Bay Shore Community on Edge After 9-Year-Old Girl Suffers Serious Injuries in Pit Bull Attack as Family Seeks Dog's Removal

A 9-year-old girl in Bay Shore was subjected to a harrowing ordeal when a neighbor's pit bull attacked her, inflicting severe facial and head injuries that required hundreds of stitches and staples. The incident, which took place as Daniella Schlauch was getting into a car outside her home, has prompted her family to issue an urgent plea for the removal of the animal from their neighborhood, as reported by CBS News New York.

"He could've killed me if no one was out there," Daniella conveyed to CBS News New York, indicating the unprovoked nature of the attack as the dog pounced and locked onto her. Her father, Pat Schlauch, in an act of desperate intervention, recounted to News 12 Long Island, "I didn’t have time to think, but I knew I had to save my daughter’s life." He described how he jumped on the animal's back to prevent further injury.

The Suffolk police are currently investigating the attack, while the Town of Islip has instructed the dog's owners to confine the animal for a mandatory quarantine period. Daniella's family has filed a dangerous dog application, voicing concerns about the pet's past behavior and the lack of a fence on the owner's property—factors contributing to the perceived ongoing threat posed by the dog, which the family says has escaped numerous times. "The dog was, been known to easily just open the latch on the back door and escape, which he has done numerous times before," Daniella's brother, George Schlauch, told CBS News New York.

Neighbors in the area are uneasy, with community member Antonio Cumberbatch expressing their worries to News 12 Long Island: "If you know you have these types of pets, you have to at least try to do what you can to keep everybody's safety first priority." The Schlauch family awaits a district court judge's decision on the case, which could lead to retraining, removal, or even euthanization of the dog—a decision expected to be made within five days of the hearing as per standard protocol. In the interim, the owner has been issued a summons for owning an unlicensed dog.