Dog attack sends 3 children to hospital

CALIFORNIA -- Three children were hospitalized after a family friend’s dog attacked them Saturday, July 11 in Temecula, Riverside County sheriff’s deputies said.

All three children – ages 4, 14, and 15 – were taken to a local hospital with injuries to their arms. One later was flown to a hospital in San Diego for further treatment. The names and possible relationship of the children were not disclosed.

The extent of their injuries and their conditions were not available.

The dog – an American Staffordshire terrier, a breed of pit bull – was turned over to animal control officers.

Animal control officer Monique Middleton said Monday the dog did not live in the home where the attack happened, but had been brought up from San Diego County.

The dog's owner has relinquished control of the dog since the attack, Middleton said.

She said the dog will be held at Animal Friends of the Valleys for a ten-day quarantine period as an investigation takes place.

During this time the animal services organization will reach out to San Diego County Animal Services to see if the dog had any prior history of aggressive behavior.

However, the quarantine and bulk of the investigation will be handled by Animal Friends of the Valleys, Middleton said.

The children were attacked just before 5 p.m. Saturday in the 40000 block of Chantemar Way in Temecula, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department news release.

“Witnesses stated the dog ... mistook children playing as aggressive actions,” the release said.

It attacked one of them, and when two other children tried to help, the dog attacked them as well, the release said.

When deputies arrived, they confined the dog to a bathroom and called animal control.

Chantemar Way resident Rachel Smith, 39, said she was getting ready to leave for the day when the 15-year-old girl who was bitten ran up to her to tell her about the dog attack.

The girl was “frantic,” Smith said, and had sustained bites on her arms. She was having difficulty explaining what had happened, Smith said.

(Press enterprise - July 13, 2015)