83-year-old woman mauled by two dogs in Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash. -- Tacoma Police are searching for two dogs and their owner who disappeared after an elderly woman was attacked.

According to Tacoma Police, two dogs attacked the 83-year-old woman Monday afternoon in the 4300 block of South Thompson Avenue.

The woman told police the dogs were pit bulls, and a witness who rendered aid to the woman -- a firefighter -- said they looked like pit bull mixed breeds.

Tacoma Police said if the owner had stayed and talked to them, the dogs would have been placed in quarantine, checked for disease and then potentially returned to their owner.

Now, the owner is facing criminal charges for leaving the scene.

Meanwhile, the elderly woman is recovering at a local hospital. Her injuries aren't believed to be life-threatening, but she is permanently disfigured from the attack.