Dog Attack On Little Girl, 6: Rottweiler Mauls Girl, Neighbor Uses Pipe To Save Her

A dog attacked a little girl in Brookline, near Pittsburgh. The 6-year-old was bit several times, with wounds to her head and the side of her arm. Action 4 News reports Sabrina Snyder was attacked by a Rottweiler at a neighbor’s next door Wednesday evening.

Samantha Luzier tells the news source that Sabrina was visiting a neighbor when one of two dogs hurt her daughter. A Rottweiler is described as being the breed of dog that attacked the girl from behind as she was walking out the front door. Sabrina’s sister ran outside and ran into neighbors Sarah and Timothy Guttuso after they heard the terrible screams from the girl.

Sarah reveals that Timothy grabbed a pipe, went to the scene, and shoved it in the dog’s mouth with the intention of making the dog lose its grip on the 6-year-old.

Sarah reveals:

“There was screaming. Screaming like you wouldn’t believe. A little girl ran out of the back door of our next-door neighbor’s house, crying hysterically and shaking. We asked her what was wrong.”

Timothy adds:

“She said ‘the dog’s attacking my sister.’ Right then, we just rushed to the front porch and my wife started calling the police.”

Sarah describes the frightening dog attack:

“Our neighbor was trying to also pull the dog off the little girl. But this dog was dragging the little girl and my neighbor, until my husband stopped him.”

Timothy shares the harrowing experience of trying to get the dog away from the girl:

“I just held it down, and I kept screaming at him, ‘Let her go.’ I put the pipe in its mouth and tried to pry it open a little bit and she got loose and I held it down, while they ran away. It kept trying to go after her.”

Sabrina Snyder was treated at UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for two lacerations and multiple puncture wounds to her skull, according to Luzier. The girl reportedly has stitches on both ears and on the side of her arm, where the bite was deep into her muscle. She’s since been released and will see a plastic surgeon next week.

Police confirm that the dogs’ owners have turned them over to animal control. The owners haven’t been charged with any crimes.

The Gattusos claim they’ve seen both dogs “out of control,” barking aggressively, and trying to jump the fence. In fact, the Gattusos said they’ve left messages at animal control about the dogs, but none have been returned. Timothy feels bad for the child because she was “just curious.”

“… She wanted to pet every dog in the neighborhood. She loved dogs, and now I’m sure she doesn’t like them too much,” Timothy says.

CBS Local in Pittsburgh reports that the incident happened specifically at the 800-block of Norwich Avenue around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Another neighbor tells the news source what he witnessed.

Joe Tardio says:

“I seen the lady from across the street carrying the little girl, and I seen blood coming out of her head, and I thought this is really bad. My little girl who is 9-years-old said, ‘Daddy, I believe somebody got attacked by a dog.'”

Tardio notes that the dog attack could have been prevented if their animals were under better care. He says:

“We made several phone calls in the last few months to have someone come and look at the situation to have them either be taken away or better for them. They had no food. They had no shelter.”

[Photo Credit: Screen Shot/Action News 4]