5-year-old Colorado girl attacked by dog in church parking lot, seen being viciously bitten in horrific video
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO: A disturbing video released this week by an animal rights group shows a terrier-bull mix dog running into a church parking lot and attacking a five-year-old girl as she was walking with two adults.
Surveillance cameras captured the incident -- which took place near a Colorado Springs church on October 20 -- showing the child and two adults heading towards a car in the parking lot. Out of nowhere, a dog is seen running down the street and toward the parking lot. The mongrel bolts toward the group and heads straight for the girl, biting into her left arm and refusing to let go.
The two adults accompanying the girl are stunned and immediately spring into action, trying to pry the animal away from the petrified child. Three others join the two and they manage to force the dog off the girl after struggling for at least 20 seconds. The victim reportedly sustained moderate puncture wounds to the left bicep and forearm, requiring immediate medical intervention.
The video of the attack was posted by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region on their Facebook. They revealed in the post that the dog's owner has since been arrested and charged with unlawful ownership of a dangerous animal.
If a dog becomes aggressive, the owner is required to either pay for the animal to be boarded up with an accredited agency, or to put the dog down. However, the owner chose to have the dog euthanized in this case.
The Humane Society shared the disturbing video in a bid to raise awareness about Bite Blotter -- an online log of incidents where domestic animals became violent toward other animals or people.
"To prevent bites and attacks, pet owners need to follow the basic tenets of responsible pet ownership - spaying and neutering to prevent roaming, keeping your pet restrained at all times, and seeking professional training before a behavior escalates," they wrote in the caption.
That said, the names of the young girl and the dog owner have not been released by authorities for legal reasons.