Sarah Stewart is stitched up and back home just one day after the attack.
“Didn’t know what was going on, so I picked her up, and there was just a trail of blood,” said Greg Stewart, Sarah’s father.
The six-year-old says she was reaching for her bottle of bubbles when she got tangled up with the neighbor's four-year-old pit bull named Oliver.
“I was trying to get a thing of bubbles. Then I slipped on a blue leash. I fell on the pit bull and then he started attacking me,” said Sarah Stewart.
The dog's owner, who didn't want her face shown, says it was an accident, and she's devastated by the attack.
“I feel so bad for Sarah. And I feel bad for Oliver cause he was scared,” the neighbor said.
The neighbor promises Oliver won't be coming back.
“I will not put the neighborhood through this. We’re going to try to put him in a retreat or find a home for him,” the neighbor said.
That's what Sarah's family had hoped to hear. They say the hold no blame, they just want everyone to heal.
“The dog was skittish. It happened. I’m lucky it wasn't worse than what it was,” Greg Stewart said.
Police took the dog away following the attack. Oliver is being kept in quarantine.
Interesting comment on the news site:
"This particular dog, Oliver has a long rap sheet. It's very sad because like so many of these type of incidents it was so avoidable.
"In the last 4 years he has bitten or attacked adults, older children, and other dogs. Both Londonderry Police and Animal Control have been notified multiple times over that period. The Condo Association was aware just about every incident but to no avail.. I remember picking up an 8 lb Schnauzer Puppy 4 years ago after it had been attacked (multiple broken bones and $1.5K in Vet bills) by this same dog and thinking how one day it could attack one of the many children in the neighborhood.
"Well that day was Easter and now there's a 6 year old girl Sarah suffering from severe facial injuries requiring plastic surgery...and it should never have happened. There's alot of blame to go around...I've known both Oliver (Pit Bull Mix ) and Kendra since they were young pups. It would be a sad day if either of the dogs were put down. But in reality, I think many people in the neighborhood felt this was an accident waiting to happen, it's just sad knowing that we were right."
(WHDH - April 2, 2013)
