FAIRVIEW, PA -- A pit bull attacked an 8-year-old girl in Fairview Township, but the girl suffered only bruises on her right arm when a family dog intervened.
"Our dog saved her life. He jumped in and got hurt, but he saved her,'' said Kristin Dombrowski, 35, the mother of the girl, Gabriella Hall.
The attack occurred Friday at about 6:30 p.m. in the side yard of their home on Walker Avenue, Dombrowski said.
A next-door neighbor's pit bull latched onto the girl's right arm, but the family dog, a German shorthaired pointer named Chewy, got involved and took the brunt of the attack, Dombrowski said.
"My dog got in there and instead of biting her, (the pit bull) bit our dog,'' Dombrowski said.
Gabriella's right arm was swollen and bruised, but she did not require medical treatment, Dombrowski said.
Dombrowski said that her husband, Michael Dombrowski, 38, worked to pry open the pit bull's mouth while it was latched onto their dog's face. Kristin Dombrowski said she pulled their dog's skin off the pit bull's jaws.
While this was happening, Gabriella and the Dombrowskis' son, 5-year-old Tyler, were screaming, Kristin Dombrowski said.
Now both children are afraid of the pit bull, which remains at the next-door neighbor's home while authorities investigate, she said. Dombrowski said she did not know the full name of the neighbor.
Pennsylvania State Police at Girard investigated the incident Friday night, Kristin Dombrowski said.
The Dombrowskis and John Hall, the father of Gabriella, said they were concerned that an animal control enforcement officer didn't investigate until Monday. Hall said he lives three blocks away from his daughter, but wasn't there during the attack.
But Samantha Krepps, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture, said it's her understanding that state police investigate dog bites during weekend hours.
Brian Froess, dog warden for Erie County, is a state employee who works under the Department of Agriculture.
Krepps said that Froess is working with state police on the case and had placed a call to John Hall, but hadn't heard back from him as of Monday afternoon.
"We're still investigating what happened,'' Krepps said.
State police Trooper Chris Wingard said Froess and Trooper James Ruff, who investigated the case, were expected to consult.
Kristin Dombrowski said the neighbor's backyard is fenced, but the pit bull had been in the front yard when it attacked. She said police told her the name of the pit bull is Cuddles.
Kristin Dombrowski said she wants the pit bull removed from the home.
She said their dog is usually afraid of everything, but not in this instance.
The family dog suffered bite wounds and was taken to a veterinarian for treatment and medication.
"He's now St. Chewy. He can do no wrong now,'' she said.
(Erie Times-News - July 12, 2011)
