Delaware County Town Still In Shock After Fatal Dog Attack

By Jillian Petrus, Reporter

Tools

By Richard Pratt

Story Created: Mar 6, 2011 at 7:29 PM CDT

Story Updated: Mar 6, 2011 at 10:20 PM CDT

HOPKINTON, Iowa - A small town is still in shock after two family Rottweilers attacked and killed a three-year-old girl.

It happened in Hopkinton at around 5 p.m. Saturday. The girl was taken to an Anamosa hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

The sheriff's department says the girl's 18-year-old half brother was watching her at the time of the attack. We're told the toddler somehow got out of the house and into the backyard with the dogs.

This afternoon, we learned a neighbor witnessed the attack and called 911.

Some neighbors tell us the family breeds Rottweilers. Others say they rarely saw the two dogs.

"If it wasn't for going by one day putting up the kennel, I never would have known they had them," neighbor Craig Wilson said. "You didn't hear nothing from them."

The sheriff's department still has not released the name of the little girl and the investigation is ongoing.

We're told the family is making arrangements tonight with a local funeral home. Neighbors say they're trying to rally around the family and give them support.