SEATTLE, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The fate of two bull mastiffs in Seattle that mauled a child and attacked a woman and her dog will be determined soon, an animal shelter official said.
The dogs' owner, a 31-year-old Seattle man, turned them over to the Seattle Animal Shelter after they got loose Monday and attacked a woman and her dog, an Australian Shepherd mix, The Seattle Times reported Thursday.
The mastiffs were two of three dogs that mauled a 10-year-old boy Dec. 5 when he climbed over a backyard fence to retrieve a ball. The boy, who sustained large gashes to his throat and head and possibly a broken arm, was taken to the hospital, the Times said.
The boy's mother said her son is recovering.
The owner subsequently gave away one of the three dogs, the Times reported.
In Monday's incident, the two remaining mastiffs pinned down the woman's dog and bit it, but it was not injured and was able to run away. The mastiffs then turned on the woman, but the man's parents were able to get them back into the yard, and the woman was unharmed, the Times reported.
Animal control officers Tuesday were told of the incident and impounded the mastiffs.
Don Jordan, director of the Seattle Animal Shelter, said the mastiffs' owner, who has been cooperative since the Dec. 5 incident, "decided to voluntarily surrender the dogs to the city".
Jordan said the mastiffs' fate will be determined in the next week or 10 days. UPI
