"Massive" pit bull attacks child, biting 5yo girl in the face - owner wants him back (FL)

Saturday, March 25, 2017

10AM

180 block of Villacrest Drive

Crestview, Florida (Okaloosa County)

Normal

Paige Woody responds to an ad asking for people to dogsit a woman's 2 dogs.  She takes her 5-year-old daughter, Zoey, along to meet the lady and her pets and learn how to care for them. 

On Saturday, the owner asked her to come over so she could show Paige how to apply a horsefly spray to the dogs. Paige went into the backyard with the dogs and their owner and left Zoey in the house. She says the owner told her the dogs were great with children, but Paige didn't want to take a chance and didn't want to leave Zoey in the car. She and the owner were talking near the patio door when Zoey started tapping on the glass, clearly getting impatient. 

"I kept telling her, 'Hold on, baby, hold on, baby,' " Paige said. "Then I cracked the door so she could hear me better."

 

Not

One of the dogs is a pit bull.  It attacks Zoey, biting her in the face so hard it fracture her jaw in multiple places, and tears off one of her eyelids.  It also attacks her mother and its owner when they attempt to stop the attack.

That's when Mandingo lunged through the partially open door, grabbed the little girl by the face and dragged her into the yard, according to Paige.
The dogs' owner was holding off the other dog, Bella, while Paige fought with Mandingo to try to get Zoey free. As soon as he released her, she covered her daughter's body with her own.
"I lay on top of her like a shell," Paige said.

Attack location

Aftermath

Paige Woody and the unnamed pit owner are taken to North Okaloosa Medical Center with injuries.  Woody needs 28 staples and stitches for her injuries.

Zoey is flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Pensacola, undergoes a 9-hour surgery and is placed in the ICU.  Her father, Jonny Green, arrives and finds

"They didn't want me to see one side of her face, it was so bad," he said. "The side of her face I could see was bad, too. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen." 

and

"I'm so upset," he said. "I'm so angry. I'm just thankful that she's still with us. It could have been much worse, as bad as it is... It wouldn't have taken much more for her not to be with us right now."

The pit bulls were seized by Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and quarantined at their shelter.  Executive Director Dee Thompson described the animals as “pit bull mixes,” said there was blood on both animals, and the male was “highly aggressive,” requiring two officers to remove it from the owner’s property. She also says the pit bulls’ owner has said she wants them back. Spectating neighbor Trent Mctyoe said the first animal removed looked like a pit bull mix but the second – presumably the more aggressive, more difficult to handle male – was all pit bull:

“Kind of grayish, smoky colored pit bull, pretty good sized pit bull.”

Mandingo, male pit bull which mauled child

Pit Bull Owner Says

The unnamed pit owner is keeping a low profile, but Zoey's family says she and her daughter have been uncooperative and insincere.  They told the Woodys that they had already euthanized the pits; at the same time, they were informing animal control that yes, they did indeed want them back after the quarantine period was up.  The pits have not been surrendered, so it appears that the owners will attempt to get back their violent pet.

Animal Control Says (video)
PAWS Animal control officer Andrea Warren is interviewed and says that the pit bull, which is named Mandingo, is "massive" and that while she initially arrived at the home alone to seize the animals, once she saw the size of the pit bull and heard the details of the attack, she requested more assistance.  She calls the large pit bull "dominant" and says it dragged her into a doorway when she catch-poled it.  She also says that it was one of the few times in her career that she considered the chance of a crated dog escaping while she was driving it back to the shelter.  She speaks of looking in the rear-view mirror of the animal control van, thinking it was easily big and aggressive enough to break free, and thinking there's no way she'd stay in that van if that pit bull got loose.

Pit Bull Nation Says

Zoey's family sets up a GoFundMe to help pay her growing medical bills, and amidst the banal expressions of good will and regret are some zesty efforts at educating people about pit bulls.  Because classy.

Marissa Brown

While I feel for your family, this could have happened with ANY breed. I've been bitten/lunged at by more small dogs or "family pets" than anything. Some dogs just have a mean streak, and unfortunately in this instance it was a pitbull. I also heard this was a neighbors dog or a neighbors property. Their home insurance might cover your medical bills: good luck.

Shell Bell

I truly feel for you wife and little one and sending all my prayers! Marrisa was correct if it was a beighbors dog I would look into home owners insurance company possibly covering medical expenses. That aside there are many avenues of help. I wish them both a speedy and full recovery! @ Hannah Honey...where i understand your defensive nature due to the situation...espcially if you are close to the family...your statement is wrong and false. Dog attacks CAN happen via any breed of dog...infact my fellow nursing friend and her dog were attacked by a Shepard 3wks ago and as i was walking my dogs at the park another shepard attacked and bit a kid on a skateboard pretty good from what I saw as I offered him assistance...any animal can turn because at the end of the day they are wild. You cannot fully domesticate an animal...that is what CANT happen. Most people fail to realize that most animal aggression come simply from fear. I grew up with Pitbulls and own a very loving one who was once a rescue. I am not here to argue what happend...its horrific and sad...i will sincerely be praying over time for that wife and sweet baby...however I noticed your comment and wanted to respond to that as well. They also are not the most dispised breed...they are the most misunderstood yet sought after breed. Id ask you to please not add to the stigma by trying to pass your opinion as fact when it is not. This is coming from someone with a wide range and years of expirence rehabilitating rescue dogs of all breeds to include pitbulls.

https://www.gofundme.com/evj94r-help-for-zoey

http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/20170329/child-mother-mauled-by-pit-bull-photos

http://weartv.com/news/local/crestview-toddler-recovering-from-dog-attack

http://local15tv.com/news/local/dog-attack-sends-three-to-hospital

http://weartv.com/news/local/dog-attack-in-crestview-sends-5-year-old-girl-two-others-to-hosptial