While a young mother in Port Charlotte, Florida went to take a shower, she placed her four-month-old baby in a bassinet. Minutes later, she heard screaming and came to find the family pit bull chewing off her infant’s fingers.
After being airlifted to the hospital, the surgeons had no choice but to amputate the child's fingers when the incident occurred in February, three on the left hand and two on the right.
The 21-year-old mother, Chole Wisniewski, was arrested and charged with child neglect on June 16 after a four-month investigation, according to NBC 2.
Wisniewski told investigators back in February that she had taken the puppy in just 24 hours before the incident. The pit bull was only three months old when the incident occurred.
Wisniewski told officers there was "so much blood" to the point where she could not bear to look at her infant's hands at the time.
Apollo, the pit bull, was quarantined as part of the protocol for dog bites and then transferred to the Animal Welfare League.
The Department of Children and Families conducted an assessment of Wisniewski, and the mother tested positive for THC in a urine analysis, according to the Miami Herald.
Brian Jones, the Division Manager for the Charlotte County Animal Control, said in a statement that "[t]his could happen with any breed." Pit bulls have been involved in violent attacks all over the US.
He called the attack "bizarre" and "very unfortunate."
According to Kecia Godfrey, who saw the emergency response to the pit bull attack, “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.”
Godfrey added, “This is really the first time in my 25 years of service that I have encountered a case like this. That’s how rare it is.”
Wisniewski reportedly did not want to speak on camera after the incident. According to the family, the child is recovering well.