ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff says seven dogs fatally mauled a toddler in her backyard as the attack went unnoticed by the girl's mother and other adults inside the house until it was too late.

Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said Thursday that Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned 2 years old in June, slipped out a dog door and into the fenced-in yard where she was attacked. He says by the time the child's grandmother heard the dogs barking and looked outside, the girl was dead and her clothes were in shreds all over the yard.

Authorities say the dogs were pit bulls and pit bull mixes. Animal Control officers euthanized them after the attack Wednesday night.

The sheriff says authorities are considering criminal charges, but none has been filed.