The girl, who was not identified in a Sangamon County Sheriff's Office report (but who was later identified as Illyania Rocha), was injured April 11. Deputies were called to the house on Beacon Ridge Road about 12:40 p.m. after the girl was found in the backyard.
The girl's mother said their 2-year-old Great Dane, Merlin, attacked her daughter for an unknown reason. The girl had visible bite injuries on her face, head, arms, leg and torso. The mother put the dog inside the house in a bedroom before rescuers arrived, the report said.
The girl was taken by ambulance to HSHS St. John's Hospital and placed in the intensive care unit. Her condition was not available Wednesday.
The Great Dane then got up and pulled the animal control officer out the front door while trying to bite off the snare, authorities said. Once outside, the dog bit a deputy on the leg when he tried to remove the prongs from the stun gun.
Deputies used the stun gun on the dog two more times as they tried to get him into an animal control truck. The dog died during the struggle.
During the investigation of the mauling, which was first reported in the Illinois Times, the 10-year-old's 15-year-old sister told deputies that she had been bitten by the dog two months earlier on the shoulder and arm. That incident was not reported, according to the sheriff's office report.
The stepfather of the girls described the dog as "mean and vicious" and said that only his wife could control him.
Greg Largent, director of the Sangamon County Animal Control Center, said tests indicated that the dog did not have rabies. He added that animal control had not been called to the home before the April 11 incident.
The sheriff's office forwarded reports to Milhiser and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which indicated they would be opening a case.
Milhiser said he would decide whether criminal charges are warranted after he receives additional reports.
(The State Journal-Register - April 23, 2015)
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