Cobb County girl attacked by pit bull

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A good Samaritan came to the aid of a 7-year-old girl as she was being attacked by a pit bull mix, according to Cobb County police.

The child was walking alone Tuesday shortly after 3 p.m. in the Valley View mobile home park near Marietta when she was approached by the dog, Sgt. Dana Pierce said.

"A pit bull from a street over attacked her," Pierce said.

A man who witnessed the attack came to the girl's aid and struck the animal with a piece of wood, Pierce said. The man separated the animal from the child and then drove the child to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in his own vehicle, Pierce said.

An off-duty City of Marietta police officer, who was working a second job at Kennestone, called Cobb police to report the incident, Pierce said.

The child, whose name has not been released, was later transported to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where her condition was upgraded, Pierce said. The girl apparently suffered a severe wound to her leg, he said.

The dog, which weighed about 115 pounds, was signed over to animal control officials and is expected to be euthanized on Wednesday and tested for rabies, Pierce said. Charges are expected to be filed against the dog's owners.

Police believe the man's quick reaction to the attack likely saved the child. The good Samaritan has not been identified.

“It was bad," Pierce said. "But it could have been worse had he not intervened.”