A 62-year-old man suffered severe injuries to his head, face, arms and legs after several dogs attacked him while he was walking in the small farming town of Le Grand on Wednesday morning. A Merced County Sheriff's deputy fired three rounds from a handgun and struck two of the dogs after the animals charged at responding officers, and the man was flown to a local hospital for treatment.
According to GV Wire, the victim was walking on the 4300 block of Cook Street while the dog owner was attempting to put the animals away, but the dogs escaped from the owner's control and attacked the man in the street. Deputies responded to the scene at 8:53 a.m. Wednesday and tried to provide medical aid to the victim, per sheriff's deputies, as reported by ABC10. When the dogs charged at deputies, one fired three rounds, striking two of the animals, which were later euthanized at the scene because of their injuries.
Animal control seized the other two dogs involved in the attack, and the Merced County Sheriff's Office Detective Bureau is now investigating the incident. The station's report notes the case remains under review as investigators work to determine what led to the animals getting loose from their owner.
A Rural Community Grappling With Loose Dogs
Le Grand is an unincorporated, rural agricultural community roughly 14 miles east-southeast of Merced, with a population of around 1,600 to 1,800 residents spread across just 1.1 square miles, according to World Population Review. The town, founded in 1896 as a railroad stop, remains centered on agriculture today. Because Le Grand has no municipal police department, primary emergency response and animal control enforcement in the area fall to the Merced County Sheriff's Office.
This is not the first time county authorities have had to respond to a loose dog problem in an unincorporated community. Merced County Animal Services issued a public alert in September 2025 warning of a pack of seven medium-sized loose dogs involved in multiple attacks in Winton, another unincorporated town that, like Le Grand, relies entirely on the county sheriff and animal control for enforcement.
What County Law Requires of Dog Owners
Following the attack, the Merced County Sheriff's Office reminded residents that dogs are legally prohibited from roaming unattended in public, must be restrained on a leash under immediate control, and that property owners are required to maintain adequate fencing to keep animals confined. The office asked residents to report loose or aggressive animals to Animal Services dispatch at 209-385-7445 or to call 911 in an emergency.
Chapter 7.04 of the Merced County Code requires that any dog off its owner's property be physically restrained by a leash, and it mandates that anyone with knowledge of an animal bite in unincorporated Merced County report it to Animal Services or the Health Department. County code also caps households at five dogs over four months old without a specialized permit. Separately, the county's Dangerous Dog Ordinance declares vicious and aggressive dogs a serious public safety threat and authorizes officials to impound animals and levy fines against owners who fail to comply, with county policy noting that severe attacks frequently stem from owners failing to properly confine or register their pets.
Owner Liability Under State Law
Under California Civil Code Section 3342, dog owners face strict civil liability for injuries their dog causes when it bites someone in a public place or lawfully on private property, regardless of whether the dog had shown aggressive tendencies before, according to LA County Public Health. That standard differs from so-called one-bite jurisdictions, since California imposes liability starting from the first biting incident unless the victim was trespassing or provoking the animal. Separately, California Health and Safety Code Section 122335 prohibits tethering a dog to a stationary object for more than three hours, a violation that can bring up to $1,000 in fines or six months in jail, per the Shouse Law Group.
The two dogs seized by animal control are being held under the authority of Merced County Animal Services, which operates the county's main shelter on Shuttle Drive in Atwater and handles impoundment, quarantine and medical care for stray or seized animals under the Merced County Sheriff's Office. Hoodline's own reporting has previously tracked a broader statewide climb in dog bite emergencies, with emergency department visits for dog bites in California rising from 73 per 100,000 residents in 2005 to 125 per 100,000 residents by 2022 — injuries that can require reconstructive surgery and long-term emotional recovery.
