Man mauled by pack of dogs

  A Winterhaven man is being treated in a Phoenix hospital after being severely mauled by a pack of dogs.

  According to Sgt. Scott Sheppeard of the Imperial County Sheriff's Office, the attack happened Saturday about a half-mile south of White Road, which is in the Bard area.

  Sheppeard said 48-year-old Gordon Lykins was on a drainage canal road sometime between 2 and 6 p.m. when he was attacked by a pack of 11 dogs that that may have belonged to a nearby resident.

  "The dogs were off the property, which is the only residence near where the victim was found," Sheppeard said.

  Deputies from ICSO responded to the scene at about 6:45 after the dogs' owner found the severely injured Lykins and called in a report.

  The dogs have since been taken to the animal control shelter in El Centro, where they will remain until officials determine whether they were the dogs that committed the attack.

  "We just don't have confirmation right now that these are the right dogs," Sheppeard said. "Until he regains consciousness, we won't know whether we have the right dogs."

  The dog's owner is not currently facing any criminal charges, according to Sheppeard, but could later if the dogs taken from the property are identified as the ones who attacked Lykins.

  Sheppeard explained that the only witness to the attack was the victim, but "he couldn't speak due to the extent of his injuries. He has been kept under sedation ever since then."

  In addition to one of his legs being nearly chewed off, Lykins sustained numerous dog bites over several areas of his body.

  Sheppeard added that ICSO was told by family members that Lykins had to have one of his legs amputated from below the knee because of the mauling.