Mum charged with neglect after dog bought off Facebook chews off baby's fingers
A 21-year-old mum has been charged after a pet Pit Bull bought from Facebook chewed off multiple of her baby daughter's fingers just 24 hours after having bought the dog.
Chloe Wisniewski, of Port Charlotte, Florida, was arrested on June 16 and has been charged with child neglect, according to jail records from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
The brutal attack happened on Valentine's Day, February 14, when Wisniewski allegedly left her baby in a bassinet in the same room as a three-month-old Pit Bull mix puppy she had recently bought off Facebook.
The dog had been bought from Facebook just 24 hours before the attack (Charlotte County Animal Control)
Three-month-old Apollo was taken in and transferred to the Animal Welfare League (Charlotte County Animal Control)According to Wisniewski, she went to take a "quick shower" when she suddenly heard screaming, according to an affidavit.
When she came out of the bathroom she saw the puppy, Apollo, who she told investigators she had bought just 24 hours earlier, inside the bassinet "chewing" on the child's hand.
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She called 911 after pulling the dog off the baby and wrapping her hand in a cloth, says the affidavit. Police responded to the home, around an hour south of Tampa, to investigate a dog bite.
After emergency crews stabilised the child, whose age is unknown, she was flown to Tampa General Hospital where she required surgery for her injuries.
Doctors ended up amputating three fingers from her left hand and partially amputated two fingers from her right, said the affidavit.
The dog was taken into custody by the Charlotte County Animal Control. Apollo was quarantined as part of the protocol and transferred to the Animal Welfare League.
Authorities said the Department of Children and Families conducted an assessment of Wisniewski, who allegedly tested positive for THC in a urine sample at the time.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office found probable cause that Wisniewski allegedly "did, by culpable negligence, fail to provide the baby with the care and supervision and services necessary to maintain physical health" causing "permanent disfigurement" to the child.
The attack happened in the Port Charlotte, Florida, home (WBBH-TV)Charlotte County Animal Control's Brian Jones told Fox 4 News this is the first time in his 25 years in the job that he's heard of an attack like this.
He said: "If you are going to bring a dog of an unknown origin don't leave it unsupervised. After that the owners decided that they didn't want that dog back, the dog was not returned to the house, and believe he was re-homed."
He added that there is no law which requires an aggressive dog to be euthanised after biting someone.
Mr Jones said : "We have seen people lose body parts over animal attacks but this one is unique because it was a baby confined to a crib."
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The baby is reportedly recovering with family members.
Wisniewski was recently released on a $7,500 (£5,899) bond and granted supervised visitation with her daughter.
It's unclear as to whether she has entered an appeal or retained an attorney to comment on her behalf.
A neighbour spoke about the horrific incident with local outlet NBC 2.
Kecia Godfrey said: "We heard a whole lot of commotion going on out here. There was police vans, forensics vans, they were starting to rope off everything with the yellow tape.
"You never leave a baby or infant alone with an animal. You just don't. Thank God the baby's still alive. That's a tragedy. It really is."
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