Student Attacked by Pack of Stray Dogs

A 12-year-old Portola Middle School student was treated for dog bites Wednesday after she was attacked by a pack of stray dogs while walking home from class, authorities said.

The attack--by four German shepherds and a pit bull--took place around 3 p.m. in the 18700 block of Linnet Street near Mecca Avenue, said Portola Principal Stephen Lawler.

The sixth-grade girl was surrounded by the aggressive canines and bitten twice in the upper thigh, said Los Angeles School District Police Sgt. Robert Denardo.

The school staff declined assistance by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics, said fire spokesman Brian Humphrey. According to school police, after being treated by the school nurse, the victim was taken by a parent to Tarzana Regional Medical Center.

The school principal said the attack might have been worse had it not been for a parent who saw the attack and ran over to chase the dogs away.

“She stepped up to the plate,” Lawler said of the parent. “She risked her own safety to save the little girl.”

Police and Animal Control officers shot and killed one of the dogs, Denardo said. The other animals were held in the yard of a nearby residence before they were taken away by Animal Control officers.