Mother Saves 1-Year-Old Child By Fatally Stabbing Family Dog During Vicious Attack

A mother in California fatally stabbed one of her dogs after the canine attacked her 1-year-old child.

The family's two pit bulls reportedly attacked the toddler and three other people in the house. Jamie Morales of Pico Rivera jumped in to save her daughter when she saw the child was being mauled by one of the dogs Sunday, local media KTLA reported.

During the incident, the 3-year-old dog pounced on the toddler – identified by her family as Ruby Cervantes – before the second pit bull came in and attacked the child.

The family members, who were inside the house at the time, rushed to try to pull the dogs off Cervantes.

"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. Finally, my daughter got up...and that's when I (saw) my granddaughter," Cervantes' grandmother, Margaret Morales, told ABC 7. "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."

"He had her by the leg and I had to get his teeth off of her," Margaret told KTLA, adding, "He bit my hand and my hand's pretty severely cut open."

Jamie, who suffered facial injuries during the attack, grabbed a knife and stabbed one of the dogs, following which it died.

"I had to stab the dog … I had to," she told KTLA. "It was either him or my daughter and I chose my daughter. ... I thought my daughter was going to die."

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was called to the scene, following which first responders arrived and said the pit bulls attacked the toddler after she began to cry.

Cervantes suffered dog bites to her face and her body, local media reports said. She received treatment at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, where she underwent multiple surgeries for a broken hip. Her aunt was also injured in the attack, KTLA reported.

"Like many others this morning I was horrified and dismayed at the news of the unprovoked attack on a one year child by a family's pit bulls," Pico Rivera Mayor Monica Sanchez said in a statement, according to KTLA. "I'd like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and best wishes for a swift recovery for the child and injured members of the family."

The dog that survived will be taken to animal control and will be euthanized, NBC Los Angeles reported.