Florida buried a postal worker after five dogs killed her in 2022.
Her death finally forced the state to pass the Pam Rock Act – Florida's new dangerous dog law that took effect July 2025.
Now seven dogs just tore a woman apart outside a registered sex offender's home, neighbors warned police first, and nobody's been charged.
Neighbors Reported the Dogs. Nothing Happened.
Lourdes Estrada lives next door to Edward Hayes on Fiesta Drive in Dade City.
She heard screaming around 11 a.m. on March 7 and ran to her window.
Seven dogs had a woman pinned face-down in the yard, mauling her.
"It was terrifying. I was shocked and freaked out," Estrada told Fox 13. "I had never seen anything like that before."
She dialed 911.
Hayes tried to pull the dogs off the woman.
He couldn't stop them.
Pasco County Fire Rescue airlifted the victim to a regional hospital in critical condition.
All seven dogs went into custody with Pasco County Animal Services.
As of Saturday – no charges filed against anyone.
Multiple residents told Fox 13 they had reported their concerns about dogs at Hayes' property to police before this attack.
The system that was supposed to catch exactly this situation didn't catch it.
Florida Just Passed a Law for This. It Isn't Working.
Florida passed the Pam Rock Act because of Pamela Rock.
She was a 61-year-old postal carrier delivering mail in rural Putnam County in August 2022.
Five dogs escaped a yard and killed her.
Neighbors had flagged those same dogs in at least four prior incidents before they killed someone.
The owner had tried to surrender them to animal control, but nobody followed up.
https://twitter.com/NahBabyNahNah/status/2030447712865247471?s=20
Governor DeSantis signed the Pam Rock Act, which took effect July 1, 2025.
The law requires dangerous dogs to be microchipped and registered with local authorities.
Owners must carry at least $100,000 in liability insurance.
Dogs with a history of aggression must be kept in locked enclosures with posted warning signs.
If a dog is already classified as dangerous attacks again, the owner faces criminal charges.
The Dade City attack happened eight months after that law took effect.
Neighbors say they warned police.
Nobody filed charges.
A Sex Offender Living 2.1 Miles from a Middle School
The home where this happened belongs to Howard Edward Hayes.
He is a registered sex offender.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show Hayes was convicted in 2000 of lewd or lascivious exhibition with a victim under 16 years old.
His address on Fiesta Drive sits 2.1 miles from Pasco Middle School.
Pasco County Animal Services has not confirmed what breed the seven dogs are.
The sheriff's office confirmed the animals are in quarantine.
No one has explained why, after neighbors made prior complaints about these dogs, they were still loose on the property of a registered sex offender with no apparent containment measures in place.
Someone at Pasco County animal control made the decision not to act on those complaints.
That person has not been named.
The Pam Rock Act Means Nothing if Nobody Enforces It
An 8-year-old named Michael Millett was killed in January 2024 when loose dogs attacked him while he was riding his bicycle.
The Pasco County sheriff described the 911 call – Michael's mother driving the dogs away from her son, then scooping him up in her arms – as soul-shaking.
The Florida legislature responded with one of the strongest dangerous dog laws in the country.
And then eight months after that law took effect, a woman was airlifted in critical condition from a property where neighbors had already filed complaints.
Good laws don't enforce themselves.
The victim in this case survived.
Pamela Rock didn't.
Michael Millett didn't.
Sources:
- Sonya Gugliara, "Florida woman mauled by 7 dogs in front of sex offender's home," New York Post, March 7, 2026.
- Fox 13 Tampa Bay, "1 critically injured in Pasco County animal attack involving 7 dogs," Fox 13, March 7, 2026.
- Gould Cooksey Fennell, "New Dangerous Breed Liability Laws in Florida," gouldcooksey.com, September 15, 2025.
- Pittman Law Firm, "Stronger Legal Protections for Florida Dog Bite Victims," dontgethittwice.com, May 21, 2025.
- RealJustice, "Florida's New Dangerous Dog Law: What It Means for You," realjustice.com, June 5, 2025.
