According to the girl's mother, the dog bit Saleena's face tearing the skin on the right side of her face to shreds.
"The work doctors have done is miraculous," said Katie Weeks of the surgeons who used 892 stitches to reattach the skin to her daughter's face.
According to Katie, on Monday afternoon, Saleena came home disappointed that the caterpillar she'd caught at school had died. She wanted to find another one so she ran out of the house toward the neighbor's house to look for one. Katie ran after her daughter but it was too late.
GIRL RAN INTO NEIGHBOR'S YARD WHERE CHAINED DOG LIVED
In just a matter of seconds, she said the neighbor's pit bull which was chained, attacked Saleena. "I saw the dog jump and heard her scream," recalled Weeks. "It was a mother's worst nightmare."
Weeks said the dog would not let go of her daughter's face.
"Her entire jaw line was exposed," she said. Weeks said the dog's owners ran to help. Their teenage son pried the dog's jaw open and pulled it away from Saleena. "I don't know what I would have done had they not been there," said Weeks of her neighbors.
Saleena underwent a 6 hour surgery to repair her face. On Tuesday, she showed signs of improvement as her fever was down but her face was very swollen and disfigured. Her mother said her eyes were not damaged in the attack.
A representative from the city of Hurricane said the dog was quarantined while Animal Control investigates. According to the city the pit bull has no history of attacks.
Weeks said the dog has been friendly in the past. She does not fault her neighbors for the attack, saying they feel badly and have been helpful to her and her daughter. At the same time, she said she doesn't think the dog should be allowed around children again.
Saleena's family has opened an account at Wells Fargo bank in her name (Saleena Wickward). Donations to the account would help the family with medical expenses.
(WUSA - April 22, 2010)