Dogs Attack Toddler, Mother In La Mesa

LA MESA, CA – A woman and her child were attacked by two dogs while walking in La Mesa Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 29-year-old woman was walking on a sidewalk on Waite Drive with her 2-year-old son in a stroller and 8-year-old daughter around 8:15 a.m. when two Rottweilers escaped from their backyard kennels, jumped over a fence and ran toward the family, La Mesa police Lt. Brian Stoney said. The dogs immediately attacked the toddler.

The mother tried to pull the stroller and her son away from the dogs, but one of the dogs jumped on her, knocked her to the ground and began to bite her, Stoney said, while the other dog continued to attack her child.

Several residents saw the attack and came outside to help the family, Stoney said. The dogs' owners pulled the Rottweilers away from the woman and her son and returned them to the backyard.

The mother and child suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital, Stoney said.

The woman was bitten on her arm, while her son was bitten on his head, face and arm, Stoney said. He was expected to undergo surgery for his arm injury. The woman's daughter was not injured.

Both dogs were seized by La Mesa Animal Control and taken to the El Cajon animal shelter to be quarantined.

The incident remains under investigation by police and animal control.

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