Florida mother, 21, is arrested after leaving her baby in a crib with a four-month-old pit bull mix who ‘chewed’ her hand while she was going to shower
- Florida mom left baby with pit bull mix while she went to shower
- Infant had to have five fingers amputated by surgeons after being airlifted to Tampa General Hospital following bite wounds
- The mother, Chloe Wisniewski, was charged with child neglect
A Florida mother has been released on bail after being charged with child neglect in a case involving a pit bull mix puppy gnawing on a child’s fingers.
Chloe Wisniewski, 21, was arrested last week following a four-month investigation, court records show.
According to the arrest affidavit, on February 14, deputies from Charlotte County, Florida attended a home in Port Charlotte, about an hour south of Tampa, to investigate a dog bite.
They caught up with Wisniewski, who said he put her baby in a crib so she could take a “quick shower.”
While in the bathroom, she heard ‘screams’ and went in search of the Apollo family’s new dog, a three-month-old pit bull mix that the household had brought home last night. night before, “chewing” on her little girl’s hand.
Chloe Wisniewski, 21, was arrested for child neglect after a pit bull mix gnawed off several of her baby girl’s fingers
Three-month-old pit bull mix Apollo had been brought home by the family the day before the tragic incident
The mother said she immediately removed the dog from the baby, wrapped the wounds in cloth and called 911.
She told MPs there was ‘so much blood’ she couldn’t look at the baby’s fingers.
After rescuers stabilized the baby, she was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where she was taken for surgery.
Surgeons were forced to amputate three fingers from the child’s left hand and partially amputated two fingers from his right, according to the criminal complaint.
Charlotte County Animal Control took Apollo into custody, and the Department of Children and Families conducted an evaluation of Wisniewski.
Authorities determined that a urinalysis of the mother’s urine was positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
“It was really kind of a bizarre and very unfortunate incident,” said Brian Jones, division manager at Charlotte County Animal Control, according to the local. NBC socket.
The case was then turned over to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, which led the four-month investigation.
Authorities have found probable cause that Wisniewski “through culpable negligence failed to provide the baby with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain his physical health”, resulting in the child’s “permanent disfigurement”.
Apollo was reportedly quarantined under animal control protocol and eventually transferred to the Animal Welfare League.
The baby was sent to recover with family members and Wisniewski was granted supervised visitation for the child after posting $7,500 bond on Monday.
The child, whose name and age are not known, was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital
Wisniewski’s neighbors recalled the swarm of emergency responders that filled the generally quiet neighborhood after the attack.
Kecia Godfrey said: “We’ve heard a lot of noise here. There were police vans, forensic vans, they were starting to tape everything down with yellow tape.
Godfrey called what happened a “tragedy” and said in a quarter of a century she had never seen or heard of such a thing.
