WESTMINSTER : 2 Dogs Quarantined in Mauling of Boy, 6

Two Rottweilers that mauled a 6-year-old boy as he played in the street are being quarantined by their owners while animal control officers determine whether the dogs should be declared vicious, police said.

Victim Jeffrey Kerley is recovering from numerous bite wounds to his arms, legs, abdomen, back and buttocks, said his sister, Michelle Barker, 15.

“He can’t walk yet, but he’s doing much better,” she said. “He got his bandages taken off and there is no infection, but his leg looks gross. Everywhere you look, there are black stitches. The doctors said they lost count of them.”

Jeffrey and a kindergarten classmate were playing in front of the dog owners’ home in the 7000 block of 19th Street when the two Rottweilers darted from behind a six-foot wooden fence and began attacking the boy, police said.

Police would not give further details on how the dogs escaped.

Since the Friday afternoon attack, animal control officers have been studying the behavior of the 100-pound dogs and interviewing neighbors to see whether the animals should be declared vicious, Police Sgt. Don Kerr said.

“We are determining whether there were any circumstances that may have provoked the attack,” Kerr said. “But it’s hard to imagine what would provoke two Rottweilers to attack a 6-year-old child.”

The owners of the dogs, who declined to comment on the incident, voluntarily placed their pets under quarantine. Animal control officers are legally required to quarantine all animals involved in bite incidents, and may remove the animal from an owner if he does not comply, Kerr said. If the Rottweilers are declared vicious, he said, the owners may be required to keep the dogs secured in a separate enclosure and post warning signs.

Neighbor Denise Covy said that about six months ago, the owners of the dogs acquired a female Rottweiler as a companion for a male Rottweiler that they had owned for three years.

“I know the female dog is more aggressive,” Covy said, noting that it is also pregnant. “My sons used to play with the male dog when he was a pup. We never realized something like this could happen.”

Covy said many residents on the street now fear for the safety of their small children because there are other large, potentially vicious dogs in the area.

Michelle Barker said she and Jeffrey have both had nightmares about the incident. The teen-ager and a neighbor rescued the boy from the dogs’ grip by hitting the animals with a broom handle.

“He dreams about being attacked and I just see it over and over again,” Michelle said. “We’re even scared of our own dog”--a 15-year-old German shepherd.