St. Joseph Animal Control and Rescue completed an investigation Thursday and will seek to euthanize two Old English bulldogs that attacked two sisters Sunday.

Caillyn McAlister, 11, and Cloe McAlister, 9, were bitten on the arm and leg and it took 32 stitches at Heartland Regional Medical Center to sew up the bites, rips and tears, said Jason McAlister, the girls’ father.

“They are the most important part of our lives,” Mr. McAlister said.

The attack occurred at about 4:45 p.m. Sunday in the 1500 block of South 25th Street, according to a city report. The bulldogs ran from their owner’s yard and began attacking the two sisters as they walked on the sidewalk, the report stated.

No one would speculate a reason for the attack.

Animal Control and Rescue officers collected the registered bulldogs Brutus, 11 months, and Mercedez, 2, on Sunday from their owner, Kelli Veale.

“I feel awful about what happened,” Ms. Veale said. “They’re my pets, and I know they made a mistake.”

Initially, they were being held for a 10-day watch at the animal shelter to ensure they didn’t have rabies, said Rick Smith, animal control and rescue director. As a result of a four-day investigation, both dogs have been determined to be vicious dogs, Mr. Smith said.

Additionally, the owner has been cited for a leash law violation, registration violation, and animal neglect by failure to have adequate control of the animals, which resulted in injury to the girls.

Because of the last citation, the city will seek a destruction order for both dogs, Mr. Smith said.

The case will be arraigned before Municipal Judge John Boeh on Sept. 3.

“Ms. Veale has been good about this the whole way through,” Mr. McAlister said. “I’m not on a witch hunt, and I have no grudge. We have an animal of our own, and I’m not a hater by any means.”

People have driven by her home screaming hateful things and the whole thing is getting blown out of proportion, Ms. Veale said. If she could get the dog and pup back, Ms. Veale said, she’d like to sell the house and move out of town.

Marshall White can be reached

at marshall@npgco.com.