After their family dogs attacked her baby daughter, a California mom was forced to fatally stab one of the pit bulls.

Jamie Morales of Pico Rivera at Los Angeles county stabbed the pit bulls when they mauled her one-year-old daughter, Ruby Cervantes, on Sunday night. 

People reported that a three-year-old dog tackled the child during the incident, and the second pit bull came in and also attacked the baby.

The whole family rushed to pull the dogs off the little girl. Ruby's grandmother, Margaret Morales, told ABC 7 that she saw her two daughters and son on the floor trying to get the dogs off her granddaughter.

She noted that she saw one of the dogs latched on her left leg, and that was when she had to get her hand into the dog's jaws and open them up, and that's when the dog released the baby.

Margaret said the dog bit her granddaughter on the leg and the dog also bit her hand, and it was severely cut open. Jamie then grabbed a knife and stabbed the dogs, and one of them died. The California mom suffered facial injuries during the attack. 

Jamie told KTLA that after she chose her daughter over the dog, she had to stab the pit bull because, if not, her daughter would die.

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California Mom Stabbed Family Dogs

The baby, Jamie Morales, Margaret Morales, and another family member were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries, according to CBS8.

Margaret later told reporters outside their home that her granddaughter was in surgery. Ruby reportedly has suffered dog bites to her face and her body. She received treatment at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.

Ruby's aunt was also reported to have been injured in the attack. She is expected to survive her injuries. In a statement, Pico Rivera Mayor Monica Sanchez said she was horrified by the news of the attack.

She then asked the city manager to offer aid to the family, which included crisis counselors. Sanchez extended her deepest condolences to the family and best wishes for a swift recovery for the child and injured family members.

The family dogs were usually kept outdoors. However, Sacramento Bee reported that they were allowed inside on Sunday after receiving their baths. 

Officials said the second dog would be taken to animal control and be euthanized. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrived at the scene and said the pit bulls mauled the baby after she started crying.

Margaret had owned the dogs since they were puppies. The dogs came from the same litter. The family noted that the pit bulls had never been aggressive before Sunday's incident.

Family Dogs Aggression

According to VCA Animal Hospitals, there are several reasons why a dog might show aggression toward family members. It said the most common causes are conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression, status-related aggression, and redirected aggression.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that 800,000 people seek medical attention for dog bites yearly, half of the number are children.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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