(PHOTOS AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
A 5-year-old little girl is recovering after being attacked by a dog over the weekend. Her mother said she had to get roughly 50 stitches on her face.
The dog was picked up by animal control officers Tuesday as the investigation continues. He remains in quarantine at SCRAPS. Officials identified the dog as a pit bull named Pac-Man.
The young victim just wants to go back to kindergarten, but her mother fears her wounds are too fresh and doesn't want to risk infection.
"Literally pieces of skin were missing from her face," mother Tazra Wren said. "Seeing her like that was the most awful thing I've ever seen in my life."
Tazra said her daughter was playing at a family friend's home when the attack occurred. The child said the dog who bit her was going after a smaller dog and she somehow got caught up in the middle.
"Seeing my baby in so much pain, it was just horrible," she said.
And now the family just wants to make sure the dog won't hurt anyone ever again.
"I think the dog should be put down," she said.
SCRAPS said while that is one option, it's not the only possible outcome.
"Dangerous dogs, if the owner meets the registration requirements, they can be returned home," Director Nancy Hill said. "Those requirements are fairly strict."
They include keeping in the dog in an approved enclosure with locks, $250,000 in liability insurance, and a muzzle and leach each time the dog is out of that approved enclosure.
All that is not enough for the victim's family.
"They were inches away from her throat," Tazra said.
So what are Pac-Man's owner's saying? Christina Norris said her dog is normally very good with children. She said this attack is very out of character and not something she thinks will ever happen again. She said she will fight to bring her dog home as soon as possible.
"I will not let my dog be put down for an accident," she said. "To the little girl, I am completely sorry. I really am."