Southern California woman rescues girl, 8, from attacking dog

A San Bernardino County woman who heroically saved a 8-year-old girl moments after she was attacked by a stray dog that had the little girl by the head is speaking out about the terrifying ordeal.

The incident occurred just after 7 a.m. in the 13800 block of Mesa Linda Avenue in Victorville on Feb. 29.

Maria Hernandez, who was able to pull the girl to safety, told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that the experience has left her shaken.

“Just thinking about it, it’s still unreal to me,” she said.

Surveillance video captured the harrowing attack just outside Hernandez’s home. In the footage, a dog can be seen jumping on the little girl who was walking with her two siblings. In seconds, the situation escalated with the dog dragging the little girl into the yard.

It was Hernandez’s daughter, who was looking out the window at the time, who alerted her to the situation, telling her the dog had the girl by the head.

“I got up and just ran down and the first thing I grabbed was my broom,” she explained.

Ordering her kids to stay inside the house, Hernandez can be seen running in the direction of the 8-year-old and the dog.

“By the time I got out, the dog had the little girl on the other side of the neighbor’s driveway,” she said. “He had her by the leg. He had ripped off all her clothes.”

Hernandez said she used the broom as a barrier between her and the dog. She pulled the little girl, who was bleeding from her head, behind her and they started walking toward her front door, but the dog wasn’t ready to give up.

“He actually followed us to my door, and I had just the broom,” she said. “When we got to the door, we could open the door. That’s when he got a little more aggressive. He tried jumping toward her.”

She managed to get the girl and herself safely inside the house, then attempted to wrangle the little girl’s siblings, but they had run off.

The girl, whose name is Genesis, was later taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. She was later released, sustaining 17 staples in her head as well as several more cuts and scrapes on her body, her mother told KTLA.

“Deputies did get a call and responded along with our city animal control,” Maria Rodriguez with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

Neighbors said they had seen the stray Belgian Malinois mix, which has since been captured and is in quarantine with animal control, the night before. Officials say the stray is not microchipped.

Thursday’s attack comes just two days after a man and his mother were attacked by a pack of pit bulls in Azusa. L.A. County Animal Care and Control officers responded to the home and impounded all four dogs.

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The two victims were expected to survive.

Earlier this month, pit bulls fatally mauled their owner in Compton.

As for Hernandez, who said she’s speaking out because she wants parents to be aware, she believes the situation could have been much worse had she not stepped in.

“He would not have let go. He was after her,” she said. “I can only imagine what she’s going through.”

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