Dog kills owner, 75

Woman was set to have vicious beast put down

An elderly Queens animal lover finally made the heartbreaking decision to put down one of her adopted shelter dogs Wednesday because he had become so vicious — only to be fatally mauled by the beast Monday morning.

Louise Hermida, 75, was attacked by her mastiff, Boss, at about 1 a.m., and was found facedown and unconscious in a pool of blood in her Long Island City home, officials said.

Her 39-year-old son, Frank, ran next door after the attack, screaming, “My mother’s dying! My mother’s dying!” the neighbor, Rosa Ortiz, recalled.

“I called 911 and I ran over to the house,” Ortiz said. “She only had a nightgown on. I guess [Boss] just tore at her. I saw the skin hanging from her arms, her head was full of blood. The dog bit her hands too. She was asking for her son.”

Hermida was transported to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Her other son, Dominic Hermida, insisted that his mom, who was suffering from cancer, was originally in stable condition at the hospital but that her heart stopped after a CT scan.

“The dog bit her arm and the doctor said she may lose her arm, but she died after her heart stopped,” he said.

“My brother and her loved animals. They even took in strays and tried to help them, but after a while, it became overbearing because she couldn’t handle them.”

They adopted Boss from Animal Care & Control nearly six years ago, when he was about a year old, the shelter said in a statement. The dog was being held at its Manhattan center on Monday.

Frank suffered trauma to his lower left leg and was listed in stable condition, officials said.

He told Ortiz that Boss had been fighting with another one of their dogs before he turned on them.

Several neighbors said Boss, who weighs more than 100 pounds, was known to be aggressive and had attacked a smaller dog two weeks ago, prompting his owners to decide to put him down. They were going to do it Wednesday, Frank told neighbors.

“He was nose to nose with a small white terrier, and suddenly started ripping him apart and throwing him around like a rag doll,” said John O’Brien, a superintendent at a nearby construction site. “The small dog just went limp, he didn’t even squeal. We were fearful to go near him.”

“It’s a terrible tragedy,” he added. “That dog should’ve been put down the day of that attack.”