ATHENS, Ga. — An 8-year-old girl was seriously injured in Athens when she was attacked by a dog right outside her own home. Some of the pictures of the bite are graphic.
It was a true emergency and her family was panicking. They exclusively told 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross that, thanks to the quick thinking and compassion of the local fire station, their daughter was doing well Thursday night.
The mom knew her daughter needed help quick, so she called 911, got her in the car and drove her to the fire station.
"Seeing my daughter in that much pain and so scared, that was really hard," the mom, Courtney Davison, said.
She says she was shaking when she pulled up outside the Athens Clarke County Fire Station. Her daughter's injury was severe.
"All I kept thinking was, it could have been worse, I could have lost my baby that day. It was the scariest thing that I have ever been through in my entire life," she said.
Athens firefighters take action after 8-year-old girl attacked by dog
The firefighters on shift ran outside the bay and carried 8-year-old Katie Rose inside.
Corporal David Pope started administering first aide.
"In my opinion it was a pretty rough dog bite. A large section of the front of her face was bitten," he said.
But he didn't just work on the bite, he worked to calm Katie Rose down and distract her from the injury.
"We asked her about her school and her favorite colors," she said.
Her favorite color is gold and she loves science.
Her Mom says Corporal Pope knows that because he took the time to care about her daughter--and about her.
"He put his hand on my shoulder, you're doing great, you're ok mom, you're doing great for your daughter because they got her calmed down and I was still panicking," she said.
The firefighters at the station got Katie Rose and her mom on the ambulance, but didn't stop caring for them there.
Another firefighter cleaned out their car so they wouldn't have a reminder of the bite when they were released from the hospital.
"She doesn't want to go through this ordeal and come back and have her car towed or have to relive that fear dealing with the blood on the seats," he said.
Two days after the attack, Corporal Pope brought Katie Rose some Legos at home and a card from the firefighters who helped treat her when she was bit.
"Everyone that you deal with is someone's mother or father or son or daughter. And I can only hope that if something happens while I am here, I can only hope that someone would treat my wife or my daughters with the same respect that we care for our patients with," he said.
Katie Rose's wounds are healing well now, and her mom says she's okay--largely thanks to the care and kindness Corporal Pope and all the firefighters showed them.
"It felt like we weren't just another person that he helped. He seemed way more dedicated and way more involved," she said.