The month began badly for a family from California. On February 1 a woman and her three children were walking along a set of train tracks in San Bernardino County, about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, when a pack of dogs escaped from their enclosure and tore into the children.
The oldest girl, who is eight, suffered leg and arm injuries. Her seven-year-old brother required 237 staples to close a wound in his leg, according to authorities.
However, it was the youngest child who suffered the most vicious attack—a five-year-old girl who was holding her mother's hand as the family strolled alongside the tracks. One of the dogs, identified by Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker as a mastiff, lunged at the girl and pulled her away from her mother, tossing the child around "like a rag doll," the officer said.
According to an Associated Press report, the girl suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs and numerous bites. She remained hospitalized in critical condition and was breathing with the help of a ventilator.
It is not known what caused the dogs to attack. When police later found the dogs near their home, one of the dogs attacked an investigating officer before the officer shot it. The remaining four dogs—the mastiff that attacked the little girl as well as three others that appeared to be pit bull mixes—were removed to animal shelters and quarantined, pending a determination for the presence of rabies.
The owners of the dogs reportedly cooperated with police. While they could be cited for failing to properly confine their pets, they were not immediately ticketed.
As of Tuesday, the five-year-old girl and her older brother remained in the hospital. The names of the victims were not released.