By John Asbury
The Press Enterprise
JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. — Two pit bulls mauled an 84-year-old Jurupa Valley woman as she was getting her mail Thursday morning, Jan. 17.
“This was a really horrific attack,” Riverside County Animal Services spokesman John Welsh said. “This woman was almost left for dead.”
The two medium-sized dogs, one male and one female, were impounded by animal control and euthanized. Their owner was cited but isn’t expected to face criminal charges, Welsh said.
The woman, whose name wasn’t released, was taken to the hospital with severe injuries, Welsh said. Her condition was not available late Thursday.
The woman had left her home on 54th Street just before 11 a.m. to get her mail at the corner of Beach Street, Welsh said.
The two dogs escaped a gated yard across the street and attacked her as she fell to the ground, Welsh said in a phone interview. A neighbor rushed to the woman and scared the dogs off.
Animal control, sheriff’s deputies and paramedics arrived and treated the woman before the ambulance took her to the hospital.
The owner of the dogs, Juan Ortiz, 34, said he wasn’t home at the time of the attack. Authorities told him what happened when he returned.
Ortiz said the dogs must have gotten out despite the fact that his gate was closed and his yard was secure.
“They’re house dogs. I’ve always tried to speak up for pit bills not doing this kind of stuff. My dogs grew up playing with my kids,” Ortiz said. “But they did what they did. I value human life more than my dogs’ life so I’m not going to justify what they did.”
The dogs were unlicensed and not vaccinated against rabies, Welsh said. That counters a claim from Ortiz that both dogs were vaccinated. Welsh said the dogs were not tested for the disease.
Although sheriff’s deputies questioned Ortiz, Welsh said he did not anticipate criminal charges to be filed because there was no intent for the dogs to attack the woman. Ortiz was cited for licensing violations and allowing his dogs to get loose.
“This was somebody’s grandmother and mother. She was just checking the mail,” Welsh said. “This is one reason why large dogs need to have secure fencing - to prevent these types of attacks.”
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