Indiana: Young girl attacked by pit bull as she gets off school bus

INDIANA -- A young girl was attacked by a neighbor's dog as she got off the school bus Friday afternoon, and her family says they had reported the dog in the past.

Jordyn Coleman, 11, was just trying to get off her bus and walk a half block home, when the dog attacked. A neighbor said she witnessed the dog repeatedly knock Coleman over and bite her as she tried to get away.

"I didn’t know what to do, I was like, 'Is this happening to me?'" Coleman said.

Neighbors stepped in, and eventually the dog's owner was reportedly able to get the dog off of Coleman. It had bit her in the face, stomach, leg, and hand.

"She said, 'I tried to be brave mommy, I tried, I tried, I just couldn’t, I just couldn’t,'" Coleman's mother, Sharanda Carr, said.

Coleman is going to be okay, but her face had to be stitched up and it's unclear yet what the scarring will be like, or if she'll need further surgery.

Carr said that, on top of the shock of seeing her daughter in distress, she had a sinking feeling after the attack.

"We’ve called the police at least twice, we’ve called animal control at least twice," Carr said.

Neighbors also told FOX59 they had reported the dog, which is a pit mix, as well as another, which is a chihuahua mix, and their owner for years. They said the dogs would frequently roam the neighborhood and chase both adults and children.

"It wasn’t until now that something’s actually being done," Carr said.

The dog's owners did not want to comment for this story. Both dogs have been surrendered to Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

Carr said that the owners did apologize, and that they're not the only ones she blames for the terrifying ordeal.

"It’s my fault too, as a parent. ... If animal control didn’t do something the first time, then I should have, I don’t know, maybe just stayed on them or something," Carr said. She said she hoped that IACS would do more to respond to neighbors' concern over loose dogs like these.

As for Jordyn, she's most upset that she has to miss her year-end dance recitals, and said she hopes the dogs are gone from the neighborhood for good.

"I hope that I get better and that the dogs stay in the pound," Coleman said.

IACS told FOX59 that the dogs are currently in quarantine and the owners have been cited into court, where a judge will decide what to do with them.

"IACS has been in the area for complaints on nearly a monthly basis since February 2016. We have attempted contact at various addresses in the area and sent letters of education to various addresses in the area. IACS did not observe the animals at large during any of our attempts to locate them in the area. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until this incident that we were able to interact with the animals or the owner," a spokesperson said.

Carr has started a Gofundme to pay for her daughters surgery and counseling. You'll find it at the link here.

(Fox59 - Dec 19, 2016)