A 15-year-old Arkansas girl's act of kindness led to her heartbreaking death from a pack of severely neglected dogs she was attempting to feed.
On Wednesday, June 11th, residents of Alexander (in Saline County), Arkansas were shocked and heartbroken when learning about the passing of 15-year-old Makayla Fortner.
Makayla and her mother had noticed 30 to 40 dogs on White Oak Drive in an extreme state of neglect. The mother and daughter felt they could not passively sit by and leave the dogs to their inevitable fate. This had been an ongoing problem for months with multiple citizens reporting the condition of the dogs to Saline County Officials.
However, their cries fell on deaf ears; with officials telling every person that reported the obvious neglect, "their hands were tied and nothing could be done about the situation". In fact, the situation was so bad that community members didn't want their children walking alone to the bus due to the fact they had to walk by the property the dogs were located.
Makayla and her mother decided there was something they could do for these unfortunate animals, provide them with food. It was this simple act of kindness that led to an unthinkable tragedy.
Sadly, at approximately 12 p.m. on this Wednesday, Makayla was knocked to the ground while attempting to feed the starving dogs and that is when the horrific attack began.
It's not clear who placed the 911 call to report the attack, however neighbors described seeing a deputy fire his weapon in order to stop the attacking dogs. He discharged his weapon into the ground to scare the dogs. Unfortunately by the time the deputy could get to Makayla, it was too late.
Makayla had been fatally injured by the mob of neglected dogs.
Immediately following the attack, 14 dogs were seized and euthanized. There is absolutely no information on what the county plans to do about the additional dogs or the property owners.
The Saline County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident with help from Benton animal control.
Many community members feel whatever is done will be too little and too late. They feel that if the county had addressed this issue earlier in connection with the multiple complaints made about the pack of dogs, Makayla would still be alive today.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Makayla Fortner.
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