A dog attack that happened in the city’s North Ward has left a child seriously injured and police looking for the owner of the animal.
According to the child’s mother, the attack happened on Friday, July, 29th at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Summer Avenue. Her 7-year-old daughter (“Ayana”) was viciously mauled by a pit bull, causing serious injuries.
The unleashed dog reportedly followed the mother and child onto their porch as they were returning from the store and began to growl and bark at the child shortly before the attack.
According to the mother, shortly before she could move Ayana out of the path of the dog, it attacked her, scratching her face, then biting her arm before knocking her to the ground.
“She was [bitten] on both arms and right leg bad enough where a chunk of flesh ripped off of her leg,” as the mother recalled, watching in horror.
With the mother struggling to remove the child from the dog's grip, protecting Ayana’s face from the attack, the dog locked onto the girl’s leg (knee) and would not let go, the mother said.
Several bystanders ran to assist the mother and child by striking the dog with several objects, but the dog continued to bite and tear at the leg of Ayana.
An unidentified male, rushing in to assist, placed a rope around the dog's neck then pulled the blood-drenched dog off of the girl.
EMS was on the scene within minutes and transported the child to University Hospital, where she spent four days receiving dozens of stitches and recuperating.
“Ayana is expected to make a full recovery but has to go through physical therapy for her arm and leg," according to the mother.
The beige colored pit bull with a white patch in the middle of its chest was taken away from the scene by authorities, who took a report of the incident.
This dog also reportedly bit a male child in the same neighborhood shortly before attacking Ayana.
It is not immediately clear if the owner of the dog has been located.