Young girl attacked by pit bulls in Reynoldsburg

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio – On June 11, a normal early summer day turned into a nightmare for 11-year-old Avery Russell.

She was one of two people attacked by two pit bulls in a Reynoldsburg neighborhood.

Avery was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she has been recovering for 17 days.

“She’s a fighter, she’s strong,” said her mother Drew.

The young girl was in a coma for five days and had to undergo three operations. She lost her left ear and part of her right ear and suffered injuries to her face, nose, neck and shoulders.

“She was barely conscious and I didn’t know what to expect. When I saw her, I felt like I was in a horror movie and thought, ‘That’s not my baby,'” Drew said.

Firefighters from Local 2932 of the Truro Township Fire Department, who were on scene, kept their fingers crossed for Avery and supported her in her recovery.

“We see a lot of bad things, a lot of bad luck, but nothing is worse than a seriously injured child. And the injuries Avery sustained that day were really bad. When we saw them, we knew immediately that we had to get her to the hospital as soon as possible,” said Mick Pfaff, president of the union Local 2932.

Pfaff started a fundraiser for Avery and Drew. Within 24 hours, about $15,000 was raised.

“The love she gives to people is returned tenfold and I am so grateful for that,” Drew said.

Pfaff visited Avery in the hospital for the first time since the attack. He said it was helpful for him and his colleagues, who witnessed the horrific scene, to start the fundraiser and see Avery improving.

“In the fire service, these kinds of false alarms can often have a negative impact on firefighters and paramedics and can lead to a lot of post-traumatic stress. I think that with the GoFundMe campaign, we were able to turn this horrific situation into something positive, and that we were able to basically turn something very negative into something positive,” Pfaff said.

Drew is looking forward to bringing Avery home from the hospital soon. She’s had to relearn things like eating and drinking and her walk is unsteady, her mother said, but she’s getting stronger every day.

The future sixth-grader dreams of playing basketball and developing apps and video games.

“She’s a fighter. Since she was two, she’s been telling me she’s a superhero. I really believe she’s harnessed that power because she’s still here,” Drew said. “She’s getting stronger every day. We’re fighting. She’s fighting to get out of here. She’s ready to go home and enjoy her summer vacation as much as she can. We’re ready to get used to our new normal.”

The police investigation into the attack is ongoing.

The owners of the pit bulls face two administrative offenses for failure to register/approve the dog and two administrative offenses for failure to lock up the dog.

One of the dogs was shot by police at the scene and was euthanized by Franklin County Animal Control due to its injuries. The second dog was taken by Animal Control.

Local News: Latest Reporting ⬇️