A Suffolk woman was bitten and injured last week when she had to fight off two attacking dogs on her way to visit her boyfriend, Suffolk officials said Wednesday.

Thirty-one-year-old Donita Williams was walking through a common area on her way to her boyfriend’s house on Camellia Drive at about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 23, when she was attacked by two pit bulls that had escaped from a neighbor’s house by climbing through a broken window that had been covered with plastic, Suffolk spokeswoman Debbie George said.

The woman was approached by one of the dogs, which then jumped on her and bit her. As Williams fought that dog off, another one jumped on her, knocked her down and bit her, George said.

Williams finally was able to get away from the dogs and into her boyfriend’s house, which is in the other half of the duplex where the dogs lived.

Animal control officers were called to the scene, and the owner of the dogs arrived shortly thereafter and took custody of the animals, George said. He has not been charged in the incident, though animal control officers continue their investigation.

Since the owner has not been charged with a crime, George could not identify him. She confirmed, however, that there have been problems with his ownership of animals in the past.

In August 2009, she said, he was charged with a total of 15 counts related to the improper care of animals. Those charges included four counts of animal cruelty, five counts of failure to care for an animal, three counts of having a dog more than six months old without a city license and three counts of having a dog more than four months old without rabies shots.