Mother stabs to death pit bull that mauled her 1-year-old daughter

A dog attack in Pico Rivera late Sunday night left a mother and her 1-year-old daughter injured, and the woman stabbed to death one of the animals to save her child.

Deputies received a call at 10:18 p.m. reporting a dog bite in the 9600 block of Homebrook Street, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesperson Miguel Meza.

Authorities said at least one of the dogs — described as pit bulls — bit the toddler when she started crying. Other family members tried to pull the dogs off, the child’s grandmother Margaret Ann Morales told ABC-TV.

“I walked into the kitchen, and that’s when I saw my two daughters and my son on the floor trying to get the dogs off,” she told the station.

The girl’s mother, Jamie Morales, told KTLA-TV that the dog had her daughter by the leg. Morales said her face was bitten and her hands cut open as she tried to free her daughter.

“I had to stab the dog. ... I had to,” Morales told the station. “It was either him or my daughter, and I chose my daughter.”

Both pit bulls were stabbed during the attack, and one of them died at the scene, authorities said.

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The Southeast Area Animal Control Authority also responded to the scene and took the animals into custody, sheriff’s officials said. Representatives from the agency were not available Monday morning for comment.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated there were 425 deaths resulting from canine attacks between 2010 and 2020.

Research by the American Veterinary Medical Assn. has indicated that risks of dog aggression may be attributed to ownership and supervision factors rather than the breed itself.

And a detailed new study of dog behavior and genetics suggests that breed is actually of little value in anticipating the behavior or demeanor of any individual animal.

Authorities said that the mother and her daughter were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center after the attack. The girl is undergoing surgery for injuries to her arm and upper shoulder, officials said.