A 6-year-old boy in Portland, Oregon, died Tuesday after being attacked by a pair of dogs. An adult woman, the owner of the dogs, was injured trying to protect him from their attack.

The mauling happened sometime around 7:30 a.m. local time, when the pair of canines, believed to be mixes between Great Danes and Mastiffs, went on the attack, the Portland Police Bureau said.

The boy was the grandson of a friend of the dog owner, and the woman often took the boy to school on his grandmother’s behalf.

After the woman went into her garage to take care of the dogs, the boy opened the door and followed behind her, which is when the dogs attacked, Portland Police Public Information Manager Mike Benner told KOIN-TV.

Police said the dog owner did all she could to stop the attack.

“We understand that the homeowner/dog owner did everything in her power to stop this attack, at some point even grabbing a gun … She did everything she could to save this boy’s life,” Mr. Benner told KPTV-TV.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, while the adult woman involved, the owner of the dogs, was hospitalized with injuries to her hands.

Portland police did not name any of the parties involved in the incident.

The two dogs are in the custody of Multnomah County Animal Services. The police did not say whether or not the dogs will be euthanized, nor did they say whether or not the woman involved will face charges.

MCAS policy says that while animals that bite are not automatically euthanized, the decision to put them down is an option if animal control decides they are unmanageable or too unsafe to return to human communities.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.