A Nebraska girl is recovering from a brutal dog attack that left her with severe injuries.
On Feb. 20, 4-year-old Lillianna Stratman was attacked by a dog while she was visiting her mother, according to an Omaha Police report obtained by PEOPLE.
Officers were called to reports of a violent attack that caused the child’s scalp to be “torn off.”
“Her cheek bone was broken, she has torn ligaments in her neck and stitches all over her body,” Lillianna’s great aunt Kimberly Lane Koterba wrote on a GoFundMe page set up for the girl, adding that her great niece was previously diagnosed with spina bifida and that she expected the girl to have multiple surgeries.
According to the police report, the girl’s mother, Danielle Stratman, 24, allegedly hid from police at her boyfriend’s home and changed out of her bloody clothes that police later found under a bed. Her daughter was taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for her injuries, police said.
The dog, a Cane Corso-mastiff mix belonged to Stratman’s boyfriend, Greg Preister, who was not at the scene when police arrived, Animal Control eventually located the dog at Preister’s home, police said. The dog was later voluntarily surrendered to the Nebraska Humane Society, where it was euthanized and tested for rabies.
No diseases were found, according to the Humane Society.
“We immediately euthanized the dog and sent the tissue out for testing due to the severity of the injuries and where they were located,” Nebraska Humane Society representative Pam Wiese told KETV. “It needs to be expedited because the injuries were very close to the brain.”
Stratman and Preister were both arrested on charges of obstruction, and Stratman was charged with violating a no-contact order after being arrested on charges of child abuse and domestic assault earlier in February, the outlet reported.
Preister was later cited with harboring a dangerous dog and having a pet damage property.
Lilliana was released into the custody of her father, according to the police report.
