Mum stabs pet dog to death after pit bulls attack daughter
A one-year-old girl and three others have been injured in a savage attack involving two dogs, forcing the toddler’s mum to stab one of her family’s pet pit bulls to death.
Ruby Ann Cervantes was mauled by her grandmother’s three-year-old dogs, who are from the same litter, at a Southern California home late on Saturday night, the family has told local TV stations.
Although they are normally outdoor dogs, they were allowed into the home after taking a bath, NBC4 reports.
Just moments later, Ruby began to cry and one of the dogs pounced on her in the kitchen.
The toddler’s mum Jaime Morales, grandmother Margaret Morales and aunt jumped into action after seeing the pet latch onto Ruby’s leg.
The second dog ran in seconds later and attacked Ruby as family members struggled to break her free, KTLA reports.
“He had her by the leg and I had to get his teeth off of her,” Margaret Morales told the publication.
“He bit my hand and my hand’s pretty severely cut open.”
Mum forced to stab dog during attack
Unable to ease their grip after three to four minutes, Ruby’s mum said she was forced to stab one of the dogs to save her daughter’s life.
“It was either him or my daughter, so I chose my daughter,” she told NBC4.
“I did whatever I had to do to protect my daughter, because he wouldn't let go of my daughter, so I had to.”
The dog died after being stabbed and the other was taken by animal control and will be euthanised, the family said.
'I had to kill him'
Jaime Morales was bitten on the face during the attack and her mum and sister were both injured.
“I felt helpless. Me being helpless, and me not knowing what to do. The only thought in my mind was I had to kill him, I had to," she told CBS LA News.
Ruby was rushed to hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries for a broken hip, NBC4 reports.
The family said they fear Ruby had been holding a dog toy at the time of the attack and that the pets had never been violent previously.
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