3 dogs suspected in attack of 7-year-old boy seized

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Mount Vernon police have seized three dogs suspected of attacking a 7-year-old boy last week.

reports the dogs were located Wednesday at a residence in Sedro-Woolley and placed under quarantine.

First-grader Reilly Gerber has been hospitalized with extensive wounds to his head and face since the mauling at a a home where friends of the boy's mother were watching him.

The boy's father, Carlos Chavez Jr., says his son was playing with the couple's three dogs, which he believes are pit bulls or a pit bull mix, when they attacked.

Reilly's face was full scratches and cuts, requiring more than 70 stitches and eight staples to the back of his head.

Police contacted a woman who was the apparent owner of the suspected pit bull terriers, but the woman claimed she didn't know where the animals were, and a search of the house did not locate the animals.

Mount Vernon's animal control officer will review the case to determine if the dogs should be declared dangerous.

"I just want those dogs to be put down, put away before they can actually finish what they started with my son," said Chavez Jr.

Investigators are working to determine whether charges against the dogs' apparent owner should be pursued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Cox Media Group