Lindsey Westbrook says it was around 6 p.m. Wednesday when her daughter, 7-year-old Randa, asked to play with a friend outside - something little Randa has done countless times before. Lindsey thought nothing of it and agreed to her daughter's play date.
Lindsey says the next thing she remembers is looking out the window to see one of her neighbors, Steve Cortez, running with Randa in his arms.
"I picked her up and took her to her parents' house - a lot of blood, a lot of pain. She said, 'Steve, Steve the dog,' and I said 'Mija, you're going to be all right,'" Cortez said.
"He had seen her out of his kitchen window and he ran to her. By that time she was face down in her blood with her hands over her head," Lindsey said.
"She had deep gashes on her right cheek, she had a couple of punctures in her throat, her ear was pretty much just hanging... She had deep lacerations in the corner of her eye," Lindsey said.
"I couldn't really assess what had happened... She had so much blood all over her, just draining down her face," she said.
And this is not the first time this particular pit bull has attacked a human being.
Randa's attacker, a pit bull named Sadie, lived two houses down and belonged to Rudy and Angie Hernandez. The couple has had the dog for twelve years.
Animal Services Supervisor Shawn Byrd said back in September 2012, Sadie attacked someone else. According to Byrd, Animal Services protocol states that the animal only needs to be quarantined for 10 days. After 240 hours of the animal being monitored for signs or symptoms of rabies, Byrd said it can be released.
"It just makes me so mad that such an aggressive attack…and then the dog's in quarantine and we don't know…I mean, it could be back," Lindsey said.
Lindsey says Randa underwent a three-hour surgery Wednesday night. Randa had to have plastic surgery and currently has a drain in her neck. Lindsey says the dog ripped Randa's neck, tearing some of her muscles.
"It could have been so much worse. If Steve hadn't have seen her, I really believe that dog would have never let her go. And we wouldn't be here today with her," Lindsey said.
But after all her daughter has been through, Lindsey says this is just the beginning.
"In about a year, they're going to reassess and see if she needs further surgery, or dermabrasion, or how extensive the damage is," she said.
Lindsey says she is grateful her daughter is alive but believes stricter laws need to be in place for dangerous dogs.
"If it's been to the pound for this before, something's got to be done. If my dogs did this to my own kids, they would be put down," she said.
The Hernandez family has chosen to put Sadie down. They say they hope they can say goodbye before Animal Services forces the issue.
A Randa Westbrook Benefit fund has been set up at Wells Fargo. If you would like to help with hospital expenses, visit any Wells Fargo location.
(KCBD-TV - June 27, 2013)
