A Florida baby lost five fingers in a harrowing attack by a pit bull puppy – and the girl’s 21-year-old mom has been charged with child neglect for leaving her alone to take a “quick shower.”
Chloe Wisniewski, of Port Charlotte, was arrested Friday after a four-month investigation into the Feb. 14 attack, when she left the baby in a bassinet in the same room where she kept the 3-month-old puppy, NBC 2 reported, citing an arrest affidavit.
She went to take a “quick shower” but suddenly heard screaming and rushed out to see Apollo — the pit bull mix she had just brought into the home 24 hours earlier – “chewing” on the infant’s hand, the Miami Herald reported about the document.
Wisniewski said she pulled the vicious pooch off her baby, wrapped the wounds in a cloth and called 911.
The girl, whose age was not released, was flown to Tampa General Hospital, where doctors amputated three fingers from her left hand and partially amputated two fingers from her right, according to the affidavit.
Charlotte County Animal Control took custody of the dog, which was quarantined as part of protocol and transferred to the Animal Welfare League, according to NBC 2.
The Department of Children and Families conducted an assessment of Wisniewski, whose urine tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, authorities told the Herald.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office found probable cause that Wisniewski “did, by culpable negligence, fail to provide the baby with the care and supervision and services necessary to maintain physical health,” causing “permanent disfigurement” to the child, according to the paper.
After being charged Friday with child neglect, the mom posted $7,500 bond and was granted supervised visitation.
A neighbor described the horrific incident at the Abrade Avenue home in Port Charlotte, about an hour south of Tampa.
“We heard a whole lot of commotion going on out here,” Kecia Godfrey told NBC 2 . “There was police vans, forensics vans, they were starting to rope off everything with the yellow tape.
“You never leave a baby or infant alone with an animal. You just don’t. Thank God the baby’s still alive,” she said. “That’s a tragedy. It really is.”
Brian Jones, division manager for Charlotte County Animal Control, called it a “bizarre, very unfortunate incident.”
He said it was the first time in his 25 years with the department that he heard about a dog getting into a crib or bassinet, Fox 4 Now reported.
“If you are going to bring a dog of an unknown origin don’t leave it unsupervised,” he said, according to the outlet. “After that the owners decided that they didn’t want that dog back, the dog was not returned to the house, and believe he was re-homed.”
Jones added that there are no laws that require an aggressive dog to be euthanized after biting someone.
