MOUNT DORA, Fla. - A dog in Mount Dora attacked an eight-year-old Chiweenie named Sadie while her owner's husband was walking her.

What we know:

The aggressive dog ran up without warning, biting the man's hand and severely injuring Sadie. The small dog required stitches, and police filed a report with Lake County Animal Control. However, authorities have not yet located the attacking dog or its owner.

What we don't know:

It remains unclear where the aggressive dog came from or if it has attacked before. Officials have not confirmed whether the dog is vaccinated against rabies, forcing Sadie's owner to undergo a precautionary series of rabies shots.

The backstory:

Lisa Shuman, Sadie's owner, said she and her husband have walked their dog in the neighborhood for years without any previous issues with loose dogs. However, after the attack, a neighbor provided her with a taser for protection. Other neighbors have reported problems with aggressive dogs in the area, raising concerns about public safety.

With small children living in the neighborhood, residents worry about the possibility of a more severe attack in the future.

The attack happened while Shuman's husband was walking Sadie. After the dog bit him and severely injured their pet, Shuman called the police, and a report was made with Animal Control. Since the attacking dog could not be identified, her husband had to begin rabies treatment. Shuman continues to carry a taser for safety as authorities try to locate the dog.

What they're saying:

"He went directly to her, picked her up, and tossed her around violently," said Lisa Shuman.

Shuman said the dog bit her husband in the hand as he tried breaking up the attack.

"He was bleeding. He got bit in the finger," said Shuman. "I grabbed Sadie, and she was bleeding from her belly."

A red scar on Sadie's belly can be seen from where Shuman says her dog was stitched up at the E.R. Vet.

"She had to have stitches and one of the police officers noted she had blood pulling in her eye," said Shuman. "I think when she got picked up by the dog it hit her head."

Over the past nine years, Shuman said she's gone on countless dog walks on her neighborhood streets and has never seen this dog or any loose dogs.

"Never been approached," said Shuman. "We've had neighbors that have had issues, so my neighbor across the street actually gave me a taser. So, I'm now carrying a taser."

The taser is for her safety, because even though Shuman called the police, and a report was made with Animal Control, she still doesn't know where the dog lives or where it came from.

"We have got to stop this dog. It could be a child next," said Shuman. "We have small children on our street in the neighborhood and if it got ahold of one of those children, I would hate for something like that to happen."

Shuman said she wants to be sure the dog is properly contained in a fenced-in yard where it can't freely roam around neighborhood streets. Since the dog couldn't be located, Shuman says her husband had to receive a series of Rabies shots.

"If they knew who it was, we wouldn't be going through that," said Shuman. "When they said the side effect of rabies was death, we went to find a rabies shot."