FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A quiet morning walk turned into a terrifying ordeal for a 79-year-old woman and her dog Monday, after they were attacked by four pit bull mixes in a residential cul-de-sac off Riverland Drive. The woman’s dog, Max, a 4-year-old Black Mouth Cur, was killed while trying to protect her.

Surveillance video of the incident, obtained exclusively by Local 10 News, shows the brutal moments the dogs rushed toward Andrea Edwards and Max, knocking her to the ground and mauling both.

“My mom’s dog was on a leash and he saw them coming,” said her son, Gordon Edwards. “He started protecting my mom. By the time she realized what was happening, they were all over.”

Andrea Edwards was bitten multiple times on both arms and remains in the hospital.

“Max died defending my mom,” her son said. “If it wasn’t for Max, my mom would be dead.”

Edwards also said his mother is traumatized and suffering from post-traumatic stress.

“She keeps screaming in her sleep—‘Max, run! No, get off me!’—just over and over,” he said.

The owner of the attacking dogs, Renex Dorvil, lives a street over. He told Local 10 News that he was at work during the incident and believed the dogs may have escaped through a hole in his fence. He speculated the victim’s dog may have approached the fence before the attack.

However, after being shown the surveillance video, Dorvil appeared shaken.

“That’s really bad. I feel bad,” he said. “Now I see how this thing happened.”

Dorvil was asked if he was surprised to see his dogs act so violently, he replied, “Yes. That really surprised me.”

Gordon Edwards said the neighborhood is devastated by the loss of Max, who was known and loved by local families.

“All the kids in the neighborhood—even the cats—played with him,” he said.

Dorvil, visibly emotional, expressed remorse.

“My mom is 83 years old—if something like that happened to her, I would be very hurt,” he said. “I’m going to suffer the rest of my life because that hurt me. That’s bad. I’m really sorry.”

According to the family, the dogs involved in the attack were humanely euthanized by Broward County Animal Control. Dorvil is expected to face legal consequences in court.

Gordon Edwards thanked the Fort Lauderdale Police Department for their response, adding that one officer stayed with his mother and helped calm her after the attack.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.