Posted on 02/02/2010 9:31:17 PM PST by FromLori
A 5-year-old California girl who was mauled along with two siblings by a pack of escaped dogs remained hospitalized Tuesday and was unable to breath on her own, police said.
The girl, whose name was not released, was walking with her mother and three siblings along train tracks when they were attacked Monday afternoon by five dogs that escaped a nearby yard by digging under a fence, said Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker.
One dog, a mastiff, pulled the girl from her mother's hand and "and tossed the child around like a rag doll," Decker said.
The girl suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs and numerous bites. She remained hospitalized in critical condition and was breathing with the help of a ventilator, Decker said.
Her brother, who is about 7, also remained hospitalized after needing 237 staples to close a leg wound, he said.
The girl's sister, who is about 8, was treated for leg and arm injuries, Decker said.
Shortly after the attack, police found the dogs near their home. One was shot when it attacked an officer and the other four — the mastiff and what appeared to be pit bull mixes — were taken to an animal shelter, Decker said.
They were quarantined until it is determined whether they have rabies and whether they should be destroyed, he said.
The owners, who cooperated with police, could be cited for failing to properly confine their pets but they were not immediately ticketed, he said.
"My understanding is they are very sorry about what happened," Decker said.
Fontana is in San Bernardino County, about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The hits just keep on coming!
If a dog has that much strength are my grandbabies...I’ll kill it first!
Criminal negligence, pure and simple.
I hope these people lose everything they have and everything they hope to have for the rest of their lives.
You just can't fix stupid.
A mastiff is huge. A 5 year old could just about ride it like a small pony. Prayers for the children.
Anyone sort of see this as a sign of a civilization imploding? CA is broke. I bet these dogs were someone’s pets not long ago. When they have to fend for themselves it is not pretty.
the reasons for concealed carry continue to grow.
My apolgies for being dumb and not reading the article. Idiots allowing a mastiff and pit bulls to run. Poor kids. Still. things in CA will get worse.
CA is open carry, unloaded.
Obviously these children must have provoked the beasts.
What kind of irresponsible parent would let their children run loose like that? Isn't there a leash law?
Just another dog bite case, happens all the time.
Pit bulls are the most sweet, loving dogs in human history. Haven't you seen those pictures on the internet of them licking children?
Nothing to see here, just move along, move along....
-----
And now, some messages from a local pit bull apologist:
Last year, 19 people died from dog attacks not involving pit bulls. Banning pit bulls would do what, exactly, for these people? -- freeper "Solosmoke"
as it is now, take pit bulls away, and just like before they were popular, another dog will end up being the number one “most dangerous” because it’s at the top of the list, and the average number of fatalities will be anywhere from 17 to 35 every year, as it has been for at least three decades -- freeper "Solosmoke"
...Five dogs escaped a yard through holes in a fence and attacked the children.
"She has bite injuries to her face, back, head and legs," Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said. "She also has a broken rib cage and a punctured lung. She is in extremely bad shape."
The dogs set upon Destiny's 7-year-old brother, chewing off part of one of his legs, Decker said. The third child, who is 8-years-old, also suffered leg injuries.
Arellano grabbed her 2-year-old, as the dogs continued their attack on Destiny.
....One of the dogs was shot and killed as he charged at a Fontana police officer. The dogs are all pit bulls, except for one that is a mix of pit bull and Bullmastiff.
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14320574
Sorry to hear about the children. There are a lot of stray dogs in Ca mostly in the latino neighborhoods (duh!) I pickup my niece from school walking and see a pack of stray dogs daily. Thankfully I called the Animal Control to prevent any tragic incidents that may lead up to this scenario.
From comments at the link;
“other reports are that the 5 yr old is on life support, that the dog basically ripped out her throat and that when the children were brought to the emergency room the doctors asked if any muscle tissue had been retrieved at the scene of the attack as much was missing from each child and they could try to reattach it if they had it. These dogs also came from blocks away for this attack, they didn’t live on the street where this attack occurred. Too bad the cops only shot one of them and not all of them.”
At my rural property in Alabama, I’m either carrying or it’s not far away.
Some freepers would just call them gentle giants....just great dogs.........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.