LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A two-year-old Las Vegas girl is recovering after what her parents call a “vicious” dog attack.
When FOX5 went to visit Lonie, she was as playful as a toddler can be.
“I don’t think she knows the dog got her,” said her father, Richard Mcneal.
Lonie’s mother, Tyreisha Hendrickson, say they are counting their blessings after a dog attacked Lonie.
The parents tell FOX5 last week they were staying at Hendrickson’s brother’s house who owns a a XL American bully.
“His confidence made us relax more. I felt that he knew what he was doing with his animal, Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson said she had just put Lonie down on the bottom of the steps when the dog that was outside, pushed through a couch barrier and ran toward her.
“When it caught her face, really everything kind of blurred in that moment. It felt so unreal,” Mcneal said.
The parents say Lonie was screaming while the dog had her face in it’s mouth.
“The only thing I could hear is snarls and growls. It’s just vicious honestly,” Mcneal said.
Hendrickson put her hand in the dog’s mouth and it eventually released. But the parents both said they thought it was too late as Lonie stopped making any noise.
She was rushed to the hospital. In the meantime, animal control arrived and the family said the dog was taken away.
The parents said just before the attack, their other children were playing with the dog.
FOX5 asked Cathy Brooks, a Las Vegas canine behaviorist, what could make a dog attack.
“It’s like, ‘Oh I’m all amped up. There’s a moving thing that’s the size of my toy, maybe I should play with it’,” Brooks said.
Brooks emphasized, she does not know either party involved and did not personally see what happened, and simply gave her professional opinion.
“If I’m an owner of a power breed dog and there are children in my home, my dog is either closed away somewhere or I’m in the room where they are with the children. Period,” Brooks said.
She also suggested parents and families to let children know to never crawl into a dog’s space, or put your hand out. If a dog does not come near you to smell you, then just leave it alone.
According to Brooks, once a dog viciously attacks, the chances of it biting again are more than 50%.
FOX5 has reached out to Clark County Animal Control about the dog, to ask whether it was put down or not but we have not yet received a response.
Meanwhile, Lonie will continue to need follow up appointments. Her family has set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses.
Have a tip? You can reach reporter Victoria Saha at [email protected]
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