BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida mother wants to know how a dog who seriously injured her daughter was still on the streets despite it being suspected in another attack.
“I am the mother of the 5-year-old girl who was mauled by a pit bull,” Amanda Chalfant said as she addressed Broward County commissioners Tuesday.
It’s been a month since her little girl was attacked by a dog at a public playground in Hallandale Beach.
Chalfant faced the Broward County Commission Tuesday, still looking for answers and accountability.
“The attack on my daughter did not need to happen, should not have happened, had animal control been doing their jobs,” Chalfant said.
The county commission and the county’s animal control department have been hit with disturbing accusations.
“The same dog that attacked my child attacked a 7-year-old boy last July,” Chalfant said.
Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Michele Lazarow pointed to a county bite report from back in July that she says is connected to the same dog that bit Chalfant’s daughter back in February.
“Within a matter of months of being adopted, while being a neighbor, the dog bit 7-year-old Ritchie only inches from his eye,” said Lazarow.
Local 10 News reached out to the county’s animal care department to ask if the same dog bit another child last summer, why was it put up for adoption a second time?
They declined our request for comment.
County commissioners did not discuss the allegations during Tuesday’s meeting due to their legal counsel advising them not to.