‘I played dead’: 8-year-old girl recovering after dog attack in Charlotte County

An 8-year-old girl is out of the hospital after a dog attack in Charlotte County.

The Catahoula leopard mix mauled Addyson Grunert last week. The dog that attacked Addyson is in quarantine and its owner has been cited for failing to vaccinate it against rabies.

Now, hospital trips are a norm for Addyson, who has stitches on her face, neck and throat.

Addyson remembers she was visiting family in Charlotte County when she went next door with two cousins. That’s when the dog attacked her.

“So we went across the street, play with their kids and walked on the porch and Thomas walked on the porch. And then I walked on the porch and then dog attacked me,” Addyson said.

Addyson said she immediately went into survival mode.

“I was mostly, like, shocked,” Addyson said. “I played dead. And he let me go. Because he’s a hog hunting dog. And like, she wants to kill hogs. They probably thought I was an animal and had to kill me.”

Addyson’s mom Joyce Wilson said her daughter did what she could do to survive.

“That’s what she chose to do,” Wilson said “I’m very, very proud of her. She’s very, very tough, very proud.”

Joyce said her daughter has good and bad days.

“Today’s seems to be a good day,” Joyce said. “Some days, it’s hard to eat, hard to talk hard to get up. And it’s definitely hard to lay down and switch positions. She’s still not able to move her neck very well.”

Her recovery may be a long process.

“They really can’t tell anything until they get the stitches out,” Joyce said. “And then they’ll go to, she’ll go to neurologist and plastic surgeons and we’ll assess all that.

Joyce said Addyson will get her stitches out tomorrow.

“Thankfully didn’t hit anything major,” Joyce said. “And she’s still able to be here with us; she’s getting back to her old crazy self.”