Traumatized girl, 5, needs 50 stitches and staples in her face, scalp, neck and back after being savaged by a dog whose owner had invited her to pet it
- A five-year-old girl was mauled by a dog the owner said was ‘good with kids’
- Owner and dog have reportedly been found after disappearing from the scene
A five-year-old girl from Florida is recovering from horrific injuries after she was attacked at a park in Fort Lauderdale on Friday afternoon.
Florian Becker said his wife and daughter were out walking in Hortt Park when they were invited to pet a stranger’s dog.
Other children were reportedly already petting the dog, which the owner said was ‘really good with kids’.
But when Becker’s daughter ‘cautiously’ approached, the dog turned and bit her in the face, leaving the girl traumatized.
The child was pulled away by her mother and taken to a local hospital emergency room, where she received 50 stitches and staples in her face, neck and shoulders.
The five-year-old needed 50 stitches, ‘at least 20 to the head’ her father said, after the attack
Florian Becker (pictured below) slammed the owner (pictured, R) for not acting responsibly
The family were quick to call out the dog’s owner, who they say ‘didn’t take control of her dog’.
Becker said his wife, who was 10ft away on the phone, dropped her phone and dived in to help when the animal turned.
Surveillance cameras around the park picked up the daughter’s shrill screams as the dog lunged.
Becker said: ‘My wife was shocked and screamed, tried to pull the dog back by its collar, and the collar broke.
‘The dog attacked again, this time more viciously, and she was grabbing the dog and fighting it back, holding on to it, screaming at the woman to take control of her dog.’
Becker, who was at home when his wife and daughter went walking, said the owner was not properly restraining the dog and his wife had to wrestle it to the ground.
The girl’s mother, an ER physician, took swift action and assessed her daughter’s injuries before deciding to take her to hospital.
It took around five hours to make all the necessary stitches and staples, and the family worry the dog could have put their daughter at risk of getting rabies.
The owner said her dog had only recently been adopted.
The girl had multiple bite wounds to her skull, face, shoulders and back, and was lucky not to lose an eye.
Becker said his daughter asked his wife at one point, ‘Why are you looking at me?’ His wife said, ‘Because you’re beautiful,’ and she said, ‘No, I look like a monster,’ so these scars will be there for a long time.”
Video surveillance shows somebody – who the family believe to be the woman – walking with the dog after the attack.
When police arrived at the park, the dog walker had already gone.
The family initially called for the dog walker to come forward, both to prevent repeat accidents and to confirm whether the dog has up-to-date shots.
Becker asks the owner to come forward, fearing the recently adopted dog could have rabies
The dog’s owner is pictured walking away with the dog on surveillance video near the park
On 13 February, NBC reported the dog and owner had been found and the incident was being investigated.
Animal Control took the dog either late on Saturday or early on Sunday.
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