Spend some time on dog bite cases. They can be very, very damaging to the victim.
CA got rid of the “one free bite rule” for dog owner liability. It’s now strict liability with possible “assumption of the risk” defense where the guard dog bites the burglar.
But this is a very weird reaction by the dogs. Most cases are a single bite. I’d look into whether the owners fed them gunpowder, abused them, or otherwise trained the dogs to attack to kill.
You would be surprised how many times this kind of thing happens to pet sitters to some extent. And it is not just crazy dogs!
My guess. Pure speculation, only based on the bits of information here.
These dogs were acting on guard instinct. The pit-bull terrier type was the leader and kept on with his natural endless attack which the Shepherd followed. Pack mentality.
Normal dogs do not do much except to try to break the behavior of the “victim”. Hence your “single bite”. Fighting dogs keep going, obsessively. PBTs are fighting dogs, and it was bred into them.
At the very least, she should’ve been acclimated to them much more than just meeting them once. Stupid to allow a virtual stranger to check on them when they seem to know the dogs go overboard.
“But this is a very weird reaction by the dogs.”
Not at all. Pack attack.
There is definitely more to this story. Had they been trained to fight (illegal)? Did the dogs get to know the lady before the owners left or was she a potential unknown trespasser?
Read what you wrote again and then realize it’s okay for police to have vicious dogs that hit all of your check boxes.