CALEDONIA (WITI) -- A 15-month-old child suffered severe facial tears, puncture wounds and missing teeth after being bit by a female pit bull at a home in Caledonia on Wednesday, June 5th. The child is now being treated at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
Officers responded to the home on Ivy Ln. around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday where the animal responsible for the bite was still inside the home.
At the time of the attack, the child was sitting on the kitchen floor eating a cookie. It is assumed the pit bull, named Mary Jane, bit the child in an effort to retrieve the cookie from the child’s mouth.
"This particular animal the family took in and they knew it had been abused in the past so they had taken this dog in and they told us that the dog is not friendly towards children," said Lt. Gary Larsen from the Caledonia Police Department.
This isn't the first time the pit bull showed violent behavior. The dog has one prior animal bite report on file from 2009 where it bit its owner on the hand. That injury required stitches.
Neighbors say there have been similar incidents on the street.
"We've seen them swing the kids around in the mouths and they've had to pry his mouth open to get it off the kid," said one neighbor.
The dog was seized by Officers and turned over to Countryside Humane Society of Racine. The owner surrendered it to be euthanized.
There are no criminal charges at this time; however, the investigation is ongoing.
Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.
