Toddler Mauled by Pit Bull He Tried to Hug

A Colorado woman who allegedly left her pit bull tied to a pole in a parking lot and wandered off was arrested after the animal mauled a 19-month-old boy who tried to hug it. "The child went to give the dog a hug, and it latched onto his face," giving him serious injuries to the face and neck, a police spokesman tells the Denver Post. The toddler and dog owner Sue Tacket, 51, were in separate groups of transients traveling in motor homes who had camped in a parking lot in the Denver suburb of Commerce City.

The 90-pound dog was asphyxiated on catch poles as police officers tried to restrain it after the Sunday night attack. The mother of toddler Tristan Klein, who is recovering from surgery, says she feels lucky he is alive. "There's going to be a long road to recovery for him, but on the flipside of that he is young and young kids are pretty versatile in bouncing back from things so we hope he makes a full recovery," a police spokesman tells CBS4. Pit bulls are banned in Commerce City and Tacket, who police say had "stepped away" from her group when the attack occurred, has been charged with unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog. (More pit bull stories.)