Australia Day tragedy as little girl savaged by pit bull

An eight-year-old girl has been left with horrific injuries after ‘a friend of a friend’s’ pit bull ‘jumped up and bit her on the face’ during Australia Day celebrations. 

Perth girl Cordelia Ehrhardt was ‘just standing’ with her family and friends when the dog attacked her on Friday afternoon.    

The dog, believed to be an American Staffordshire bull terrier cross, bit down on the right side of the young girl’s face leaving deep gauges near her mouth and eye.

Her mother, Bayswater councillor Catherine Ehrhardt, told Daily Mail Australia she blames the dog’s owner for the attack.

‘It’s the owners fault. The dog was being a dog,’ she said.

‘A dog owner has a responsibility to know the capabilities of their pet, to put the dogs needs above their own, to not put their pets in a position where they are unfamiliar, could be stressed or overexcited and could be subject to sounds or smells that may potentially trigger them.

‘A responsible dog owner does not take their pet to a crowded event, at a venue it has never been to, with a loud band to watch fireworks.’ 

Her mother, Bayswater councillor Catherine Ehrhardt, told Daily Mail Australia she blames the dog’s owner for the attack

Cordelia had reconstructive surgery on Saturday afternoon hoping to correct damage caused by the random, unprovoked attack. 

Her mother claims the dog’s owner was not present when it jumped up and latched on to the young girl’s face. 

‘The owner of dog was in the toilet and had given the leash to someone else,’ she said.

Her daughter had just moved over to be with a group of her cousins when she was attacked. 

Her daughter had just moved over to be with a group of her cousins when she was attacked