat her for it. It's horrible they didn't get the car they really just beat her senseless and ran away," Caesar Clayton, one of the woman's clients told FOX 5.

The woman was left bleeding on the ground. The dogs were left shaking in the middle of the street.

Police released both suspects' images from surveillance cameras, which helped lead to their arrest.

Andrews and Hartridge have been charged with assault with intent to rob while armed and armed carjacking.

"She risked her life and safety to keep our dogs from being stolen," write the woman's clients on the page.

They say she is currently recovering at a DC hospital with severe head injuries.

They say some of her medical costs will be reimbursed by the DC Crime Victims' Compensation Fund, but she and her adult daughter will both need support for lost wages and other costs associated with her recovery.

"We hope to provide her with financial support that can make the recovery from this terrible tragedy a little easier for her and her family," they write.

The clients have already raised over half of their $10,000 goal in less than a day.

More information can be found on the GoFundMe page.