Three-year-old girl attacked by pit bull

Posted at: 09/02/2012 9:31 AM | Updated at: 09/03/2012 3:53 PM
By: Christine VanTimmeren | WHEC.com

A three-year-old girl is in guarded condition Monday after being attacked by the family pit bull. The family of little Jayden Forrester says she had interacted with the pit bull many times before, but this time, it just snapped. 

The attacked happened at the house of a family member on Saturday afternoon on Starling Street, that’s off Lexington Avenue. Since then, Jayden has been in the hospital undergoing a number of procedures. 

Justin Forrester and Malissa Moore say they were at Malissa’s sister’s house when the attack happened and it was Justin who sprung into action to save his little girl. 

Justin Forrester, Jayden’s father, said, “We both ran inside and what I saw when I got there was he had her whole face in his mouth.” 

The details are chilling. An attack like this is something no three-year-old child should ever have to endure. 

Forrester said, “Right before he was able to shake I was there and I was able to grab his mouth. I grabbed his top and bottom jaws and I was able to pull them open wide enough for Malissa to grab Jayden.” 

Forrester’s hand tells the story of a father whose only mission was to save his little girl from the powerful jaws of a pit bull. 

Forrester said, “There’s no time to think, you can’t think because if I took the time to think, my daughter wouldn’t be alive.” 

It’s hard for Jayden’s mom, Malissa Moore, to even put the horror into words. 

This past Saturday, Jayden was playing at her aunt’s house when family members say the dog ran into the room and completely unprovoked grabbed Jayden by the face. 

Forrester said, “Ever since she was a baby, she's been around this dog. It was just a freak accident.” 

A freak accident has led to multiple blood transfusions, a seven hour surgery and many more ahead 

Forrester said, “She has a large laceration underneath her jaw. She has a fractured lower jaw. She lost five teeth, her upper macula was broken. She’s got two plates in there to hold the jaw to the skull. 

Justin says he doesn’t blame his family and he doesn’t blame the dog. He says he never would have let Jayden play with a dog he didn’t trust. 

Forrester said, “For whatever reason, sometimes they just snap.” 

And while he knows the dog was taken away by animal control, Justin says what happens next with the animal doesn’t matter to him. It’s about Jayden now. 

Jayden’s father said this isn’t a situation where they will file a police report. They understand it was a tragic accident. But Jayden will need extensive cosmetic surgery to repair the damage. 

A family has set up an account on Indiegogo to raise money for Jayden’s medical expenses. News10NBC wants to warn you that on that website the family has posted pictures of Jayden in the hospital and they are very graphic.

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