Family mourns mother, wife killed in dog attack in Porter
When Deann Stephenson lost power on the first day of the Texas blackouts sparked by frigid temperatures, she decided to walk to the corner store for supplies.
It was the same milelong trek she took nearly every day — through wooded, residential streets and past a landscaping business where a chain-link fence usually stood between her and a pack of barking dogs.
But on Feb. 15, she did not make it to the store.
Four mixed-breed dogs escaped from the property in the 24800 block of Cunningham Drive in Porter and attacked the 59-year-old woman, inflicting fatal injuries, according to Montgomery County officials.
Stephenson, a mother of two and full-time caretaker for her disabled husband, leaves behind
a shocked and devastated family. They hired Houston attorney Patrick O’Hara, who this week plans to file a civil negligence lawsuit against the dog owner.
“We were just pretty shaken up by what happened,” said Keaton Clark, the victim’s 22-yearold son. “I think justice should be served.”
Shortly after noon that day, neighbors found Stephenson lying in a roadside ditch with severe injuries. It appeared the dogs were “chewing” on the woman, one resident told O’Hara. Someone called 911 and others wrapped Stephenson in a blanket and tried to keep her alert. Paramedics transported her to Kingwood Hospital while deputies from the sheriff ’s office and animal control officers remained at the scene to conduct an investigation. A relative called Clark with the news of the attack but said his mother was stable and expected to recover after multiple surgeries and stitches. Later that day, however, Stephenson died at the hospital.
The dog owner, whose name was not released, agreed to surrender the dogs to officials, according to Montgomery County Animal Services. The owner did not respond to a request for comment. The dogs, which were a mix of hound, shepherd and black mouth cur breeds, have since been euthanized, the agency said. The owner was cited for failing to provide proof of rabies vaccination and failure to properly confine the animals.
It’s unclear what prompted the attack or whether the dogs were trained as guard dogs, officials said. O’Hara said he believes the gate was open. The attorney said neighbors told him that a child was attacked by one of the same dogs several years ago. The dogs would often “run rampant,” O’Hara said, chasing children and delivery drivers.
A spokesman for the county’s animal service agency said there were no recent recorded complaints linked to the address, but there were five “nonspecific” calls in the area before 2016.
County officials said an autopsy revealed Stephenson’s immediate cause of death to be multiple puncture wounds, lacerations and contusions.
Members of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office are investigating to determine if criminal charges will be filed against the dog owner.
“This investigation is currently ongoing,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “(We) would like to express our condolences to Deann’s friends and family.”
On Wednesday, Clark pulled up a photo of his smiling mother holding a rose he gave her last year as a New Year’s Eve gift. The last time mother and son communicated was the night before the attack, Clark said, when they texted about the incoming winter storm.
Clark, a pastor at Hope and Life Church, said his mother “really liked” his career choice. She was a kindhearted person who was always smiling, he said.
“She loved everybody that she met,” Clark said. “She really did a lot of good for people and helped people when she could.”
His parents were together for more than three decades. Stephenson cooked, cleaned and cared for her husband, son and 26-year-old daughter.
“He’s been going through a rough time for sure,” Clark said.
The family is raising funds through a GoFundMe page.