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A dog attack in Missouri City has put two families at odds.

The family of a young dog attack victim is trying to figure out how to pay for the mounting doctors bills.

Sierra Forward is surrounded by letters from friends with wishes for a speedy recovery.

It can be a bit difficult to understand what the 8-year-old is saying. That's because her mouth is still swollen after a dog attack.

The attack happened on Good Friday in the back yard of the Missouri City home belonging to Sierra's godparents.

Off camera Sierra's godmother said Sierra didn't listen and went outside to play with their 6-year-old Rottweiler.

The result was almost 50 stitches around her eye, cheek and mouth.

"I am told this is not the first incident," said aunt Toni Rhodes. "It happened at another home they owned with another little girl in the neighborhood."

The owners of the dog said that time it was just a scratch.

"At what point in time are we going to say enough is enough," said Rhodes. "The next time it could possibly kill a child."

The one thing both families can agree on is that this attack was devastating.

Sierra's family is already having a tough time with the medical bills and knows there will be more due to plastic surgery.

The godparents say their insurance won't pay.

"They don't have medical insurance," said Rhodes. "No one can afford it so what do we do for Sierra."

There is concern too about things surgery can not fix like mental scars.

The victim's family has hired an attorney. The dog is still in custody at Missouri City Animal Control, which will hold it in quarantine for 10 days.

If the owners want it back, animal control states it will file charges to declare it a dangerous dog and impose strict rules on the family if it is returned.

ANY comments with profanity will be deleted as soon as I find them, and your IP address will be banned. If you can't make your point without cursing, you don't have any business posting.

It's unfortunate that this happened, but at the same time, the girl should have listened when she was told not to go into the backyard. Where were all of the adults when she went into the backyard? I think all parties are responsible for allowing this to happen and they should all be responsible for paying for Sierra's medical bills. Obviously the owners of this dog knew the dog was dangerous or it wouldn't have been a big deal for the girl to go into the backyard with the dog.

This isn't this dog's first incident and it was very irresponsible for the owners to keep this dog alive. People like this are giving Rottweilers a bad reputation (BLAME THE DEED, NOT THE BREED) and are the reason breed specific legislation is popping up everywhere and threatening the rights of dog owners to have the breed of their choice.

The dog needs to be euthanized, the owners need to be charged criminaly, and they need to be banned from owning anymore dogs. Declaring it dangerous and imposing strict rules won't make these people more responsible pet owners.

   --Posted by: Michelle at April 21, 2006 12:19 PM

At age 11 I was attacked by a neighbors St. Bernard. The right side of my face was torn through and through, from under my eye to the bottom of my face. I was lucky because the first doctor refused to repair the damaged and I was sent to a plastic surgeon. The owners of the dog also wanted their dog back. My family decided not to have the dog put down and he was returned to them. I agreed with the decision at the time, but not now.

It appears the owners of the Rottie are irresponsible and they have no business keeping this animal. It should be placed with someone who is responsible and knows how to handle aggressive dogs. What if next time the animal kills a child? Opps, we are so sorry???!!!

   --Posted by: Barb at April 20, 2006 10:36 PM