Girl, 3, bitten by dog wearing service vest in Texas restaurant – “For a 3-year-old to turn to me and say, ‘Mommy, I’m ugly,’ it’s earth-shattering.”
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) – A 3-year-old girl is recovering from receiving several stitches in the face after she was attacked by a dog wearing a service vest inside a Texas restaurant.
Ronin Waldroup, 3, and her family had just arrived Saturday at the Loose Caboose, a restaurant in Spring, Texas, with a close family friend. The toddler was leading the group to the line to order when she came face-to-face with a dog wearing a service vest that the family described as a pit bull.
The family friend, Kimberly Parker, was right behind Ronin when she was attacked by the dog.
“It had a hold of her face, shook her,” Parker said. “The lady pulled on the leash, the dog released her and she just dropped like a rag doll.”
Parker handed Ronin off to her mother, Cleveratta Gordon-Waldroup, who took her to the bathroom to assess her injuries. Ronin’s father, James Waldroup, found them in the bathroom and asked what happened.
“Her best friend Kim says, ‘She was bit by a dog,’” he recalled. “I turned around and go, ‘What dog?’ And two people at the doorframe said, ‘She’s running that way.’ I broke and ran.”
Waldroup chased the woman and the dog down the street to her car. He said he told the woman she needed to stay because there was an accident.
“She yells at me, ‘It was your daughter’s fault,’” the father said.
In video of the scene, the dog owner can be seen being driven away by a man. Waldroup was able to get a photo of the woman and her license plate.
Ronin was taken to the hospital, where she received stitches. Her mother said the doctors did not believe she would have bad scarring but did suggest she follow up with a plastic surgeon.
“My husband and I walked in our bedroom, and she has my makeup brushes, trying to put makeup on her face. I asked her, ‘What is wrong? Why are you doing that?’” Gordon-Waldroup said. “For a 3-year-old to turn to me and say, ‘Mommy, I’m ugly,’ it’s earth-shattering.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to cover Ronin’s future medical expenses.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said they do know who owns the dog and have a meeting scheduled with her. Information will be passed on to the district attorney’s office to determine if charges are warranted.
via: https://www.fox19.com/2021/01/12/graphic-girl-bitten-by-dog-wearing-service-vest-texas-restaurant/
Photo Credit: CNN