NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A vicious dog attack in Northwest Miami-Dade sent one woman to the hospital.
According to officials, Danielle Richardson was attacked by a Cane Corso near Northwest 14th Avenue and Little River Drive just before 5 p.m. Monday.
The attack reportedly occurred as Richardson was watching her brother’s Cane Corso. She attempted to break up a fight between it and another dog before the Cane Corso turned on her, inflicting severe injuries and leaving her disfigured.
“It’s bad,” said Albert Miles, a witness and cousin of Richardson. “They say one eye is out. That’s terrible, man. I don’t know why they don’t take the dog away.”
The homeowner told 7News his fiancée was home alone at the time.
“Everywhere, everywhere,” said Miles. “The face and everywhere. It just kept biting her.”
Miles said he was inside his home when the screams began. Thinking fast, he attempted to save Richardson, attacking the animal with a broom and even contemplated stabbing it. However, he was unable to free his relative.
“It was quick,” he said. “I was in the back, and all I heard was screaming and hollering and barking. So I ran out, and I see the dog all on her. So I got a broom, I broke the broom on his head, and he still wouldn’t get off her. So I got a cage and opened the back door and forced him out the back door and locked it.”
The American Kennel Club has described the Cane Corso as “Large Italian Mastiffs” and nicknamed them “bodyguard dogs.”
Miles told 7News he never saw the dog display aggressive tendencies in the two to three weeks he had known of it.
“How long has the dog been here?” 7News’ reporter Joe Roetz asked.
“I think about two or three weeks,” said Miles.
“Does it seem like an aggressive dog?” said Roetz.
“He didn’t at first because I was back there with him sometimes; he never seemed aggressive to me,” he said. “He got another white dog back there that’s a female, and I don’t know if she tried to get him away from her, and he just snapped.”
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units were dispatched to the scene and transported the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert.
Miami-Dade Police investigated the incident into the night.
Due to the owner’s absence, Animal Services is unable to remove the dog and will have to quarantine him for 10 days.
The owner was later issued both a citation for being unable to provide proof of a current rabies vaccination and a warning for not having a current license tag.
“No, I am not going back there; [expletive], I am not going near that dog, [expletive]; they need to take that dog away, for real, man,” he said.
According to the homeowner and the hospital, Richardson is now in good condition.
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