Toddler mauled by pit bull near Bear Creek

BEAR CREEK - An 18-month-old girl was mauled by a pet dog, resulting in the child being airlifted to Children’s Hospital for surgery and the pit bull quarantined then put to sleep at a local veterinary clinic.
Bear Creek Police Officer Austin Lewis was called on Monday, May 29, to go to the emergency room at Lakeland Community Hospital, Haleyville, on reports that a child had been bitten by a dog, he said.
The attack had reportedly occurred at 391 Poore Road. “When I got (to the E-R) the baby’s head was wrapped up,” Lewis recalled.
The family of the 18-month-old girl had just gotten the pit bull as a family pet, and the dog was outside by a shed where the family keeps a four-wheeler, police said.
“All I know is the baby was outside and it got close to the area where the dog was chained up,” said Lewis.
“The baby had bite marks on the front, side and back of her head,” he added.
The child’s head was bandaged at Lakeland, and the child was then airlifted from Lakeland by Air Evac medical helicopter and transported for further treatment at Children’s in Birmingham, where she underwent surgery that night, according to police.
“They were told she has a pretty long road ahead of her,” Lewis said.
A family member had the pit bull picked up and taken to be quarantined at a local veterinarian clinic, where it was also put to sleep, officials said.
“Thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Lewis stated.