Welfare Investigator Attacked by Pit Bull

Just 10 days after a pit bull fatally mauled a toddler in South Los Angeles, a dog of the same breed attacked an investigator for the Orange County district attorney’s office on Wednesday, seriously injuring his hand, police said.

Armando Acedo, an investigator for the county’s welfare fraud unit, had just entered the front yard of a Fullerton home when three dogs--two of them pit bulls--suddenly appeared, Fullerton Police Sgt. Kevin Hamilton said.

At least one of the dogs then attacked Acedo, prompting a fierce struggle, Hamilton said. At one point, he said, Acedo fired his gun in the air in an apparent attempt to frighten the dog away.

Acedo managed to back out of the yard, Hamilton said, and a woman who lived at the home on East Truslow Avenue gave him a towel to wrap his wound.

Although the attack lasted only a few moments, Hamilton said, it resulted in severe wounds to Acedo’s left index finger and thumb. “It’s the most serious dog bite I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Both of the year-old pit bulls involved in Wednesday’s attack have been quarantined by the Orange County Animal Control Unit, Hamilton said. The dogs were unlicensed and had not been vaccinated, he said.

The third dog at the home was a puppy of unknown breed, he said.