Samantha Clark, of McColl, says she was watching from a window in her home as her daughters, 3-year-old Riley and 8-year-old Harley, played outside.
Samantha saw the pit bull come into the yard. "I hollered out the window and told them, you know, hold on I'm coming to get him out of the yard so don't mess with him."
But the dog attacked Riley.
"The dog had already had my three-year-old on the ground, and I could see him shaking her. And by the time I got out there to where she was at, I got the dog off her."
But then, she says, the pit bull turned on Harley.
"Holding Riley in my arms, chasing after him, kicking him trying to get him off of my eight-year-old," she explains.
Samantha says a bystander she didn't know helped chase the dog away.
McColl police called the Department of Health and Environmental Control as is required by state law whenever an animal bites someone.
Police say DHEC investigated and found it wasn't necessary for animal control to take the dog into custody.
DHEC says the dog will be quarantined at the owner's home for ten days to see if it shows any signs of rabies, which is standard operating procedure.
That's not enough for Samantha.
"That dog would have killed my child if I hadn't got out there, and I think the same need to done to him."
If the dog shows signs of rabies, it will be put down.
Police cited the pit bull's owner for Allowing a Canine to Run at Large, which carries a fine up to $1,000.
Police say the dog has never attacked anyone before, and that's another reason it wasn't confiscated.
(WPDE - Jan 27, 2012)
