Dogs severely maul 71-year-old woman and 2 men in Wilmington park

CALIFORNIA -- Two dogs seriously mauled a 71-year-old woman and two men Tuesday in a Wilmington park crowded with children.

The owner immediately relinquished the dogs to animal control officials, who placed them in quarantine.

Chuco, an intact male Boxer and American Bulldog mix, is one of the two
dogs involved in an attack on a 71-year-old woman and two men.

The victims, including a 65-year-old man and the woman's 35-year-old son-in-law, were in surgery Tuesday afternoon, all suffering from severe bite wounds, Los Angeles City Animal Control Capt. Daniel Pantoja said.

"This is bad," Pantoja said. "These dogs will not be going back to that property."

Officials described the dogs as a white male Pit Bull terrier and Akita mix named Cisco, and his father, a brown Boxer and American Bulldog mix named Chuco. Both weigh about 70 pounds.

Alfredo Ramos, 35, describes the horrific attack. Bandages
cover at least 60 stitches on Ramos' right leg and wounds to his
arm, including a chunk of flesh ripped away from his left forearm.

The attack at the East Wilmington Greenbelt in the 1100 block of Coil Avenue occurred about 1:35 p.m., 10 minutes after nearby Wilmington Park Elementary School was dismissed for the day.

Noe Ortega, 17, said he had just collected his 7-year-old sister, Sofia, from school when they heard a commotion coming from the park. Adults and children were rushing from it, scattering into the surrounding streets.

"I looked and I saw two dogs attacking a man," Noe said. "They were biting him. They bit his arms. They were biting him in the butt. He was saying, `Help!' His arms were all bloody and his shirt was stained with blood."

Another man wrapped a blanket around his hands and tried to grab the dogs. The dogs went after him, Noe said.

Across the street at the Wilmington Park school, Principal Adriana Nakano's students already had been dismissed, but some remained on campus for after-school activities.

"I had them close the gates," Nakano said. "I didn't want (the dogs) coming on campus."

Pantoja said Noe might have actually been watching the woman, not one of the male victims, under assault.

"Her son-in-law went to her rescue and ended up being mauled himself," Pantoja said.

Firefighters treated the victims, who were taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.

The victims will require stitches and skin grafts, Pantoja said.

The woman suffered severe cuts and bite wounds to her buttocks and legs. The dogs caused deep cuts to the 65-year-old man's arms, his chest and legs.

The younger man had severe tear and bite wounds to his legs and feet.

"He was on the floor trying to kick the dog off of him," Pantoja said.

Rafael Marquez Arce, 65, shows his injuries

The dogs ran off when more people moved in to shoo them away.

Police officers, firefighters and animal control officers swarmed into the neighborhood looking for them.

Animal control officers soon found them. They had run home, where the owner immediately surrendered them when he learned he would have to pay for them to be quarantined to check for rabies.

The owner, whose name was not released, was cited for a misdemeanor for allowing dangerous dogs to roam free, Pantoja said.

Animal control officials caged the dogs at the city's shelter in San Pedro. Once the 10-day quarantine is over, they will be destroyed or possibly given to a rescue group, he said.

Cisco, an intact male Pit Bull terrier and Akita mix, is one of the
two dogs involved in an attack on three men.

The white dog, Pantoja said, had blood on his face when he arrived at the shelter.

One dog had a gash on the top of its head, apparently from keys a victim slammed onto its head to break free, Pantoja said.

(Daily Breeze - April 26, 2011)

Read More:

• Victims describe harrowing Wilmington dog attack
• One of 2 dogs in Wilmington attack to be destroyed, other adopted
• Elderly Woman, Two Men Attacked by Dogs Near Wilmington Park