A 4-year-old girl suffered from a fatal dog attack in Dallas on Saturday as the owner reportedly watched it happen. Neighbors tell Fox 4 Dallas that the girl was outside when another neighbor's three dogs attacked her.
The girl, identified as Lea Janae Freeman, was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office where she was later pronounced dead. Michael Pennington, who lives nearby, says the attack was "messed up."
"The baby was messed up, man," he tells FOX 4 Dallas. "I don’t like to talk about it because I can’t hold myself in.
The family created a GoFundMe upon Lea's death, describing her as "a bright star who loved to bake cookies, play with her sisters, and would give a first-class fashion show."
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"She could ease the greatest of pain and her laugh was contagious. She would flip and split her way into your heart," the GoFundMe page reads.
Freeman's mother arrived home after the dog attack. Neighbors reportedly believe that three dogs attacked Freeman, but Dallas Animal Services only took one into custody.
Pennington recalled a previous incident, where his niece was attacked by the same neighboring dogs.
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"One day me and my niece pulled up out here and she came up by the garage. She was coming up the driveway and the dog came from over there and grabbed her by the jacket, but he didn’t get a chance to actually bite her because he grabbed her jacket," added his wife, Lorie Pennington.
A representative from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services told Fox 4 Dallas that Freeman's family was involved with Child Protective Services in the past as the agency investigates her death.