Woman mauled by neighbor's pit bull

MICHIGAN -- A local woman is recovering after being attacked by a pit bull earlier this week in Bay City.

The incident happened at a home on Harrison Street this past Tuesday.

The victim, Denise VanWert, claims her neighbor's dog wandered into her yard.  She got into a confrontation with her neighbor, who, she claims, told her the dog was friendly.  When she reached down to pet the dog, she said the dog bit her.

"He tore my lip wide open, and my nose. He got inside somehow, and tore me so bad I have 11 stitches in my nose, and seven stitches on my top lip," said VanWert.

Police were called to the scene and VanWert was taken to McLaren Bay Region hospital where she got 18 stitches to her face.

But the owner of the 2-year-old American Pit bull Terrier named Roxy has a different story.

"She walked up to our yard, bent over and smacked my dog in the side of the head. And my dog jumped up, and from what I saw, looks like she smashed her in the face," said Brandon Hellebuyck.

The dog is quarantined to Hellebuyck's home for 10 days.  Bay County Animal Control will evaluate
the dog, and pass its findings to the prosecutor after the period.

The fate of the dog, which is still in the owner's home, is yet to be determined.

(WNEM - May 10, 2014)