A jury awarded over $100,000 in damages Thursday to the family of a young girl who was bit by a dog at a Broward County animal shelter back in 2018.
The child, now 11 years old, testified in court Thursday and recounted the moments she was attacked while visiting the shelter in November 2018.
“I was very scared and I was holding onto my mom," she told a jury.
The girl and her mom were at the shelter hoping to adopt a dog. Surveillance video shows the moment they walked down the hall, and a full-sized American Staffordshire mix on a leash turned toward the girl and sunk its teeth in her forearm.
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“Screaming and crying, I was in pain, I was traumatized," the girl said.
A shelter employee had to remove the dog's mouth from her arm, attorneys said.
It’s been four years and the girl's arm has healed, but her mother says the mental anguish is ongoing.
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“That incident has played a traumatic role in her life," the mother said. "She’d wake up with nightmares and she told me she had dreams of the incident that occurred."
The family sued Broward County for $255,000 in negligence and damages for pain and suffering. Attorneys for Broward County agreed the child is due damages and were willing to hand over 10% of what the family asked for.
The jury ultimately decided that $103,309.50 should be awarded to the girl and her family.
The dog in this case was euthanized days after the bite, which is typical when a dog is deemed aggressive or bites someone.
