Husband of DC woman mauled by their dog: 'She didn't deserve to die like this'

WASHINGTON - The husband of a 55-year-old D.C. woman who was killed after she was mauled by their dog said they had their pet for the past eight years and she had a good relationship with the animal.

Robert Frazier told FOX 5 that he was married to Angela Smith for the past two years, but they had been together for a total of 20 years.

Smith's husband said he can't understand how this happened and that she had walked their dog daily.

Frazier said he went to the store to pick something up when it happened.

"I come back, I find her laying down at the back door, my dog over top of her and that's all I know," Frazier said. "That's all I know. I was gone no more than about 15 minutes. About 15 minutes and that's all it took. She didn't deserve to die like this."

D.C. police were called to Dexter Terrace in Southeast D.C. at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Smith was rushed to the hospital where she died from her injuries, which were described as "multiple trauma wounds."

Neighbors said they have never seen the dog become aggressive with humans, but it had been aggressive towards other animals in the neighborhood.

The Humane Rescue Alliance euthanized the dog Sunday night.

"It was a very large mix breed dog," said Chris Schindler, Vice President of Field Services for the Human Rescue Alliance. "He was roughly eight years old. Obviously due to the circumstances, we used precautions while removing the dog. … When we arrived on scene, there was a lot going on understandably. The dog did exhibit behavior that indicated to us we needed to take those extra precautions."

Schindler also told FOX 5 cases like these are "incredibly rare."