US Woman, 25, Loses Arm After Being Attacked By Stray Dog She Was Fostering

A 25-year-old woman in the United States had her arm amputated after a stray dog she was fostering attacked her in July. According to the New York Post, Kalista Munoz spent days in a coma and underwent more than a dozen surgeries, including the amputation of her mangled right arm, following the attack. Ms Munoz was already caring for several other foster animals when she agreed to help Zona, a stray found by a friend. The dog gave her no trouble for three months until he got into a fight with one of her other pooches, the 25-year-old said. 

“He escaped from my room which is where he was. He had a cone on, but with no hesitation, he darted downstairs,” Ms Munoz told AZFamily. She said that she ended up cornered in the bathroom, with the dog latched onto her arm for 30 minutes before police eventually arrived. 

“I eventually got trapped in there. And by the time I could grab the door, unfortunately, this part of my arm was already chewed out,” she said. 

According to a GoFundMe page, Ms Munoz spent a month in the hospital, where she also was in a coma for several days. She eventually needed to have her right arm amputated as well due to an infection. But despite that, the 25-year-old has remained positive throughout the experience. “Well it’s a good thing I’m left-handed,” she said after learning about the amputation, as per the GoFundMe page.

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Ms Munoz also told the outlet that she doesn’t blame the dog for the attack and hopes that her experience will help others. The 25-year-old also doesn’t want the experience to delay her plans for pursuing a master’s degree in social justice at Arizona State University. 

“There’s beauty in tragedy, and I believe that my journey is someone else’s survival guide,” she said. 

“Kalista is a sweet soul with a big smile and an even bigger heart,” the GoFundMe page read. “If she ever won the lottery, there definitely would be clear signs … because every dog & cat would be saved from every animal shelter. To say the least, this woman is a hardcore animal lover,” it added.