ARIZONA -- A six-year-old Duncan girl was flown to the University Medical Center in Tucson on Saturday after she was mauled by a German shepherd on Sept. 3.
According to a report from the Graham County Sheriff's Office, Ivanna Cano went to her neighbor's residence to help sell tamales around town with her neighbor's friend. Instead of going to sell tamales, however, the neighbor left Ivanna at the house with two teenagers, and Ivanna was subsequently attacked by the neighbor's male German shepherd at about 4:30 p.m.
The dog grabbed Ivanna by the side of her neck and pinned her on the ground. She told authorities that she couldn't remember how she got away from the dog.
Ivanna's parents were informed of the attack and immediately drove her to the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center in Safford. Her mother, Karla Cano, said doctors at Mt. Graham advised her that Ivanna was going to be flown to UMC to make sure she didn't suffer damage to her arteries or nerves.
Karla rode in the helicopter with her daughter, and her husband, James Cano, drove to the hospital.
Ivanna was held overnight but was released the following day and is doing remarkably well, according to Karla.
"(She is) a very lucky girl," Karla said. "Every doctor that saw her said that the dog could have killed her."
The Greenlee County Animal Control picked up the dog and is holding it in quarantine for observation because it didn't have a record of its shots.
Greenlee Sheriff Steve Tucker said the owner of the dog could face criminal charges depending on the circumstance relating to the attack. Other charges might be related to failure to keep a dog licensed or have a record of up-to-date shots.
"Depending on the circumstance, there's a good chance that they could be cited or charged," Tucker said.
Karla told the Courier that she is just happy that her little girl was safe and sound.
"I just thank God that she's O.K.," Karla said. "Everything (else) doesn't matter anymore. That she's O.K. is the only thing that matters."
(Eastern Arizona Courier - Sept 9, 2011)
