Having dogs around little ones can be so complicated for families. On the one hand, you love your fur baby. On the other, you're scared of what they could do to your child, no matter how mildly behaved they may seem.
One California mom saw the horror of these interactions going wrong and had to make a heartbreaking decision. The Pico Rivera, California, woman was in her home when she heard her 1-year-old daughter, Ruby Ann Cervantes, crying. As she made her way to her daughter, she heard Ruby start to scream.
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The woman found that her two pit bulls, whom she had raised since they were puppies and were now 3½ years old, were attacking her toddler relentlessly. The mom and her family sprung into action.
Margaret Ann Morales, the little girl's grandmother, came to the kitchen after hearing the commotion. There she found her daughter, joined by her two siblings, struggling with the dogs, one of which still had hold of the toddler's leg.
"I walked into the kitchen and that's when I (saw) … my two daughters and my son on the floor trying to get the dogs off," she told ABC 7 Los Angeles.
"Finally my daughter got up … and that's when I (saw) my granddaughter," she continued.
"I (saw) the dog was latched on her left leg. That's when I had to actually get my hand into his jaws and open them up and that's when he released her."
Though the little girl was safe at that point, the dog continued to attack other members of the family. Margaret's daughter, the toddler's mother, then grabbed a knife and stabbed both dogs. One succumbed to his injuries, while the other was taken by animal control and will be euthanized.
"I came to get him off my daughter," Margaret's daughter told NBC4 Los Angeles.
"It was either him or my daughter, so I chose my daughter. I did whatever I had to do to protect my daughter, because he wouldn't let go of my daughter, so I had to. I feel really bad, but I had to."
The incident lasted only three or four minutes, but it has deeply shaken the family. The dogs were outdoor dogs who had been inside because they'd just been bathed. The two dogs had never behaved aggressively toward the little girl before the tragic incident.
