The owner of the dog that attacked an elderly Council Bluffs woman Sunday was cited Tuesday for having a dog at large, a misdemeanor. Courtney Mahler will have to pay a $40 fine.

Council Bluffs Animal Control had first decided not to file charges, but changed its mind.

Ann Lyon told Channel 6 News she's thankful to be alive. “I was feeding the squirrels and this dog came out nowhere.”

The 77-year-old said she was taking her dog out around 2:45 p.m. Sunday when a 90-pound American bulldog attacked them outside her home near South 8th Street and 5th Avenue.

“It jumped on me and knocked me down, went after me and my dog."

Kevin Daub was out getting food for the Super Bowl when he saw the dog charge Lyon. He got out of his truck and rushed over. "I just heard her screaming help, help me, help me, so I ran over and tried pulling it off."

Lyon said the bulldog wouldn't let up so Daub took out a pocketknife and stabbed the dog repeatedly, killing it. “He was trying to control it without hurting it, but it just kept coming, it just kept coming.”

"Tried to pull the dog off first and then that wasn't working," said Daub. "It was kind of throwing me around a little bit so then I used the pocketknife."

"I'm kind of shook up, but I'm just happy my dog is okay," said Lyon, who suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention. Daub was not hurt.

Lyon was wearing a thick leather jacket when the dog attacked, which bought her precious time until Daub came along.

“That dog was after both of us,” she said. “I thought he was going to kill both of us and if it hadn't been for that man stopping, he probably would have killed both of us.”

Police described Daub's actions as heroic. "He did what he had to do,” said Officer Bo Wake. “That's a life and death situation with that dog out there, especially with an elderly female like that.”

Mahler came to the scene as the dog was being taken away. He was crying and declined to be interviewed.