9-Year-Old Girl Mauled by Dog in Front of Her Sister as They Were Sitting Outside of Their Home: ‘Everybody Was Just Screaming' By Escher Walcott

A 9-year-old girl is recovering from serious injuries after being attacked by a dog outside her home in Alabama.

On Friday, Nov. 7, Delyla McCay was waiting with her 13-year-old sister McKenzie on the steps of their Hanceville apartment to be picked up by their dad when a dog “grabbed” her face, according to local news outlet WHNT.

The blue heeler canine was being walked by a child, who allegedly “got scared and dropped” its leash when the attack occurred, Cleveland 19 News reported. Another teenager tried to get the dog off Delyla, but the animal attacked her a second time, per the outlet.

Delyla was airlifted to a children’s hospital after sustaining severe injuries to her face, according to a GoFundMe set up by her mother, Katie McCay.

“McKenzie said afterwards, everybody was just screaming. Delyla actually wasn’t screaming. She was in shock,” Katie told Cleveland 19 News.

In photos shared on the GoFundMe page, Delyla is seen with a bruised, swollen and bloody face with stitches around her nose, mouth, cheeks and top lip.

She is required to have plastic surgery and rabies shots as a result of her injuries, according to her mom Katie.

“With me having insurance for her, I figured we’d be okay, but in co-pays alone over the weekend, we’ve spent $300,” she wrote. “That’s not including what’s coming for the helicopter ride, the plastic surgeon appointment on Thursday, and the general surgeon appointment on Friday, on top of the ER visits for her rabies shots because only the ER carries it.”

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Katie said the incident has been “overwhelming” for the family. “Her dad’s had to get her a special shower head, a water flosser to rinse her mouth because her top lip is detached,” she wrote on GoFundMe.

The page has currently raised $8,600 towards covering hospital and recovery costs.

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The incident has been reported to Cullman County Animal Control (CCAC) , Katie told Cleveland 19 News.

“I’ve never dealt with nothing like that in my life, and I just wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” she shared with the outlet. “…There’s a lot of people that ask, ‘What was she doing to the dog? Was it provoked?’ My kid was just sitting there.”

PEOPLE has reached out to CCAC and Cullman County Police Department for comment.