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Phoenix Fire: 2 people hospitalized after dog attack in northwest Phoenix

Posted at 4:46 PM, Aug 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-28 13:15:52-04

Two people are hospitalized after five dogs attacked two people in northwest Phoenix Saturday afternoon.

Authorities were called to the area of 35th Avenue and Beardsley Road around 4:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a dog attack.

According to a Phoenix Fire spokesperson, a 40-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man were taken to a local trauma center after being bitten.

The man is the owner of the dogs and neighbors tell ABC15 that the woman was visiting the house and does not live there.

"Veteran firefighters tell me that there were chunks of skin, chunks of flesh being chewed out of them," Phoenix Fire captain Rob McDade said.

During the incident, neighbors rushed outside to help the victims and at least one neighbor shot at the dogs with a shotgun, officials said. 

Neighbor Nicholas Reed was among the people who tried to help the pair.

"I kept asking him, what should I do — should I shoot them?" Reed explained. "He kept saying 'Yes, shoot them, shoot them, shoot them!'"

Reed then shot one of the dogs. 

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control said the dog that was shot died at the scene. 

The remaining four dogs are at the shelter and are under a bite quarantine until further notice, according to a spokesperson from MCACC. 

"I wasn't sure if I was going to get in trouble with the police or not," Reed said. "I'm a single father of two so I didn't want to cause any problems for me or my family or my kids."

The dogs were mixed breeds, Phoenix police said. 

The two people are expected to survive their injuries. 

Police said Monday that no charges have been filed in the incident. 

Stay with ABC15 News, ABC15 Mobile and abc15.com for the latest information on this developing situation.