WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A little girl sustained serious injuries to her neck when she was attacked by her grandmother’s dog.
It happened around midnight New Year’s Eve at Crystal Downs Mobile Village on West Crystal Lake Road near Whitehall.
Authorities say the 5-year-old girl jumped down from a chair and the dog bit her, damaging her neck and throat. The family called 911.
The girl was taken to Mercy Health in Muskegon and later transferred to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.
According to the family’s GoFundMe account, she underwent emergency surgery on New Year’s Eve and will be spending the next few months in the hospital and the next few weeks in intensive care. They say as of Sunday, she was in critical condition and “will come home with a trach and her voice box was compromised.”
Her family says the girl knew the dog and had been around the dog before, so they are not sure what caused the incident, calling it a “random violent attack.”
The dog, which authorities described as a 2-year-old pit bull mix, was surrendered to a shelter and later euthanized at the request of the family.