Mother Tried to Protect Her 3-Year-Old With Her Body as 3 Pit Bulls Mauled Them

Stock image of a pit bull. (Cseszka/Pixabay)

A mother tried to protect her 3-year-old with her body as three pit bulls mauled them in a backyard in Vallejo, California, on April 5.

The 47-year-old and the toddler sustained serious injuries and had to be hospitalized, according to a press release by the Vallejo Police.

The child suffered multiple bites to his face, chest, and arms and legs while the mother sustained bites to her head and arms, reported KGO.

“That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Doris Hutcherson, a neighbor told KGO.

Hutcherson and her husband, Steve were the first to hear the victims cries and rushed out to see what was happening.

“[The dogs] were trying to pull the baby away from her,” Hutcherson said. “And it seemed like she was trying to protect her baby with her body.”

While Steve ran to help the victims by distracting dogs by hitting a garbage can with a golf club, Hutcherson called 911.

Steve said the mother’s ear was partially missing. “I kept beating on a trash can so I could distract their attention from the other two,” he said.

The police said that at about 5:32 p.m. they responded to a report of a mother and child being attacked by their dogs in a backyard in the 500 block of Locust Drive.

Hutcherson described that by the time police arrived, the dogs had dragged the victims away—to the other side of the fence.

Upon arrival the police found them to be “actively attacked by three dogs.” Officers separated the victims from the dogs using pepper spray and physical force.

“The dogs have since been identified as pit bull terriers each weighing approximately 40 to 50 pounds,” the release said.

The mother and the toddler were immediately treated at the Vallejo Fire and Medic Ambulance personnel on the scene and were later transported to local trauma centers.

Officers controlled the three dogs before they were handed over to the Solano County Animal Control, said the release.

There will be no criminal charges in the case and the animal control officials will determine if the pit bulls need to be euthanized, according to the People.

The Hutchersons are happy that the mother and the toddler survived but said they are still haunted by what they saw that day.

“You just see someone fighting for their lives, you know, it’s pretty rough,” Steve said.

People commented on the Vallejo Police Department’s Facebook post with shock and concern. “The dog is not born to hate it’s taught that ... it’s sad because they are good pets as long as they’re raised right. I can turn a poodle into an angry dog,” said a user, Nancy Day.

“Hearing too many stories of young children being attacked and disfigured by these dogs. Sad, hope the little boy will be OK,” said another user, Jett Thorson.