Palm Coast girl, 9, mauled by pit bull

PALM COAST, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Grace Lanier, 9,  walks with a bit of a limp Wednesday afternoon – bandages cover the stitches on her body after the 4th grader was attacked by a bit bull on Sunday.

“When your daughter is standing there covered in blood and asks your dad are you going to die, asks a parent ‘Am I going to die?’ There’s nothing more heart- wrenching then that.

Grace’s father, James Lanier, says she went to a neighbor’s house around the corner from their Palm Coast home, asking to play with another child, that’s when deputies say the neighbor’s dog ran out the door and attacked the 9-year-old girl.

“He yelled over to her and said quick come over, grace had been bitten by the dog,” Lanier said.

Hospital photos show the extent of her injuries, bruises and bite marks on her legs arms and face.

“There was blood everywhere, the laceration on her head is three inches long on the top,” Lanier said. 

The pit bull is now under quarantine at the Flagler County Humane Society after its owners called deputies to surrender it.

“The dog went through my son’s legs and bit this little girl,” said the caller.

Officials say the dog will likely be designated as dangerous dog and euthanized, the Palm Coast father just doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else.

“What I would like to see is them not able to have a dog like that again,” Lanier said.

Flagler County Animal Control says that dangerous dog designation is likely to officially be made on Thursday.