Marshfield Girl Mauled by Dog

The following is an article from the Marshfield News Herald

A 5-year-old Spencer girl suffered severe injuries to her legs and arms when she was mauled Tuesday night by a dog in Marshfield.

The girl was listed in fair condition at Ministry Saint Josephs Hospital in Marshfield Wednesday evening following the attack by a Rottweiler-pit bull mixed-breed dog. The mauling happened at about 10 p.m. on the front lawn at 512 W. Fifth St., where the dog lived.

Marshfield police shot the dog twice, killing it, as it was attacking the girl, Police Chief Gary Jepsen said.

The child’s father, a 33-year-old Spencer man, and the woman caring for the dog, a 21-year-old Marshfield woman also residing at 512 W. Fifth St., were treated for wounds that night and released.

“The dog’s remains were sent to a lab in Madison for tests and the incident continues to be investigated,” Jepsen said Wednesday.

“The dog was fixated on the girl. We don’t know why,” he said.

The father and child were visiting at the home when the attack occurred.

When the first officer arrived on the scene, he found the 5-year-old girl near the side of the road with numerous wounds to her arms and legs.

The dog, described as a large Rottweiler-pit bull mix, was clearly agitated and began attacking the young girl again. The officer jumped on top of the dog in an attempt to free the girl, Jepsen said.

A second officer arrived within moments and was going to stop the dog using his sidearm but could not because the child and other officer were so close to the animal, Jepsen said.

Moments later, the dog was pulled off the child but it broke free from the grip of the officer and attacked her again. An officer used his taser, which caused the dog to pause its attack. When the dog still refused to let go of the girl, a third officer shot it with his .40-caliber pistol, Jepsen said.

The dog briefly released the child but soon resumed the attack and the officer fired a second shot, killing the animal, Jepsen said.

“The Fifth Street neighborhood is better off without Rottweiler or pit bull dogs,” said Mark Staab of Marshfield, who was visiting his daughters home Wednesday afternoon, across the street from where the attack happened.

“All these homes around here have children. My daughter has a little son. Them dogs aren’t user friendly. Its born into them,” Staab continued.

“Marshfield should take a good look at this. There’s enough other nice little dogs you can have,” he added.

“An ordinance regulating specific dog breeds may be brought up before the city’s Judiciary, Licensing and Cemetery Committee,” stated City Council member Ed Wagner, committee chairman.

“This is going to fuel the fears about this particular type of breed,” Wagner said.

Injuries from dog attacks can be a life changing event for the victim. At PKSD, our personal injury lawyers have many years of experience helping injury victims to obtain the justice that they deserve. For help with your dog bite incident, contact a Milwaukee dog bite lawyer from our law firm by calling 877-877-2228. We charge no upfront fees if we take on your case and your initial consultation is also free of charge.

PKSD – 877-877-2228.