BELL COUNTY, KY (WYMT/CNN) - Every morning, Lorraine Saylor put out bird seed in her yard for wild birds.
"She was out taking care of animals, and a very unfortunate set of circumstances happened and she lost her life," Bell County Coroner Jay Steele said.
Just before 11 a.m. Sunday, Lorraine and her husband Johnny were attacked, Steele said, by two pit bulls.
"They had my brother halfway out the door, chewing on his arm," said James Saylor, Johnny Saylor's brother.
James Saylor, who lives next door, said he heard barking and quickly took action.
He threw a door stop and yelled at the dogs, allowing his brother to get away by going into the house.
"Then he come back out with his pistol and shot both of them," James Saylor said.
Steele said one dog died while the other got away.
"I'd seen them, but I didn't think they'd be mean like that," James Saylor said.
Steele said Johnny Saylor is expected to survive. However, he was bitten on the head, arm and hand, and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
"They were just a super nice couple, and I can't even begin to put myself in his shoes. It's overwhelming the circumstances and what he found," Steele said.
They are friends of Steele's. "She worried more about neighbors and friends than she did herself, as Johnny's the same way," he said. "They're just a very giving couple."
James Saylor said he is still just trying to understand the attack.
"It's strange, ain't it, but you know, when your time comes, it comes," he said.
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