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A woman suffered serious bite wounds after two pit bulls attacked her while she was walking her dog in downtown Riverside this morning.
The attack happened at about 10:50 a.m., according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.
"This poor woman was just walking down the street and attacked by these dogs without provocation," Animal Services Director Robert Miller said. "Her injuries are very serious and our thoughts and prayers go out to her as she recovers from these wounds."
The woman, whose name was not released, was bitten on the right side of her face and also had a gaping wound on her right arm. She took the brunt of the injuries protecting her small dog, according to Animal Services. Her dog survived; no other details were released about its condition.
She's also going to need a rabies shot since the adult male dog that attacked her not only wasn't fixed, but it wasn't vaccinated for rabies, or licensed, for that matter.
The second pit bull that attacked a woman in Riverside. (Photo courtesy of Riverside Animal Control Services.)
Riverside County Animal Services officers Krista Stewart and Gary Pahls responded and impounded the two dogs, both unaltered males. One was 2 years old and the other just 4 months old. The owner signed them both over to be humanely euthanized. The dogs will be sent to a county lab for rabies testing, although it's not clear if that will be done before or after they are put down.
Stewart said the owner appeared to be genuinely upset about the attack. A relative of the pit bull owner was able to pull the older and bigger dog off the victim, Animal Services said.
The owner of the pit bulls was cited for having strays and he was also cited for having an unlicensed adult dog. It's thought that the dogs leaped a fence to attack the woman as she walked her dog on 6th Street.
"All dog owners, especially those with strong, muscular dogs, such as pit bulls, must always be aware if they have adequate boundaries for their pets," Miller said. "We think this terrible incident today illustrates why that is so important."
After a female jogger was viciously mauled to death near Palmdale by four pit bulls in May, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors considered a proposal from Supervisor Michael Antonovich to change the county's definition of a "potentially dangerous dog."
Antonovich said, "Pit bulls are a different breed of animal. They're capable of incredible damage to humans, to other dogs, to horses."
Every year the Department of Animal Care and Control receives about 10,000 calls about "biting and vicious dogs," Director Marcia Mayeda told the board in May. Of the 300 cases of "potentially dangerous dogs" since January 2012, 56 percent involved pit bulls, she said.
A month before the deadly attack near Palmdale, Riverside County had begun working on an ordinance that would require pit bulls and pit bull mixes be sterilized.
Related:
Fatal Pit Bull Attack Prompts L.A. County To Revisit Its 'Potentially Dangerous Dog' Definition
Jogger Mauled To Death By Pit Bulls
Riverside County Could Require Sterilization for all Pit Bulls, Including Mixes
