A pair of Rottweilers attacked a four-year-old girl on June 5 at a home in Morgan County, according to a report filed by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.
The homeowner, Janice Estep, said that she and her granddaughter had been playing with the two dogs in the front yard prior to the incident, and the dogs had never shown a tendency to become aggressive. Estep went back into the house for a moment and heard the girl screaming.
When she came out, she saw that both dogs had jumped on her granddaughter and were biting her.
According to the report filed by Deputy Charles Gillis, Estep threw rocks and yelled at the dogs to get them to stop, but the dogs continued to attack the little girl. Estep then jumped on top of her granddaughter to shield her with her own body.
The granddaughter sustained multiple scratches and bite wounds, including a deep laceration to the right side of her head and around her right eye.
EMS personnel arrived on the scene and decided the little girl needed to be flown to the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta for treatment.
Estep also suffered multiple scratches and bite marks. The dogs tore away clothing and a boot and left a wound on Estep’s left calf. She was taken to Piedmont Hospital in Athens for treatment.
Animal control responded to the scene and removed the dogs, who were later euthanized at the request of the homeowner.