4-Year-Old Dies in Tragic Incident With Pet Dog

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A four-year-old Michigan girl was mauled to death by a pet dog that had only been in her possession for less than an hour.

Kiyana McNeal was killed by the Doberman or Doberman mix on Oct. 24 after the dog lunged at her neck in the family’s home, reported WWMT. McNeal was said to have been giving the pet a treat when it attacked her. 

“The dog come and sniffed it. And then stepped back. Then come, sniffed it again,” recounted a neighbor to WoodTV. “And evidently the third time he got her.”

McNeal was gifted the new pet to replace her old dog that had died from cancer a few months ago.

“She said she had just bought the dog, and the guy probably hadn’t been gone five minutes, and just that fast the dog attacked,” neighbor Rebecca Davis said.

The original dog owner—who said the dog had never shown signs of being violent—along with McNeal’s mother Jacey McNeal Wolkins, performed CPR on the young girl as they waited for emergency responders. 

McNeal’s stepmother Lorie May said Wolkins called the girl’s dad, Gerald Johnson, after the attack and said she“was covered in the blood and didn’t know if she was going to make it,” reported Inside Edition.

Wolkins had injuries to her heads and hands after she attempted to pull the animal off her young daughter.

“She got in between them and she got bit in the neck and in her hands,” neighbor Kenneth Davis told WWMT.

“Punctured; she had her hands in the dog’s mouth,” Rebecca added.

Wolkins has since been released from the hospital. The family is reeling over the sudden death of the young girl they described as a “ball of fire” and who had dreams of becoming a veterinarian.

“She was our world. That’s my little baby girl,” Johnson told ClickOnDetroit. “My baby girl will always be loved and we’re going to treasure all the videos and the pictures that we have of her.”

Johnson added, “On her way to doing a lot of things, great things in life. It’s just a tragic loss. She will be sorely missed.”

The family has set up a YouCaring page to help cover the costs of Kiyana’s funeral.

The dog was taken by St. Joseph Animal Control staff and its status is unknown.