A pit bull turns on its owners and attacks an elderly couple in Ardmore, leaving one of them seriously injured on Thursday.

Sgt. Brice Woolly with Ardmore Police Department said first responders got a call just before noon about a severe dog bite at a house behind Tiffany Plaza on Broadway Street.

Police did not release the names of the couple but said they were both between 70 and 80 years old and raised the dog from a puppy.

The dog attacked the wife, biting her arm, as she was walking out of the house.

When her husband stepped in to defend, the dog attacked him, biting his arms and face.

Neither could be reached for comment on this story.

"They reported that they had never had any problems with this dog in the past," Woolly said. "They were very surprised that this dog acted the way it did."

An ambulance arrived, taking the man to Mercy hospital with deep cuts to his face and a severed ear.

Animal Control officers caught the dog and put it down at the request of the owners.

"It was put down, really, for two reasons: the aggressiveness of the dog and they were concerned that rabies could be a possibility," Woolly said.

The dog's body will be sent to the state to test for rabies, although Ardmore police have not received any reports of recent cases.

"Since the dog was put down due to the aggressiveness, it's just an additional precaution to make sure it didn't have any rabies," Woolly said.

Ardmore Police said the test results for rabies should be back in the next three days.