A woman suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to a hospital when she was attacked and mauled by three dogs in the unincorporated county area of Anza Saturday.
The attack was reported just after 9:40 a.m. in the 55000 block of Mitchell Road, the Riverside County Fire Department said.
The woman was on her own property hanging laundry when the three dogs — which did not belong to her — attacked her.
A responding officer for the Riverside County Department of Animal Services described the victim’s injuries as “severe,” according John Welsh, a spokesman for the department.
“All three [dogs] were pit bulls or pit bull mixes and there is a known owner,” Welsh said.
After the attack, the owner of the dogs was arrested by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies, and was found to have had an outstanding felony warrant, Welsh said,
The dogs involved in the attack were impounded at the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus and animal services was seeking a permit to euthanize them, he said.
The name or age of the victim was not disclosed, and her condition was unknown.
“This is another preventable attack on an innocent person and one we find very upsetting,” animal services Director Robert Miller said. “Initial reports indicate the attack was so severe that she remains hospitalized. We are very concerned for this woman. Our hearts go out to her and her family.”
Animal control officers and deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department were investigating the incident.