Three dogs that fatally mauled their owner in a San Diego park are euthanized

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Humane Society said it has euthanized three dogs that fatally mauled their owner last week at a neighborhood park while horrified onlookers tried to help him.

A second person was hospitalized with bite injuries following the attack Friday afternoon at the children’s playground area of Mesa Viking Neighborhood Park in the Mira Mesa area, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The owner of the three XL bully dogs died at a hospital. He has not been publicly identified.

One of the dogs was immediately secured in a vehicle and officers managed to corral the other two after they ran from the scene. The Humane Society said Sunday that all three dogs were destroyed after a second owner agreed to the humane euthanasia.

FOX 5 San Diego reported that other people at the park may have used a shovel and golf club to try to intervene before police officers arrived and used a stun gun on the dogs to break up the attack.

“Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victim’s loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson said in a statement.

XL bullies are not officially recognized as their own breed, but are a larger version of the Standard American Bully, according to the National Kennel Club.