Overview
- Neighbors’ security video shows two dogs chasing and mauling 50-year-old Jodi Cowan while she carried a small dog, and her husband intervened before she was airlifted to a hospital and later died.
- Brevard County Animal Control has taken custody of the two dogs and the animal-services unit is leading an active investigation into the attack.
- Residents say the dogs had a documented history of aggression and multiple complaints were made to animal control and the sheriff’s office before the mauling, and investigators are reviewing those records.
- Florida’s 2024 changes to dangerous-dog law raise the possible penalties for owners when animals have prior violent behavior, and prosecutors are assessing whether that statute could apply in this case.
- Cowan’s family has announced funeral plans and neighbors report heightened fear in the area, and the probe could prompt criminal charges or changes in local enforcement depending on what complaint records and footage show.