Police say the attack happened around 8 p.m. Sunday when the girl and her mom were visiting someone at a Santa Monica triplex on the 1800 block of 21st Street. According to police, the dogs pounced when the girl stepped out of the apartment.
"She sustained some puncture wounds and bite wounds to her left shoulder, her left calf, buttocks and left foot," said Sgt. Jay Moroso with the Santa Monica Police Department.
Fortunately, the little girl is now back home, recovering from the bite wounds. Police say those wounds, while not life-threatening, are still very painful.
"They appear to be not just puncture wounds, but some flesh was torn in the bites there. So she did take some considerable amount of stitches as a result of the injury," said Moroso.
Moroso says animal control officers removed the three dogs from the property Monday morning. The dog attack happened inside the property's gated yard. The preliminary investigation shows no evidence of criminal conduct by the dog owners.
Witness Rosalind Spann is an emergency room nurse assistant. When she heard the girl's screams, she dialed 911 and rushed out to help.
"I heard the little girl screaming, 'Mommy, mommy!'" said Spann. "But then the screams changed to sound like terror."
Eva Escobar lives next door to the pit bulls. She tells us she has been worried about the dogs for years.
"The dogs are dangerous," she said. "We're not surprised. We're always aware when we walk. But it's really unsafe."
We wanted to talk with the people who live in the building where the dog attack happened, but they refused to answer our questions.
