A 3-year-old girl remains hospitalized after being mauled by a dog in Coeur d'Alene Sunday night.

The girl had ran to greet her mother as she exited her car in the driveway on North 17th Street, carrying an 8-month-old baby, when two dogs running loose in the street saw her about 6:15 p.m., according to the Coeur d'Alene Police Department.

The girl's father broke his finger trying to pull the dog, a 3-year-old Belgian Shepherd, from the girl with a friend.

"They literally were prying the jaws of the dog off that little girl's neck," said Sgt. Christie Wood. "It was bad." According to a police report, the father told police that the dog is one of two that roam freely in the neighbor’s yard — and that the dogs get aggressive and go “nuts” when he walks by their kennel

The dog's owners recently moved to the neighborhood and told police they'd never had a problem with the dog.

They could get it back if the install fencing and other security measures, but "I don't think they'll be trying to," Wood said.

"It's just a really bad situation all the way around," she said.

The city prosecutor's office will decide whether to charge the owners with letting the dogs run loose, Wood said.

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