Donna Sue Garner of Oxford is in severe pain for having a big heart.

Garner was taking food to a neighbor's dogs on Sidney Lanier Drive Wednesday morning, when a pit bull-boxer mix came from around the side of the house and attacked her.

Garner's husband Wade said a neighbor heard her screaming and ran outside to pull the dog off her.

"He ran out there, and I guess you could call him a guardian angel," he said, "because there's no telling what would have happened if he hadn't come."

The dog bit Garner on her back, arms and legs. She had to undergo several surgeries yesterday and today.

Garner is the mother-in-law of the brother of Oxford Police Officer Mandy Poole, who said Wednesday was a rough night for Garner. Poole said she was emotionally distraught, suffering from flashbacks of the incident. She explained Garner's doctors are monitoring her closely for infection in her multiple bite wounds.

Newton County Sheriff's Lt. Bill Watterson explained why Garner was feeding her neighbor's dogs.

 "The victim noticed the dogs had been several days without food, apparently the owner has had a hard time lately," Watterson said, "and she actually called the owner to tell him she was going over there to feed them."

Wade Garner said usually the dog that attacked his wife is chained in their neighbor's back yard. He also said the neighbor has more than one dog.

Newton County Animal Control Director Teri Key-Hooson said the reporting animal control officer did not notice any other dogs and thought the animal may have escaped the house through an open window.

Key-Hooson said no citations would be written against the owner since the dog was turned over to Animal Control.

The dog will be held for 10 days in quarantine to determine whether it was infected with rabies or any other like illness.

"After the 10 days the dog will be euthanized," Key-Hooson said. Garner is currently listed in stable condition.