Oklahoma girl, 9, mauled by dogs that escaped from shelter

WANETTE, Okla. (KFOR) - A 9-year-old Oklahoma girl is recovering after she was viciously attacked by three dogs that got loose on her street.

Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call Tuesday evening for a child who had been bitten by a dog.

“Well, when (the deputy) gets out there, he realizes it’s much, much different than that,” said Sheriff Mike Booth.

The 9-year-old was huddled in her mother’s arms, covered in a blanket when the deputy arrived. When they lifted the blanket up, he saw that she was covered in "dog bites and several severe lacerations,” according to court documents.

“Just from the injuries, you know the pain that she’s in and the pain that the family’s in,” Booth said.

The girl told deputies it happened when she was riding her bike down the road from her home. She got off her bike to pick up some pretty rocks she saw to take home, and that’s when the three dogs attacked.

Investigators said she'll likely need dozens of stitches, and could have lasting nerve damage that could affect her mobility.

“It’s, it’s pretty tough,” the sheriff said. "Even as long as you’ve been doing what I’ve been doing, it’s pretty tough to see and understand and know what that child went through.”

Investigators learned the dogs came from Forgotten Treasure Animal Rescue, which is new to the area. Two of them were rescue dogs, the third was a family pet.

“Then got there. They fully cooperated, and they did give us the records that the dogs did have their rabies shots,” Sheriff Booth said. “The owner said the dogs would be euthanized today or yesterday.”

The situation is both heartbreaking and frustrating for the sheriff.

"We don’t really have animal control laws out in the county," he said.

He believes incidents like these could be better prevented if owners could be cited when their animals get loose. It would add incentive to keep pets safely locked up, and provide funding for effective animal control.

In the meantime, he's asking anyone to report loose animals they spot.

"The more incidents we have, the more reports that we have, the more ammunition we’ve got to go help to make changes," Sheriff Booth said.

KFOR attempted to contact the owners of the dogs at their home and by phone, but did not receive a response by the time the article was published.