Neighbors: Michigan girl killed by dog had just gotten it, was giving it a treat
SHERMAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Neighbors say a 4-year-old girl who was killed by a dog at a home in southwestern Michigan was giving the animal a treat when it attacked.
The St. Joseph County sheriff’s department identified the girl as Kiyana McNeal.
Neighbors told CBS Kalamazoo affiliate WWMT-TV that Kiyana’s mother had just acquired the dog before the attack Sunday.
Neighbor Rebecca Davis said she heard hysterical screams coming from next door when the incident began.
Davis said she rushed outside to find her neighbor sobbing over the body of her 4-year-old daughter Kiyana McNeal.
“She said she had just bought the dog, and the guy probably hadn’t been gone five minutes, and just that fast the dog attacked,” Davis said.
Davis said the girl was trying to give the doberman a treat when it lunged at her neck, while her mother frantically tried to pry the dog off her.
“She got in between them and she got bit in the neck and in her hands,” said Kenneth Davis.
The department says the mother tried to protect her daughter when the Doberman or Doberman mix attacked. The mother had injuries to her head and hands. She’s been released from the hospital.
Rebecca Davis said Kiyana’s mother and the man who previously owned the dog attempted CPR on the child.
“He was really distraught; you can imagine it, seemed that he was crying and he was really bad. You can imagine how he would feel,” Kenneth Davis said.
The dog was taken by animal control. The attack, which happened about 125 miles west of Detroit, is under investigation.