A 10-year-old girl whose deep pit-bull bite wounds went unreported for a week was removed from her home by state child welfare workers Tuesday.
Indianapolis metropolitan police said the girl had been kept from school for a week while her grandmother treated dog bites to her neck, shoulders, arms, waist and leg.
Staffers at the Monument Lighthouse Charter School, 4002 N. Franklin Rd., called police when the girl came to school Tuesday and they noticed her injuries. The girl walked with a limp and had swelling and bruising on her left leg, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report
Shannon Plankenhorn, 58, the girl’s grandmother, said the child was attacked by a pit bull on Jan. 12 in their backyard. She said she heard the child scream and found her on the ground, writhing in pain, but told her to “get up” and go into the house, according to the report.
Plankenhorn said she had a background in medicine and treated the injuries with antiseptics, bandages and medicine. She said in her opinion the child did not need stitches.
Workers from the state Child Protective Services department took the girl into custody, and the city’s Animal Care and Control officers took the dog.
No charges have been filed. An investigation continues.
