FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. – A 7-year-old girl is recovering after she says she was attacked by a police dog.
[PHOTOS: K-9 attacks 7-year-old girl]
According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the girl and a friend were playing Sunday evening in an abandoned lot next to the home of Wildwood police Officer Douglas Pelton.
Pelton had just let his 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, Doki, out of his kennel when the dog saw one of the children, Julianne Goodridge, reach over the fence.
Pelton said Doki ran toward the girl, and as the girl pulled back, the dog jumped over the fence and bit her.
Pelton told investigators the dog stopped on his command and he immediately secured Doki back in his kennel.
His worker's tell Local 6 he screamed in the backyard until a neighbor came to help.
A woman told a 911 dispatcher there was a huge hole in the girl's neck.
Her father met an ambulance in Fruitland Park, where she was immediately transported to Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando. He told Local 6 that he did not want to comment about the incident.
Wildwood police told Local 6 that Pelton has been placed on administrative leave and Doki has been placed in a boarding facility while they conduct an internal investigation.
"Our foremost concern is the well-being of the child ... and her family," the Wildwood Police Department said in a statement.
Pelton's co-workers tell Local 6 he arrived at work Monday morning, sat in his patrol car and sobbed.
They say he has four young daughters, and this incident has hit him very hard.
Attorney Bill Sublette, with Sublette Law Offices, confirmed Monday night that he has been fired by the family.
Sublette, who is the chairman for the Orange County School Board, wouldn't make remarks about the case, but released a statement, saying, "On behalf of the Goodridge family, we want to thank all those who have kept Julianne in their prayers as she struggles to recover from this tragic accident. We would ask that the Julianne and her family's privacy be respected as she continues the process of healing, both physically and psychologically."
Lake County sheriff's deputies are investigating the incident.?
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