ELLSWORTH – A man was bitten by a Rottweiler that escaped its owner while he was standing in his yard on Mariaville Road Sunday morning.

Dawn Perry called police at about 9 a.m. to report that two Rottweillers came into her yard, then went on to neighbor Louis Willey’s home, where Perry saw one of the dogs bite Willey, Ellsworth Police said.

Willey had been out in his yard when he noticed the two dogs coming up the road and into his yard. He started talking to the animals in an attempt to calm them, but was unsuccessful.

One of the dogs bit him twice on the left arm, before he was able to regain control of the situation by striking the dog, Willey told police.

The bites were small, and Willey was treated and released at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, police said.

Police discovered that the girlfriend of a third resident of the neighborhood owned the dogs. The name of the man has not been released.

He had been walking the dogs when they escaped and ran up the road ahead of him. He arrived in Willey’s yard just after the attack occurred and was “very apologetic,” police said.

When the police report was filed Sunday morning, police had not yet verified whether the dogs were up-to-date on their shots.