July 28, 2025

At Least Six People Mauled to Death by Dogs in Alabama This Year

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

July 28, 2025

BESSEMER Ala. At least six people in Alabama have died this year after being mauled to death by dogs, including two in the past week.

The latest victim was a woman who was found dead in a grassy lot in Bessemer, a city just west of Birmingham.

A woman found dead in a grassy lot in Bessemer was fatally mauled by dogs, authorities announced Friday morning.

The victim, identified as Delores M. Musgrove, was found lying in the lot, and police and emergency personnel were called to the scene.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said that Musgrove, 50, lived in Adger and died after being attacked by several dogs.

It’s unknown how long the woman had been lying in the lot, but Bessemer police said that they responded just before 7 a.m. Thursday to a report of a person down in the 100 block of Martin Street.
Det. Justin Burmeister said officers arrived to find the woman in a grass lot. She was pronounced dead on the scene at 7:28 a.m.

Musgrove is at least the second person in Alabama killed in a dog attack this week, and the fourth this year.

On Tuesday, a 7-year-old boy was killed in an attack on the property where he lived in Chilton County. In that case, the owner surrendered nine dogs to Chilton County Animal Control where they were euthanized.

The breeds of those nine dogs included Shepherd mix, Pit Bull Terrier mix, Lab mix and Hound mix. Six of the dogs were 6 months old and the other ages ranged from 1 to 3.

In March, a bay just six months old, identified as Ember Southard, was killed in a dog attack inside an Alabaster home.

A 46-year-old woman was killed in February when she was mauled by a pack of dogs at a Tuscaloosa County home.
The attack happened in the yard and on the property of the dogs’ owners. The victim had gone to the residence to feed the dogs for the owner, who was out of town.

In the United States, an average of 30 to 50 people are killed annually by dog attacks. The number of fatalities has been on the rise, with some years seeing numbers closer to 100. While the specific number varies, fatal dog attacks are a relatively rare but serious event.

Approximately 4.5 million people in the United States are bitten by dogs each year, according to the CDC and the Humane Society. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) estimates that around 800,000 of those bites result in injuries that require medical attention.

Musgrove’s death remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Bessemer police at 205-425-2411, the Tip Line at 205-428-3541 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.