Dog Attacks 2-Year-Old, Girl Suffers Serious Bite Wounds, 'Intoxicated' Mother Charged

A Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, mother was charged with child endangerment after her 2-year-old daughter was attacked by a dog. Police said the child suffered serious dog bite wounds from the attack that took place Sunday.

Local media reports said Monday that the child was first taken to the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital from where she was flown to another hospital for treatment. A police affidavit stated that the child suffered puncture wounds, scratches and a 4-inch laceration that started near the girl’s left ear and fully exposed her jaw.

The girl's mother, identified as Mary Biedka, appeared to be intoxicated and gave numerous accounts of how the girl was injured.

The 30-year-old first said a black dog that looked like a wolf attacked her daughter as they walked near a Turkey Hill convenience store. When officers checked several Turkey Hill stores in the city, they found no signs of a dog attack. She later said she was staying with a friend named Joseph White but did not know his address.

Police found the address of a man with that name on North Pennsylvania Avenue. When they arrived at his residence, they found blood on the porch and door and heard dogs barking inside the house.

Police later contacted White, who said he was sleeping when Biedka started screaming and told him the girl was attacked by a dog at the Turkey Hill on George Avenue. He then drove Biedka and the girl to the hospital, he said.

Police took Biedka into custody and questioned her about the incident. This was when she said she was doing laundry while her daughter played with two dogs in the backyard of the North Pennsylvania Avenue home. She said she heard a loud commotion and she ran outside. Her daughter was there bleeding profusely from the face and neck. She then ran inside and woke up White, she said.

Biedka, who told police she had snorted meth Sunday morning, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and false reports. She was arraigned and released on $10,000 unsecured bail, pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 25.