LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) - A woman and her two-year-old son were taken to the hospital after being attacked by two dogs in a La Mesa neighborhood.
La Mesa police said the incident happened as the 29-year-old woman was pushing a stroller with the boy in it and walking with her 8-year-old daughter at around 8:15 a.m. in the 6900 block of Waite Drive.
According to police, the mother and kids were walking along the sidewalk when two Rottweiler dogs that apparently escaped from kennels in a nearby backyard rushed from across the street and attacked them.
Police said the dogs bit the 2-year-old boy several times, and when the woman tried to pull the stroller and her son away, one of the dogs knocked her down and bit her while the other dog continued to attack the boy.
Several residents saw the incident and helped the woman and her kids. Police said the dog’s owner arrived to pull the dogs off the woman and her son and placed the animals in the backyard.
The woman’s daughter was not hurt in the incident.
The woman and her son were taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
According to police, the woman suffered injuries to her arm, while her son was bitten on his head, face and arm. The boy will need surgery for his arm injury, police said.
La Mesa’s Animal Control seized the two dogs -- which were both declared dangerous at the scene -- and took them to the El Cajon Animal Shelter to be quarantined.
The incident is being investigated by police and animal control.
The County Department of Animal Services told 10News more than 400 dog bites are reported each year. Rady Children's Hospital sees an average of one dog bite patient per day, said county spokesman Dan DeSousa.
32 San Diego County dogs are currently registered with County Animal Services as 'Dangerous Dogs', a dog which twice in a four-year period has bitten two people, or once attacked a person causing a substantial injury. 47 dogs have been declared public nuisances.
DeSousa said the county also keeps track of breeds responsible for the most dog bites. In the past year, unknown breeds were responsible for most bites, followed by pit bulls, Labrador retrievers, chihuahuas, and German Shepherds.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay for medical bills associated with the attack.
