Pit Bull Bites 1-Year-Old Girl's Head, Leg, Child Hospitalized

A one-year-old girl was hospitalized after she was bitten by a pit bull at her father’s home in Fall River, Massachusetts, on Monday morning.

Detective John Robinson said the canine bit the girl after her father opened the screen door to his home to let his girlfriend’s dog inside, unaware that his daughter was leaning on the door. When the door opened, the girl fell forward and the pit bull bit her head. A woman who noticed the incident rushed to help the girl. After the woman managed to pull the dog away, the canine caught hold of the girl’s leg. The woman then choked the dog until it let go of the child.

The child was rushed to a nearby hospital before she was transported to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for treatment. Robinson said the dog’s owner told police that the pit bull was around the victim in the past and had never harmed her.

The pit bull was taken into custody by the animal control and will be released after 10 days if the dog does not get involved in any similar incident during the period. The condition of the victim was not known.

Robinson added that another Fall River resident was bitten by a different pit bull while walking his pet dog Sunday afternoon. Officer Thomas Faris was patrolling the area when he saw the dog jumping on the man. The officer approached the man and noticed that he was holding his dog in his hand, trying to protect it from the pit bull. The canine, however, managed to attack man’s pet. The dog released its grip only after an animal control officer arrived at the scene and sprayed pepper spray. Robinson called it the first “public attack” in the area and said the dog too was taken into custody by the animal control.

The incident comes a few days after a pit bull attacked and bit a three-year-old boy from Washington in the face. The victim and his mother adopted the dog after they found it wandering on the side of the road while on a trip. After arriving back home, the woman let the dog and the boy play outside their home while she put away groceries. She suddenly heard her son screaming and rushed outside only to find the pit bull chewing the boy’s face.