MIAMI (WSVN) - A child was rushed to the hospital after she was attacked by a dog while walking to church in Miami.
Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital worked to treat the wounds of the 5-year-old girl, identified as Jocelyn, after she was bit by a dog on the leg near Northwest 21st Street and 24th Avenue, Wednesday.
The victim was walking to church with her mother and a family friend when, they said, the dog attacked. “This pit bull came and bit the little girl, and mom turned away and it bit her too,” said family friend Meryann Ulrick, who witnessed the incident.
The child’s father later showed up at the scene and confronted the dog’s owner, who lives across the street.
The dog owner admitted that his dog is territorial and that another child was bit by the dog in January.
The owner also showed 7News papers from his visit to Miami-Dade Animal Services. He said his dog was observed for several days, and he was told that his dog is not considered aggressive.
Those who were with Jocelyn say otherwise. “Her mom carried her, her mom carried her away. And it even bit her down there,” said a family friend, pointing to her leg.
The dog owner’s papers indicated that the dog is over 50 pounds and is a bull mix.
The owner said the dog freed himself. “Not my fault that the dog got out,” he said. “I understand that it’s a lot of blood.”
When asked what could be done to prevent the dog from getting out again, he said, “There’s nothing I can do. If he pushes the gate, the gate was closed, he pushed the gate, he got out.”
The owner was seen Thursday morning putting the dog into the back of a car. The owner said that animal services have decided to put the dog down.
The family told 7News that Jocelyn is expected to be OK, and that she was released from the hospital overnight.
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