Mom of Dog-Attacked Girl Warns Public

myfoxhouston,com ^ | Sept. 16, 2009 | Sally MacDonald

[smokingfrog]

When Kortnie Murphy shows pictures of her daughter, she looks like a normal three-year-old girl.

The little girl's name is Natylee Murphy, and the pictures are some of the last memories Kortnie has of the way her daughter used to look.

Last week, Natylee came face to face with "Tank." The dog's owner describes him as a pit bull. "Tank" attacked Natylee at a relative's home in Montgomery County.

Sheriff's deputies say it happened when the little girl wanted to help her aunt feed several dogs in the backyard. Investigators believe she wandered up to "Tank" while he was eating.

"When I first found out about it and heard of all her injuries, I didn't think she was going to make it," said Murphy during an interview outside the hospital.

Now, Murphy has another set of pictures she's determined to show lawmakers and parents. They are graphic images of what Natylee's face looks like today.

Since Thursday, she's had five surgeries and more than a thousand stitches to repair severe tissue damage.

[smokingfrog]

Sad story. Graphic video and pictures at link.

[chris37]

Oh my God...

[humblegunner]

Sheriff's deputies say it happened when the little girl wanted to help her aunt feed several dogs in the backyard.

There's this word I used with my kids sometimes called "NO".

[DesertConservative]

The poor dear :(

[griffin]

Looks like Mom is enjoying her time in the lime light at her daughter’s expense.

Wasn’t she the one who let Kortnie near the dog in the first place??

[wolfcreek]

If anyone knows how to get a hold of this family, please lead them to this site. Maybe they can help.

http://www.txfadd.org/

[Tammy8]

How horrible. I cannot figure out when or why folks started forgetting what an animal is and what their traits are. Animals are mostly predators and prey driven by nature and dogs are predators and at times they see children as prey or as a possible threat. I have dogs and love them dearly but I know that dogs may just act like dogs at times instead of the cute creature I love. So I do not trust children or small animals around my dogs and so far it has worked out fine. I have all sorts of animals and I never ever forget that they are animals- especially when children are involved.

[American Constitutionalist]

Very Sad indeed...

[tet68]

I remember helping feed my best friends dog as a kid.
I went to move the bowl after having set it down...
that dog bit my nose and wouldn’t let go, I mean we
were eye to eye and nose to mouth. I have scars today.
Taught me a valuable lesson.

[humblegunner]

Heck, I wouldn’t react well to someone handling my plate while I’m eating either.

[decimon]

Man, this is bringing out my biases.

Show me one family with a Courtney and a Natalie and another with a Kortnie and a Natylee and it’s the latter I will expect to be moron enough to let this happen. They may get certain dog types banned but they’ll still be morons.

[GBA]

Prayers for that poor little girl. I hope she gets all the help she needs to fully recover, physically, mentally and emotionally, from this attack.

Fwiw, I think the aunt was more at fault than the dog, but agree with euthanizing the dog. Though I'm not a fan of pit bulls, I am a serious dog lover and know that almost any dog potentially could attack a three year old kid that bothers it while it's eating.

I'm not surprised to hear that a pit bull did that much damage to her. Hearing that a cocker spaniel or a golden retriever did it would have surprised me, but not a pit.

Many dog lovers have a particular breed the are devoted to and pit bulls have their devoted fans, especially for the current pseudo-ghetto version. Why, I don't know.

[thefactor]

first chet99 ping!

i'm on a roll!

[thefactor]

just saw the pics. did not want anyone to think i was making light of this topic. awful. just awful.

[tet68]

Yeah it can be hazardous.
I remember seeing a guy reaching
for the last bit of steak on a guy’s tray
in the mess hall at Chu Lai.
Ended up with a fork stuck in the
back of his hand....

[TChris]

"It's not a breed issue. It's an ownership issue," said Wendy Mahoney, a pit bull owner.

*sigh*

Yep. That's why we also see so many vicious attacks from those nasty dalmatians and golden retrievers!

[MamaB]

That dog did what every breed would do when someone wanted to mess with their food. I watch animal planet and have seen rescued dogs of every breed who do the same thing when people try to get their food. The adults should have had better sense. No one should bother any animal's food while they are eating.

[peeps36]

The mother should have never let her daughter go near a dog while it's eating. Some dogs are possessive of their food just like the one that bit her daughter. I wonder if the owner kept this dog chained up all the time. Leaving a dog chained up can make it mean, especially Rottweilers and Pit Bulls.

[PeteB570]

You’ll have to meet my 3 dogs. All around 50-60 lbs.

Anybody can reach down and pick up their food bowls when they are eating. They will sit down and look at you until you put it back down.

Did that since they were puppies.

Now the Black & Tan snagged another opossum of the fence the other night. Found it belly up in the yard in the morning and the dog had a big smile on his face.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Aunt apparently didn’t know any better.