2 dogs are seized after they maul a woman and her son in La Mesa

Two dogs were seized and put under quarantine in La Mesa early Thursday after they escaped from a backyard kennel, jumped over a fence and attacked a mother pushing a 2-year-old boy in a stroller.

The attack by the two Rottweilers occurred about 8:15 a.m. as the woman was walking with two children on Waite Drive near 69th Street, police said.

After the dogs got free of their yard, they crossed the street and immediately attacked the boy. The woman was trying to pull the stroller away when one of the dogs jumped on her, knocked her to the ground and began to bite her. The other dog continued to attack her son.

Neighbors and the owner of the dogs heard the commotion and rushed to the family’s aid. The dogs’ owner managed to pull the animals away and put them in his backyard, said Police Lt. Brian Stoney.

Both victims were taken to a hospital by paramedics with injuries considered serious but not life-threatening.

The woman suffered several puncture wounds on her arm, while the 2-year-old suffered bite wounds to his head, face and arm; he will undergo surgery on his arm, police said. The woman’s 8-year-old daughter was not injured.

Both dogs were seized and taken to the El Cajon animal shelter to be quarantined, police said.

Stoney said the incident will be investigated by La Mesa police and the city’s animal control department.

Kucher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com | Twitter: @karenkucher