"I knew something was going to happen," said the neighbor who reported the dogs outside acting aggressively. "I was disappointed that (GPD) didn’t do more.”

Less than a day before 59-year-old Lorraine Anderson’s ear was severed by two large dogs — the same dogs that mauled and killed her Chihuahua Tico — a Gainesville police officer responded to a call from her neighbor Ana Fretts, who told a dispatcher the dogs were aggressive and requested police assistance.

Fretts told The Sun she had been doing laundry Sunday in an outside laundry near her Palmetto Villas neighborhood home when the dogs approached her. They left only after she grabbed a metal pole to shoo them away.

When Officer James Alford arrived around 7:45 p.m., the dogs, owned by William Hicks, were in Hicks’ yard at 3425 NW 22nd Drive.

There was a large hole in the back fence with only a table in front of it, but the dogs seemed to stay put, Alford noted.

“The dogs seem content to stay in the yard for now," he noted to dispatchers.

Fretts warned police the dogs could easily get out.

Alford left the scene after not being able to contact Hicks. Animal Services was not contacted to investigate further.

About 16 hours later, Hicks' dogs got out of the fence and killed Tico while Anderson was walking him and her other Chihuahua, Precious. The dogs simultaneously attacked Anderson, nearly ripping her ear off.

Anderson was bitten in the head and suffered other serious injuries. She was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital for treatment.

Animal Services officials have since taken possession of the aggressive dogs, and they are set to be euthanized within 10 days.

“Those dogs ripped my ear off, and it had to be reattached in the ER,” Anderson said while recovering at home Thursday. “I did not know there had been a call about them before they attacked me.”

The Sun looked at why Animal Services wasn't called in Sunday's incident.

GPD Inspector Jorge Campos said that when responding to reports of aggressive animals after Animal Services' business hours, it is up to the responding officer to determine whether to notify the on-call Animal Services field response team. Officers verified that the dogs were not considered a danger at that time, he said.

“If the dog is contained and not acting aggressively or has not attacked anyone yet when the officer arrives, we’d take no further action,” Campos said. “If the officer observed the dog going in and out of the yard freely, we’d take further measures to contact animal services.”

County officials have since emphasized that Animal Services is never closed, after 911 calls obtained by The Sun show that dispatchers told Fretts that animal services was “closed” Monday afternoon when she tried to follow up with them about the Sunday incident. Campos also referenced its "closing" being a factor in GPD’s animal response protocols.

There is an animal services responder on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, county spokesman Mark Sexton said. The county's animal shelter and adoption service closes, but that has no bearing on whether they will respond to reports of aggressive dogs.

If they are called, they will respond, he said.

“No one should ever be told that Animal Services is closed because the animal field response team is never closed. We respond to calls from law enforcement and dispatch them 24/7," Sexton said, noting it was a mistake for dispatchers or anyone to say otherwise.

Sexton could not say whether Animal Services would have taken the dogs if they had responded.

“Hypothetically, if the dogs weren’t acting aggressively and they were in the yard, we wouldn’t go take the dogs. That’s stealing,” Sexton said. “If the pit bulls were roaming freely and acting aggressively when we were there, we would have taken them.”

Fretts said the dogs have had a history of roaming her neighborhood, acting aggressively to small dogs and people. She had to fend off the dogs again Monday morning, she told a 911 dispatcher, when the dogs charged at her and her daughter. She was not aware Thursday morning that they had attacked anyone.

“I told (police) the dogs were acting aggressively. That’s why I called. I was concerned,” Fretts told The Sun. “I knew something was going to happen. … I was disappointed that (GPD) didn’t do more.”

Anderson was disappointed, too, when a reporter told her there had been a report of the aggressive dogs the day before her attack.

She has been at home recovering, but noted that it was difficult to take care herself. However, she said, her other Chihuahua, Precious, hasn’t left her side.

“She’s a good momma,” Anderson said.

Anderson added that Tico was also always there for her before the incident.

“Tico was my companion dog. Anytime I had anything going on, the dog was right beside me through thick and thin,” Anderson said, her voice breaking. “When people left, that dog was there. And I believe he saved my life.”

Anderson has retained an attorney. Her lawyer, Jeffrey Meldon, could not be reached. Chris Qualmann is investigating the case for Meldon.

Hicks, 26, surrendered both dogs to Animal Services. He said Monday neither had been aggressive toward other animals before. He was given a citation, police said.

Hicks told The Sun Tuesday the dogs are Catahoula hound and pit-bull mixes. They are 7 years old litter mates, and he’d had them since they were puppies.

Three other instances of dogs injuring people or other animals have been reported in the past few months. The most notable involved the September death of Bella, a small mixed breed, as she was being walked by owner Linda Swinburn in the Northwood Pines neighborhood.

The death of Bella spurred new policies and procedures by the Alachua County Commission and Animal Services.

Animal Services must now impound a dog that is under investigation for being dangerous, unless the officer determines it is safe to leave the dog with the owner.

The fees for animal citations were increased to more closely match the city of Gainesville’s, and county officials closed a loophole in which animal owners were given multiple first-time citations for equivalent violations.

Anderson said she believes aggression in dogs is not necessarily the dogs' problem and could be more of an owner problem. She said dogs should be socialized and trained to avoid attacks like she experienced Monday.

"Big dogs can be aggressive," she said. "Not all of them, but some can. They need to be trained to be around other dogs."

Despite losing Tico and nearly losing her ear, she is in good spirits, Anderson said.

“I’m okay. I’m hanging in there. It’s the best I can do.”