(12/5/97)

Comatose woman's foot wasn't chewed off by dog

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A dog was not responsible for chewing off part of a comatose woman's foot last month, officials said.

On Nov. 16, a woman told authorities that a dog slipped into her home through a doggy door and chewed off part of the foot of her daughter, a woman in her 30s who has been in a coma since suffering injuries several years ago.

Following the attack, the comatose woman was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, where the remainder of her foot had to be amputated from the ankle down, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The comatose woman's mother blamed a large black dog, possibly a Rottweiler, for the attack but authorities could not find the dog.

One of the woman's neighbors, who owns a Husky, commented, ``I'm shocked and dismayed at the incident, but I know it wasn't my dog. That was the day I took him to the vet to get fixed, and he wasn't very active for the rest of the week.''