2 Pit Bulls Suspected in Attacks Are Impounded

Los Angeles Animal Services officers on Thursday impounded two pit bulls believed to have attacked two people and another dog, authorities said.

Officers with the Animal Services’ Special Enforcement Unit said they took the dogs into custody after receiving a tip that the pit bulls’ owners lived in the 15000 block of Rinaldi Street.

The dogs were taken to the agency’s shelter in Chatsworth pending an investigation that could result in the dogs being euthanized, authorities said.

For the second time in four days, animal services officers on Thursday impounded dogs that appeared to match witnesses’ descriptions of two pit bulls that on Monday attacked Gary Guerrero as he changed a tire in the garage of his home in the 11000 block of Gaynor Avenue and bit Veronica Arce as she walked on Index Street near Gaynor Avenue, animal regulation officials said.

In the third attack, authorities said, the pit bulls attempted to pull another dog’s head through a fence.

Officers impounded two pit bulls Tuesday, but those dogs were later released to their owners when the victims did not positively identify the animals as the ones involved in the Monday attacks.

Animal services officials said they want to make sure they have the correct pit bulls this time.

“Because there was so much confusion last time, we are waiting for all of the witnesses to come to the shelter, look at the dogs and give us signed statements,” Jackie David, an agency spokeswoman, said.

On Thursday, animal services officers went to the Rinaldi Street home to tell the owners their dogs were being impounded, David said.

The impounded dogs closely matched earlier witnesses’ descriptions, she said. The male has a marbled dark brown and black coat, white chest and cut ears while the other dog is a female with a tan coat. Neither dog was licensed, authorities said.

Animal Services records show a complaint had been filed by a neighborhood resident who said he was bitten by the dogs Jan. 3 while visiting relatives who live across the street from the dogs’ owners, David said.

“We went out there, no one was home, and we left a notice for the owners,” David said. “We could not see or hear dogs.”

Officers had intended to return Jan. 12, she said, but inadequate staffing prevented them from following through. Animal Services has asked the victim to submit a signed statement to the agency.

*

Meanwhile, Animal Services officers on Thursday impounded four pit bulls after they escaped from a backyard in the 15000 block of La Mesa Street in Sylmar and attacked another dog, David said.

Those pit bulls, which previously had attacked a black Labrador, were also taken to the Chatsworth shelter, she said.