Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Girl, 7, bitten in face by family dog in Edgewater

FLORIDA -- A 7-year-old girl was recovering Wednesday after being bitten in the face by her grandfather's dog in Edgewater, police officials said.

Just before noon Tuesday, the unidentified youngster was playing on the back porch with the Australian shepard-Labrador mix named “Sammy” at her grandmother's house on Silver Palm Drive when it bit her on the upper lip, said an Edgewater police report.

The incident occurred as the little girl used a small paint brush to dust off Sammy's face, the report indicated.

Emergency medical personnel treated the girl at the scene before a family member took her to Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach. She was later transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando for further treatment.

Edgewater animal control officers seized the animal and transported him to the Edgewater Animal Shelter where he is under a 10-day quarantine, the report said.

The dog's owner, Richard Taylor, 57, the girl's grandfather, decided to have the dog euthanized after the quarantine period expired, the report indicated.

The report said the year-old dog had been given to Taylor as a Father's Day present in 2012.

(Daytona Beach News Journal - June 19, 2013)