A man from Estate Clifton Hill on St. Croix was attacked and severely bitten Wednesday by seven dogs owned by his neighbor, and the V.I. Police Department seized and euthanized the dogs, the VIPD reported.

According to the police report, at 7 p.m. Wednesday , 911 dispatchers received a call reporting an individual in the Estate Clifton Hill area was being attacked by seven dogs. The caller said the dogs belonged to the victim’s neighbor.

At the scene the officers discovered an 84- year-old man with multiple dog bite wounds on various part of his body.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man, whose name was not released by the police, had been on his property when the pack of dogs attacked him. Close by neighbors heard the man screaming and the commotion of dogs attacking and went to his aid, using whatever means were at hand to defend the man from the attack.

The victim sustained multiple severe bite wounds to his feet, leg, hands and face and was taken to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment. He was later airlifted to the Centro Medico Hospital in Puerto Rico.

The dogs that witnesses reported had attacked the victim were voluntarily surrendered to the proper assisting agency and were removed from the area. The dogs were humanely euthanized, the police said, due to their dangerous potential and at the owner’s request.

The owner of the dogs was not arrested at the scene. However, he could face criminal charges after a thorough investigation is conducted by the VIPD animal cruelty investigator.