Woman who was left bruised and bloodied after being beaten up by home invaders reveals how loyal pup saved her life

A Massachusetts woman who was left bruised and bloodied by home invaders said it was her loyal dog's intervention that saved her life.

Melanie Russell of Fitchburg described a harrowing home invasion that transpired on Thursday afternoon.

Russell said an unknown man and woman busted down her door, ran into her apartment and then viciously attacked her.

She told Boston 25 News : 'He put his hand over my nose and mouth so I couldn't breathe and told me to stop screaming.'

The pair punched her, used a stun gun and whacked her with a crowbar until her 11-year-old dog Phoenix intervened.

Her daughter Brooklyn wrote on Facebook that when Phoenix came to defend her they also beat and tased the dog.

Brooklyn described the attackers as a heavy-set female and a male.

Now, Russell is dealing with several broken bones in her face including a broken eye socket.

Even though Phoenix saved her life, Russell said she's scared her attackers will return.

'Where you live is supposed to be your safe spot,' Russell told Boston 25 News before tearing up.

Police said they believe the crime was targeted and said there's no immediate danger to the community.

Russell said she believed the attack was related to an instance that transpired two days before her brutal beating.

Brooklyn wrote that two men had pounded on both her and her neighbor's door asking where a package was that had been 'dropped off at the wrong place'.

They threatened everyone in the complex and said there would be issues if it wasn't retrieved. Brooklyn alleged the cops had been called that night but police hadn't been dispatched to the house.

A third man was parked in a dark blue Toyota Camry with a black trim.

The night of the assault, her attacker asked her 'where is it' to which Russell responded that she didn't know what he was talking about.

Brooklyn clarified in the comments that Phoenix was a little roughed up and scared but okay.

This attack happened five months after a Newport Beach homeowner opened fire on two men who stormed his $5million, 4,709 square-foot property while his family was sleeping.

Heavily-armed police arrived at the gated community on April 16 off Newport Coast Drive and Pelican Hill Road after a 4.45am 911 call to find one suspect dead and another armed with a gun bleeding out in the middle of the street.

The deceased intruder was bizarrely found with a 'self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head' after fleeing the house, police said.