Dogs Attack 2 Secaucus Hotel Guests, Sending Both To Hospital: Police

SECAUCUS, NJ — Three dogs attacked two people staying at a Secaucus hotel on Monday, police said. At least one of the dogs was involved in an attack days later in Hoboken, officials said.

On Monday, according to Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller, three dogs at the Red Roof Inn "pretty viciously" attacked a man and woman staying there, sending both to Hackensack Medical Center.

On Wednesday afternoon, according to Hoboken police, three dogs belonging to the same owner got out of a vehicle near the Hoboken ShopRite and attacked two people who were walking eight other dogs. Both dog walkers suffered sprained wrists trying to control the situation, and a pet bernedoodle was injured, said police and the bernedoodle's owner.

According to Miller, the Monday night attack occurred in the hotel parking lot just before 8:30 p.m.

The dogs got out of the open hotel room and attacked a man and woman from New York State, he said.

Both victims are expected to survive, he said, but the woman was still in the hospital as of Thursday, and had undergone leg surgery.

Miller said that during the administration of Gov. Chris Christie, the governor mandated that each police department have an animal control officer on staff to handle such incidents.

Their officer went to court on Tuesday and received an order to seize the three dogs involved in that attack, whose owner lives in Hoboken, Miller said.

Secaucus officers were preparing to seize the dogs in Hoboken on Wednesday when they found out that the same owner was involved in another attack, he said.

He said the dogs were cane corsos in both incidents, but it hasn't been determined that all of the three dogs in the Secaucus attack were the ones involved in the Hoboken incident. He said detectives verified that at least one of the dogs was involved in both attacks. Police are still investigating.

The dog owner has at least six cane corsos, Miller said.

Miller said that so far, the owner has surrendered three of his dogs to Jersey City's humane society, and surrendered three others to Secaucus police, who currently have them in custody.

"It appeared the owner of the dog is a breeder," Miller said. "He's a Hoboken resident. He left the door open to the hotel room, not necessarily on purpose, but three of the dogs got out. They attacked, pretty viciously, a man and woman in the parking lot. They suffered severe, but not life threatening, injuries to their face and body parts."

Miller did not want to comment yet on why the man was at the Red Roof Inn.

"By the time my officers got there, the dogs were corralled in a vehicle," Miller said.

He said charges against the owner are pending.

"With court proceedings, euthanization [of the dogs] is likely to happen, but not definite yet," he said.

He said his department will charge the owner with town ordinance violations, and the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the matter to see if criminal charges are appropriate.

Miller said he didn't know of other recent attacks by the dogs in Secaucus.

READ MORE: Dogs Attack Two Dog Walkers, Injure Pet Bernedoodle In Hoboken