2 boys attacked by dog in San Tan Valley

SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Kenneth Smirke stood with Pinal County Sheriff's deputies this morning, with his dog Zeus barking loudly from the back of the animal control truck they had placed him in moments after he attacked two young boys.

"This shouldn't have happened," he said.

Smirke says the 8-month-old yellow Labrador had never shown signs of aggression.

"(He) never displayed any kind of violence, whatsoever," he said.

In fact, Zeus is described as a loveable family dog. Smirke's son, Ryder, was at the bus stop across the street from their home this morning with at least two other boys when Zeus attacked.

"I was coming up this way," Marco Lizarraga said. "I saw one of the kids running across the street and when he was running across the street, the dog was attacking him."

Lizarraga is one of several construction workers who jumped in to help the victims, both described as boys under the age of 8.

"I started honking at the dog," he said. "As soon as he seen me honking at him, he kept looking back at the kids like he wanted to go back for more blood."

Skyfox was over the scene when the boys were loaded into ambulances, which then rushed to a hospital.

"From what we understand, they had some lacerations to the legs, lower extremities," Shawn Gilleland, of Rural/Metro, said. "One kid had some cuts to his face, as well."

The boys' injuries are described as non-life threatening, but first responders are worried there will be emotional scars.

Smirke, who believes Zeus may have ran out to chase down another dog, apologized to the victims and their families.

"If this happened to my son, I would be, I would be pissed, yeah," he said.

Pinal County Animal Care and Control will evaluate the animal before deciding if it can be returned to it's owner in San Tan Valley.