A Blount County, Alabama, resident was found dead and dismembered by her dogs after police were called to do a welfare check on the woman. The authorities discovered the gruesome scene on October 4, 2025, and identified the woman, Rita Thomas, outside her Tyler Road home in the backyard by the exterior steps. According to AL.com, police are confident she died of natural causes in an area where neighbors can’t directly see.
Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon stated that no evidence of foul play is involved in Thomas’ death. “This was not a dog attack,” Casey noted, according to ABC 33/40. Investigators believe Thomas, who was in her 60s, likely experienced a medical emergency on the exterior stairs of her home.
Police saw her body had been eaten by the two dogs on the property as well as wild animals. Bones were scattered all about the property and some remain unfound. The dogs resorted to eating her because of the restrictive wireless perimeter collars they were wearing, ABC 33/40 reported.
Dogs and other domesticated animals may resort to carnivorous and even cannibalistic behaviors when faced with extreme hunger or thirst, Psychology Today noted.
The dogs were euthanized because of the biohazard of consuming human remains. There was also a cat onsite who was confined to the home and was also euthanized because it was extremely malnourished.
Investigators believe Thomas could have been dead up to eight weeks before being found.
