Local News

Girl 'Doing Better' After Attack By Pit Bull

Friends of Family Speak About Recovery

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Jazzlyn Semprit's family says she is still unconscious, in critical condition, but her vital signs are stabilizing. She's already had one surgery wit more to come and her family refuses to give up hope, as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.

There are signs of improvement Sunday for a four-year-old girl mauled by a pit bull in Humboldt Park.

Seven-year-old Jessalyn Semprit may have saved her younger sister's life Friday. She called 911 after a pit bull attacked Jazzlyn Semprit – destroying her jaw and part of her neck and leaving her in critical condition.

"We do have hope," said Betty Rivera, a family friend. "She's still in critical condition, but we expect her to get better...it's just that it's bad."

The Semprit family had just moved into the house on the 3500 block of West Cortland days before the attack. Neighbors believe the dog's owner lives or had lived in the basement apartment.

Friday, someone let the pitbull out while Jazzlyn was playing in the backyard and that's when it attacked.

"We just moved here on Sunday," said her father, Jose Rodriguez, fighting tears. "The dog attacked her, just like that."

Rodriguez described Jaslin as a "talkative, beautiful girl" who liked her school uniform so much that she insisted on wearing it all the time, even to bed.

The pit bull that mauled her seemed "like a nice dog," Rodriguez said. "Maybe he doesn't like kids."

When asked is the family angry?

Rivera said, "Yes – very angry."

Family members believe the dog has been destroyed. Police say its owner, 58-year-old William Baez, was cited for not having a dog license and for owning an animal involved in an attack. 

Rodriguez said Baez had apologized.

But Rivera says everyone's energy right now is focused on Jazzlyn.

"She's going to pull through it, we know it, but people just need to keep her in their prayers, she really, really needs it," Rivera said.

CBS 2 was not able to reach Animal Control to confirm the pit bull  had been euthanized.

The dog's owner was not available for comment Sunday night.

The STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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