Sarah Villa-Vasquez can't stop thinking of the pit bull that broke from its leash in a yard in the 4500 block of Auburn Drive and attacked her. It doesn't help that the 6-year-old has bandaged reminders of the incident all over her face and body.
Sarah said she was playing with a friend outside the yard when the dog started barking aggressively.
"One of the fence pieces was broken and it got out from the crack and it started attacking me," she said.
Natasha Villa, Sarah's mother, was two houses down when the attack happened and recognized her daughter's scream immediately.
"She had a pool of blood all over her shirt, on her shorts," said Villa. "There's still some blood on her shoe."
The attack happened outside David Powell's home. He said he's not the owner of the dog, but has been watching over it recently. Powell was bitten in the hand while trying to control the situation.
Witnesses at the scene said Powell's daugher, who Sarah was playing with, was also bitten, but Powell said she merely had some scratches.
County Animal Services is investigating whether to charge Powell with a crime. The county now has custody of the dog, which will likely be euthanized. A decision will be made in the next 10 days.
The county said out of nearly 2,700 dog bites from June 2011 through July 2010, 389 involved pit bulls -- nearly 15 percent.
Sarah said she doesn't know how many stitches she received and when she'll get them removed. What she does know is she hopes no one else experiences what she did.
"I think [the dog] should be put down because I'm afraid it'll happen to another kid. I don't want that," she said.
(10 News - August 29, 2011)
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