A 9-year-old girl and her mother were attacked by their neighbors dog in Charlotte County.
“Our investigation concluded that the dog was at the neighbor’s house and somehow got under the fence and over into the backyard where a young child was playing on the lanai and that dog subsequently attacked the child,” said Division Manager of Animal Control, Brian Jones.
When the mother, Alexis, heard Mia scream9ing and causing a commotion, she intervened.
“The child suffered significant facial injuries due to the dog bite and the mother suffered substantial injuries to the stomach and groin area,” said Jones.
According to animal control, the 1 1/2 year old Pitbull named Milo has a history of hurting people.
“The first bite was a salesperson, the dog was inside of the house, the door opens, and the dog subsequently bites the person,” said Jones.
The dog, milo is in quarantine for ten days, but neighbors think something should be done to prevent any further attacks
“I know it’s the neighbor’s yard, and they have a fenced yard for it and I love animals, I love dogs, but when they attack a child like that, something needs to be done,” said a neighbor of 9 years.
“No kids in that area, it’s something that has to be considered seriously,” said neighbor, Bob Kornic.
During the next ten days Milo, will be under review.
“We try to figure out if the dog is going to return, will it be classified as a dangerous animal, are they going to get a written warning from the county, those are the things we want to sort through in the next coming days,” said Jones.
Classification of a dangerous animal could mean signage on the property, the dog being muzzles and monitored when outside, a special dog tag, and owners would need to be open to random inspections by county officials.
UPDATE: Mia is home from Children’s Hospital in Tampa where she underwent plastic surgery on her face and her chest. She also has 25 stitches in her leg, and she is having a very difficult time walking. Mia is still recovering, but overall SNN has been told that she is doing OK ! Alexis, her mom, has 15 stitches in the back of her leg, as well as several bite marks(puncture wounds).
Mia’s Great-Aunt, Sherry Turner, has started a gofundme(www.gofundme.com/f/speedy-recovery-for-mia?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR2OK2LNstru5tISKF_eqwO6XWOeiKjBCAQJ64BTT8DQ87JdbkoL25ghGtQ).
$900 has been raised towards the goal of $3000, so a new fence can be erected around the yard.
