There’s a good chance you’ve heard the phrase, “Dogs are man’s best friend,” at least once in your life. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that more and more households have dogs as pets. If you go for a hike, or a run, or a walk around your neighborhood, it’s likely that you will see at least one person walking a dog. In most situations, everything is fine and the dog presents no issue to the approaching stranger. However, what happens when something goes awry and a dog attacks someone for no reason? As you may already know, the outcome can be catastrophic.
In a recent case in Georgia, an 8-year-old girl was playing in front of her home when two pit bull/mixed breed dogs, who were owned by a neighbor, attacked her. The dogs dragged the girl about 100 feet, mauling her arms, legs, torso, and face. A driver passing by saw the girl and called 911. The police arrived, but the dogs were still attacking the victim. An officer shot and killed one of the dogs. The other dog escaped but was caught later and then euthanized.
The victim sustained severe wounds to her arms, and she required vein transplants from both legs. Surgeons were unable to save her left, nondominant arm, and it was amputated at the elbow. Afterwards, the girl is now wearing a prosthetic arm. She also has permanent scarring to her face, upper torso, and legs, and will require future surgeries, including scar-revision procedures, as she grows up.