Two boys bit by dogs in Indio

Two children suffered bites from a dog Saturday night in Indio.

A Riverside County Animal Services officer responded to a property on Avenue 43 in Indio, near Burr Street and south of Interstate 10, after receiving a call from the Indio Police Department that two children had been been bitten and one of the victims’ injuries were described as serious.

The victims, an 11-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy, were waiting for a friend outside his home at about 7:30 p.m. when a dog at the property broke free from its temporary restraint. The dog, a 4-year-old pit bull, was on a leash held by the two boys’ friend’s mother and she tied the dog to something to restrain him. But he managed to break loose and attacked the two boys.

The younger boy’s injuries were more severe. He suffered a bite wound to the back of his head and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room of a nearby hospital. The older boy suffered bites to his stomach and one of his hands. His wounds were described as small punctures.

The owner of the dog surrendered him to Riverside County Animal Services for humane euthanasia. In April, the same dog, Cucuy, bit the owner’s son in the head. Riverside County Animal Services placed the dog on a potentially dangerous dog restraining order after that incident.