PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. -- A UPS driver in the Puyallup area managed to call 911 as he was being mauled by four pit bulls Wednesday.
The dogs attacked him as he tried to make a delivery in the 15500 block of 116th St. E., according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
First responders say they found the driver cornered up against a trailer inside a locked gate. His boots had been torn off, and he was using his belt to defend himself.
After a relative of the dogs' owner refused to open the gate, firefighters rammed through the barrier and pulled the UPS driver into their vehicle, according to Orting Valley Fire and Rescue.
Investigators say the driver suffered multiple bite wounds and transported to an area hospital. He's expected to recover.
"We get (called) to a lot of dog bites, but the severity of this? That's not as common," Pierce County Animal Control Public Information Officer Brian Boman said.
Boman said the dogs are being held at the Humane Society in Tacoma pending the investigation.
In a worse case scenario, the dogs would be deemed dangerous, and the owner would be required to obtain a $500 permit for each dog every year as well as insurance and a plan for confining the animals.
If the owner declines to do that, the dogs would likely be euthanized.
"They wouldn't be adopted out," Boman said.
He added that every dog attack case is different.
"There's still a lot of information that we're gathering and details that we need to clarify."
