Newser

(NEWSER) – A couple is in the hospital after going to battle with their new dog, Scarface.

It all started Friday afternoon when Brenda Guerrero went outside her family's home in Tampa to put a sweater on her pit bull mix; the Tampa Patch describes it as a cold day where temps were set to drop into the upper 30s. Scarface, whom neighbors tell WFTS had only been adopted a month earlier, attacked the 52-year-old, at which point her husband, Ismael, ran out to try to help.

Their son Antoine Harris, 22, next jumped in with a knife and stabbed the dog in the head and neck before all three fled the backyard and into the house and called police.

Local police and animal control showed up and shot Scarface with a tranquilizer gun, police said in an email to media, but the dog managed to get into the house, where two children were located. Authorities used a bean bag gun and a taser before animal control was finally able to subdue and capture Scarface with a "catch" pole, reports WFLA.

Brenda and Ismael were both taken to the hospital; while Brenda's injuries are serious, both are expected to recover. It remains unclear whether Scarface, who was taken by animal control, will be euthanized, reports WFTS.

According to DogsBite.org's tracking, there were 28 dog-bite fatalities in 2016, with pit bulls or pit-bull mixes implicated in 75% of those deaths. (See why pit bulls are now banned in this big city.)

This story originally appeared on Newser:

Pit Bull Attacks Owner After She Tried to Put a Sweater on Him

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