Desperate mom stabs and kills pet dog attacking her toddler, California family says

Jamie Morales says she had no other choice when she couldn’t stop a family dog from attacking her 1-year-old daughter.

“I stabbed him to get him off of my daughter,” Morales told KTTV. “It was either him or my daughter and I chose my daughter.”

The dog died of its wounds. Morales stabbed and injured a second family dog that also was attacking her daughter, KTLA reported. The child underwent surgery for her injuries.

The dogs, normally kept outdoors, had been allowed into the home Sunday, April 24, after receiving baths, the family told KNBC.

When the toddler began crying, the dogs attacked her, KABC reported. Her mother and grandmother rushed to try to pull the dogs away.

“He had her by the leg and I had to get his teeth off of her,” grandmother Margaret Morales told KTLA. “He bit my hand and my hand’s pretty severely cut open.”

In all, four people were injured by the dogs, including Jamie Morales, who was bitten on the face and arm, KTTV reported. She finally grabbed a knife and began stabbing the dogs, which were removed by Southeast Area Animal Control Authority officers.

“I feel really bad, but I had to,” Jamie Morales told the station. “I’m pretty sure anyone would have done it.”

The second dog will be put down, officials told KTLA. The family described the dogs as pit bulls, multiple outlets reported.

Pico Rivera is a city of 61,000 people in southeast Los Angeles County.

This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Desperate mom stabs and kills pet dog attacking her toddler, California family says."