A 23-month-old Orange County girl was attacked and killed by her family’s pet pit bull Sunday evening.
The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing the child’s name at the family’s request. The family told the Sheriff’s Office it would issue a statement later today.
The dog, which was chained, had been a family pet for 10 years, the Sheriff's Office said in a press release. Sheriff Mark Amos said his office had not received any previous complaints about the dog.
According to Amos, the family lives in the Mountain Track Road area in the southern part of the county.
The child, who would have been two years old next month, was found a short distance from the family home, Amos said. The mother told deputies she had been preoccupied for a short period of time, then noticed the child was not in the house and went to look for her.
A family member found the child where the dog had attacked her.
The Sheriff's Office received a call around 6:40 p.m. When deputies arrived, they found the girl unresponsive, with multiple injuries over her body, according to the news release.
The girl was transported to the University of Virginia Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 9:11 p.m.
The family surrendered the dog to Animal Control and it was euthanized.
According to Amos, the investigation is ongoing and no decision about charges has been made.