Three Dogs Badly Injure Woman in Malibu Hills

A group of salesmen taking a scenic canyon drive rescued a woman being attacked by three Rottweilers in the hills above Malibu Thursday, officials said.

The 44-year-old Westlake Village woman suffered multiple puncture wounds from her head to her feet and was taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks for treatment, said sheriff’s Sgt. Cally Barrier.

A short time later, the dogs’ 53-year-old owner was admitted to the same hospital complaining of chest pains. Both women were expected to be released late Thursday.

Authorities said the attack took place at 2:26 p.m. in the 1500 block of Decker Canyon Road as the victim was talking to the dogs’ owner about property in the area.

Barrier said that as the owner was trying to call off her dogs, four salesmen driving by noticed the commotion.

“We thought they were tearing apart a carcass,” said Tate Coghlin of Georgia. “We heard the lady screaming, stopped the truck immediately and made a lot of noise.”

After chasing off the dogs, the men drove the injured woman to a nearby fire station in their vehicle.

Coghlin said he and his colleagues had decided to take a scenic shortcut through the Santa Monica Mountains on their way to a meeting in Long Beach.

Hospital spokeswoman Kris Carraway-Bowman said the victim was in fair condition, and the other woman was being treated for anxiety. Authorities would not identify either woman.

The dogs were taken to a nearby animal shelter, Barrier said. She said it was unlikely the dogs would be destroyed because they were defending their property and owner.