Pit bull-boxer mix kills its owner, 32, in vicious attack on the deck of her Pennsylvania home as neighbors deperately tried to pull dog off

  • Lisa Green was killed Thursday afternoon by her 3-year-old pit bull-boxer mix
  • Neighbors tried to stop the dog from attacking her and called the police for help
  • They're unsure why the dog, who she had owned for about 2 years, attacked her

By Jordan Gass-Poore for Dailymail.com

Published: 12:08 EDT, 28 April 2017 | Updated: 13:22 EDT, 28 April 2017

Police said a pit bull mix killed its owner during an attack on the deck of the woman's Pennsylvania home.

Police were called to the home of Lisa Green, 32, at 900 block of Spring White Drive in Upper Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, Thursday afternoon by neighbors who reported hearing screaming and a dog barking. 

The dog was still attacking Green when officers arrived. They managed to put the dog in the home so responders could treat Green's severe injuries, police said. 

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Lisa Green was killed on the deck of her home (above) Thursday by her 3-year-old dog Leon 

Lisa Green was killed on the deck of her home (above) Thursday by her 3-year-old dog Leon 

She was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest where she was pronounced dead at 2.46pm. 

Loretta Ottinger, Green's next-door neighbor, told The Morning Call that she heard the woman screaming 'Someone help me' and saw the 3-year-old male pit bull-boxer mix biting her legs, neck and head.

Ottinger said she tried to stop the dog from attacking Green by hitting it with a hambone then a stick, to no avail. 

'I went up to the deck and I hit him with the ham, so he'd see it and he'd go after it,' said Ottinger. 'I thought if Lisa could get free and roll over, the dog would be off her jugular. But he ignored the ham. He was just picking her up and throwing her down.'

Police are unsure why the pit bull-boxer mix (similar to the one pictured above) attacked Green

Police are unsure why the pit bull-boxer mix (similar to the one pictured above) attacked Green

Ottinger said she got a long piece of wood from another neighbor and tried to gouge the dog's eyes out by ramming it through the deck slats, but the animal fought back. 

Another neighbor, Vidya Chellapilla, called off-duty Slatington police Chief David Rachman, who lives nearby. 

Rachman fired his handgun twice, wounding the dog once.

Police said the dog was tranquilized on the scene and taken to the Lehigh County Humane Society where it will be euthanized. 

Green was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest where she died at 2.46pm Thursday

Green was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest where she died at 2.46pm Thursday

The dog will also be tested to see what set off the attack.

Green was 'really close' with the dog, Leon, who she had owned for more than two years, Ottinger said.  

Ottinger described Green, a manager for a Bed, Bath & Beyond store, as 'a lovely woman, athletic, always looked impeccably neat'. 

'She kept to herself, but we'd take walks together,' said Ottinger. 'We never took the dog for a walk, and I hadn't seen her take the dog for a walk in a while, since he was younger.'

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 to 30 people are killed by dogs in the US annually.