Toddler needs surgery after being mauled by family’s dog

Author: Associated Press
Published:
MGN Online

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – A Tampa Bay-area toddler has needed at least two reconstructive surgeries after being mauled by her family’s dog.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Carrie Horstman says the one-and-a-half year old girl was inside her Lakeland home Tuesday night when she was bitten on her face by the family’s 10-year-old pit bull mix.

The Ledger reports (http://bit.ly/1vxMRKV ) that doctors expect Karissa Hooks to make a full recovery. The sheriff’s office has euthanized the dog.

Horstman says Karissa’s aunt told investigators that she was in a bedroom with the dog and the girl when she turned and saw the dog “had hold of the baby’s face.”

Karissa remained hospitalized at a Tampa hospital.

Horstman says the dog did not have a history of biting, and the family released it to authorities.

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