A woman bleeding heavily as she was mauled by a pitbull was filmed dragging herself to a lift in a block of flats as she tried to escape with the dog still on top of her.
The 25-year-old was tying her shoe in her apartment, in the Prados district of Cucuta, in Colombia, when the dog began its ferocious attack, on March 17.
In horrific footage, large stains of blood could be seen on the floor with the woman suffering from several severe bite wounds to her body.
Local media reports said how the woman was in her flat, which she shared with three other people and where the dog also lived, when it suddenly attacked her having previously not been aggressive.
A judicial source told laopinion.com.co: “Her response was to drag herself to the door, and into the corridor where she hoped a neighbour could help her.”
They continued: " With the animal on top of her the only thing she thought was that if she stayed on the fifth floor than nobody would be able to rescue her.”
In the footage, the victim is seen shuffling her body along the floor and into the lift in an attempt to seek help.
The dog was still biting her causing her to lose large amounts of blood, but she was still able to press the button to go from the fifth to the ground floor.
She then crawled out of the lift at which point the dog finally stopped attacking her and a family went to her aid. They took her to hospital where she was treated for injuries to her neck, arms, hands and legs.
She has two fractures to fingers on her right hand and one on her left. She is still in hospital and waiting to be transferred to a clinic for more medical treatment,” said a police official.
Local mayor Arvey Davila said: "She was tying one of her shoes when the dog began to bite one of her arms. As she was alone, and given the strength of this animal, she decided to leave the apartment and go to the elevator."
Police confirmed that the dog was without a muzzle in the apartment.
Officials from the local authorities have examined the conditions in which the dog lived and it will now undergo ten days where its behaviour will be studied.
