Wild dogs maul El Cerro Mission girl

Jasmine Flores could be released from University of New Mexico Hospital as early as Saturday after being mauled by a pack of wild dogs on Tuesday night.

Flores, 7, was rushed to the hospital after a neighbor heard her screams when a group of three to five dogs attacked her in the neighbor's yard.

"I heard screaming," Kendra Oruna told KRQE News 13. "She's my daughter's friend, so I ran outside and saw a pack of dogs on her.

"I ran up to her, kicked the dogs off of her and took her inside."

Flores suffered bites to the head and shoulders. She is listed in satisfactory condition.

Her father told News 13 stray dogs that pack together have been a longtime problem in the rural El Cerro Mission neighborhood east of Los Lunas where his family lives.

"Dogs have been around since I've been here," Jasmine's father, Lorenzo Chavez, said.

Chavez said he and other neighbors have called animal control about stray dogs.

Valencia County Animal Control told News 13 it's trying to get the stray dogs off the streets, but it's not an easy task.

"There's dogs running at large and people not taking care of them." Animal Control Director Ruben Chavez told said. "It's a big problem."