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Isleton Dad Arrested After Breaking Up Dog Fight With Machete

ISLETON (CBS) - An Isleton father found himself under arrest for animal cruelty after he grabbed a machete and hit a neighbor's dog that he said was behaving aggressively.

"My baby, he was almost attacked by the pit bull," said Karla Chavez, the suspect's wife. "It was really, really sad."

Chavez was concerned that her neighbor's pit bull was coming after her four children while they were playing in front of their Isleton home. She said there was a friendly stray dog, a German Shepard, visiting their family in the front yard at the time of the attack.

"He's a nice dog. I feed him and everything," said Chavez.

She said she believes the German shepherd intercepted the pit bull before he could get to the kids. She tried to pull her kids away from the dog fight, and her husband, Juan Loza, attempted to separate the dogs.

When he was unable to stop the dogs, Loza, who was concerned about his children's safety, attacked the pit bull with a machete, according to Chavez. Loza does not speak English very well, but said he struck the pit bull along his back, but that didn't slow the dog down.

Chavez said at that moment, three women who own the pit bull realized what was going on and were so angry that they attacked her.

"They hit this just one eye, but they scratched me. They pulled my hair. They kicked my back. They hold my feet," said Chavez, pointing to her bruises.

The kids were safe, but when deputies arrived, they took Loza to jail for animal cruelty.

"He has a court date," said Chavez.

It's unclear why the neighbors didn't also go to jail for assault. The Sheriff's Department had not yet commented on the case. The owners of the pit bull were not available to comment.

Loza said he'd rather go to jail for animal cruelty than see any of his children hurt.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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