The mother of an 8-week old baby attacked by a dog in a Logan Heights backyard said that her daughter was in surgery Monday night suffering from several skull fractures.
The baby was on the ground in between her mother's legs behind her home on Irving Avenue in Logan Heights when the dog, described by police as an 18-month-old pit bull, "locked on" to her head, the mother said.
The mother asked that her and her child not be identified.
“He grabbed her by her head and started shaking her. He tried to kill her. He almost crushed her head," she said.
The dog was chained up and the mother thought her baby was out of its reach. she said the dog smelled her daughter's foot and then sprung for her head in the blink of an eye.
“I was choke-holding him and the dog’s owner pried his jaw open -– he was locking on her — and then I grabbed her and we all tried to call 911,” she added.
She said her daughter suffered several fractures to her skull and possibly has bone fragments in her brain.
Doctors at Rady Children's Hospital told the mother they were unsure of the long-term damages the attack would have on the child's cognitive abilities, sight or hearing.
“She’s suffering and I’m suffering too," the mother said.
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Police detained the dog following the attack until Animal Control Services (ACS) arrived at the home, then officers had the dog's owner walk it on its hind legs from a patrol car to an ACS vehicle.
The mother said the dog had been euthanized.
The owner of the dog told police that the attack was "out of character" for the dog, according to SDPD Lt. Christian Sharp.
