Illinois woman mauled to death by adopted pet bulldog in savage dog attack

The woman was tragically mauled to death by one of her dogs. Photo / Facebook

A woman in the United States has died after being mauled by her adopted pet french bulldog.

Lisa Urso, 52, was found dead on the back veranda of her Illinois home with extensive bite and scratch marks.

Police believe Urso was attacked inside her home and escaped outside but succumbed to her injuries, news.com.au reports.

Fox Lake Police Chief Jimmy Lee told the Chicago Tribune the scene had been "gruesome", with blood on Urso's dogs, two of which are french bulldogs while the other is a border collie mix.

However it's thought her larger french bulldog, Blue, is solely responsible for the attack as it had previously been taken away from Urso by animal control after biting her boyfriend twice in April.

Urso later requested to get the dog back in a step that would be her "fatal mistake", Police Chief Lee said.

It's believed Ms Urso's larger french bulldog Blue (pictured) was responsible for the attack. Photo / WGN 9

"The lady wanted her dog back and it attacked her viciously and killed her," he said.

Reports that Blue had been rescued from a dog fighting ring or may have been bred to fight dogs is now being investigated by authorities.

Lake County Coroner Dr Howard Cooper told People that Urso had died with "a very large percentage of her body" injured and her clothes shredded and torn off.

"There was a struggle," he said. "She was being attacked; there's no question."

Cooper also told TV station WGN 9 that Urso had suffered most bite marks to her neck and arms and there had been a "lot of scratching".

"You don't really think about it happening with a smaller dog breed but we forget animals can be powerful," he said. "This animal has a lot of jaw strength."

All three of Urso's dogs have now been taken to the local dog shelter, with it likely Blue will be euthanised, Lake County animal care and control department programme manager Robin Van Sickle said.

"[Blue is] very aggressive," Van Sickle told People. "He fixates on you. He growls, barks, lunges … he's targeting."