Brownwood Police report on Wednesday, March 23rd a 5-year-old girl was playing in a neighboring yard with another child when she was bitten by a tan and white pit bull.

Police were dispatched to the Brownwood Regional Medical Center emergency room where the officer spoke to a complainant whose daughter was bitten.  The officer followed up by talking with the resident of the house, in the 600 block of Avenue C, where the incident occurred.  The resident stated that the pit bull that bit the girl belonged to her boyfriend who lives with her at the house.  She stated that two children had been playing in their fenced yard and that she went into the house for a drink when she heard the victim scream.

There were no adult witnesses; however the resident’s daughter had been playing with the victim and told police when the girl tried to get on the dog to ride it “like a horse” the dog bit her on the face.  The girl sustained a deep one inch cut on her face and several puncture wounds on the right side of her mouth and left side of her chin according to police reports.

The victim is expected to recover; however, she was transferred to an Abilene hospital where she received some plastic surgery for the bite wound on her cheek according to Brownwood Police.

“There was no violation of city ordinance in this incident because the dog’s vaccines are all up to date,” said Brownwood Assistant Chief James Fuller.  “It is department policy to give the owner an option of home quarantine because the incident happened within the dog’s fence”.

Fuller explained that due to the dog being in his own yard and the circumstances, the owner may keep the dog quarantined on their property.  The dog must be kept either in a fence within the fence or in the home itself, putting the dog on a leash when outside.

According to Fuller, pit bulls naturally are a dominant animal and when the girl climbed on its back, he explained that it was instinctual for the dog to feel threatened, causing the aggression.

It is departmental policy to observe the dog’s behavior after an episode of aggression for public safety; however no further action will be taken against the dog after a successful quarantine period.  The dog will not have to be put down due to the circumstances according to Fuller.