House Dog Mauls 1-Year-Old Left Alone In Playpen, Mom Arrested

A 1-year-old in New Port Richey, Florida, was bitten in the face by their family dog, and the mother and her friend have been charged with child neglect.

According to a press release by the New Port Richey Police Department, the child's mother, Destiny Coleman, left her son in his playpen under the care of her friend, Tina Dean, to buy "narcotics and alcohol" on April 24.

However, Dean was not in the same room as the child when two house dogs roamed freely inside.

"When Coleman left, she left the child in the care of Tina Dean, who was only notified, via voice," the police's press release stated, as reported by News Nation.

"Dean was not in the same room as the child when Coleman left the residence and did not have sight of the child."

In no time, one of the dogs "attacked" the child and bit him in the face, which left "deep puncture wounds and lacerations" on his face and left eye, said the police.

The child was immediately flown to a children's hospital with his condition undisclosed. The police responded to the hospital at around 11:15 a.m. local time.

Dean initially told the police that the 1-year-old was attacked by a stray dog outside, but she later admitted that the attack occurred inside the house.

The police did not release details on what happened to the dogs.

Court records from Pasco County obtained by Miami Herald said Coleman got arrested on charges of child neglect. Her friend was also charged with child neglect and making a false report to law enforcement.

Similarly, on Wednesday morning, a pack of stray dogs killed a 12-year-old boy in India after he escaped home for fear of being beaten by his drunk father.

The boy, identified as Prince, was found lifeless one kilometer away from their home after his parents looked for him all night on Tuesday.

Initial findings indicated that his death was due to the injuries he sustained from being attacked by dogs. However, the local police in Uttar Pradesh took the young boy's body and sent it for postmortem.

Locals identified the nearby cemetery where the dogs that continue to victim young children came from.

With children and young teenagers most vulnerable to dog attacks in India, animal rights activists are tirelessly lobbying the Indian government to resolve the stray dog menace.