‘Vicious’ attack by 9 dogs in Butte County injured 2 people while owner was in court, sheriff says

Two people were victims of a “vicious” attack by nine dogs in Butte County last week while the owner was in court for issues stemming from the 13 dogs at his residence, sheriff’s officials said in a news release.

Just before 9 a.m. last Thursday, deputies responded to reports from a residence in the Magalia area that a pack of dogs had attacked a neighbor, and that there may have been as many as three victims, Butte County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Upon arrival, deputies found a woman who had sustained serious injuries from multiple dog bites, the release said. She was taken to a local hospital. Deputies later learned a second victim had already been taken to the hospital and needed surgery for “several major injuries and numerous minor injuries resulting from dog bites,” according to the release.

The dogs’ owner, 64-year-old Peter Ricca of Magalia, was in court with Butte County animal control officers at the time of the attack, sheriff’s officials said, for matters relating to earlier complaints about his dogs.

Ricca and the officers left court to address the attack, and the officers helped seize and quarantine the nine dogs involved in the attack. Four additional dogs at the residence were quarantined on-scene under Ricca’s care.

The investigation is ongoing by the Sheriff’s Office and Butte County Animal Control, neither of which had provided updates on the incident as of Monday morning.

The status of the two badly injured victims was also unknown as of Monday.