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5-year-old attacked by dogs: ‘The teeth were so big’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – A 5-year-old girl has been temporarily confined to a wheelchair after being attacked by two Rottweilers on Grand Rapids’ southwest side earlier this month.

It happened on May 15 on Liberty Street near Century Avenue SW. Sisters Shanell, 5, and Shamari, 7, were playing in the neighbor’s yard when the neighbor’s Rottweiler bit Shanell’s leg and pulled her under the fence. The other dog latched onto her head.

Shamari heard her sister’s screams and ran for help.

“The way that they were playing with her and dragging her looked like she was going to rip her apart,” Shamari said. “Like when you cut something that’s big, that’s how it looked like they were going to rip her apart.”

“She kept saying, ‘Mom, I don’t want to die, Mom, I don’t want to die. I’m going to die,’” Shanell’s mother, Shanice Brewer, recalled.

Two weeks later, Shanell is still hurting. She can barely walk, so she’s using a wheelchair for now. She doesn’t remember much about what happened.

“I only saw the teeth were so big,” she said.

Kent County Animal Control was called and the dogs were taken for 10 days. The animals were then released back to their owners because there was no permanent injury or prior incidents. The owners were ordered to keep the dogs in cages inside the fence and muzzle and leash them if they were let out.

“Why weren’t they put to sleep? I don’t understand it. How are their lives more important than my daughter? She could be dead. If it were not for her sister, she would be dead right now,” Brewer said.

One of the dogs escaped Sunday, after which Animal Control seized both of them. They’ll decide what to do on Tuesday.

The Grand Rapids Police Department said it’s not yet determined whether anyone will be charged.

Shanell has months of rehab ahead of her. The family needs help paying for hospital bills. If you want to help, you can donate at her GoFundMe account.