Girl, 3, recovering after dog attack in Chevak knba.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from knba.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Print article A 3-year-old Chevak girl was badly hurt last week when loose dogs attacked her as she played outside her home. Since the Sunday attack, Amaya Santillana has traveled to Bethel and Anchorage for treatment and undergone two surgeries, said her mother, LaVerna Paniyak. Charges had not been filed against the neighbor who she said owns the dogs, although the investigation is open and Alaska State Troopers are seeking witnesses, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the troopers. It’s unclear what will happen to the dogs. Troopers have no authority over local animal control issues and cannot interfere in decisions about the dogs, McDaniel said.
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Laverna Paniyak lives in Chevak with her four young children. She was breastfeeding her infant daughter on the afternoon of April 18. Paniyak’s 10-year-old son had gone outside to play, and her 3-year-old daughter, Amaya Santillana, ran outside to find her brother.
“And my niece, she happens to look out the window because she heard screaming, like screaming and crying,” Paniyak said. “She looks out the window and she says the dogs are on top of her.”
Paniyak’s niece ran outside and chased three pitbulls away that she said ran to the neighbor who she says owns the dogs. She said that the neighbor led the dogs back towards his house on a snowmachine. She picked up her cousin, who was in bad condition, and handed her to Paniyak.