A 9-YEAR-OLD girl in Longgang District was attacked by two pet dogs, resulting in one very serious bite and more than 10 wounds Monday, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The girl, identified only as Feifei, was walking up the staircase on the second floor of the Tongle Composite Market when the dogs attacked her.

Feifei’s parents run a fish shop in the market and the girl wanted to find her parents since she had forgotten her keys to their home on the third floor of the market. As she neared the Zhanfeng shop on the second floor, the two dogs hounded and then assailed her.

According to the owner of a seafood shop on the second floor, which is not far from the staircase, he rushed to the scene after hearing the girl’s cries and saw Feifei lying motionlessly on the floor, while the two dogs lacerated her legs.

The shop owner, surnamed Chen, chased off the dogs and called Feifei’s father to take her to a hospital. The attack had lasted for over 10 minutes, Chen said. “She had lost the strength to speak by then.”

Many of the bites and scratches penetrated the skin and half a dozen of the wounds required stitches. Feifei’s mother said that the dogs might have been provoked by the smell of fish blood on the girl’s body.

A video provided by Chen shows that the attacker was a large yellow dog. Its breed, however, has yet to be identified after consulting several dog lovers.

According to Feifei’s mother, the girl’s hospital fees have been covered by the owner of the Zhanfeng shop. According to a staffer at the Zhanfeng shop, the dogs belong to the owner’s son. This information was confirmed by the Baolong subdistrict enforcement office.

The owner, however, denied this when Feifei’s mother called, claiming that the dogs belonged to a friend. He further alleged that he was currently in his hometown of Lufeng, a city in northern Guangdong, but would send money for the rest of the medical fees through a friend.

Another shop owner in the market said that the dogs had already been moved to Xili Subdistrict in Nanshan. However, the claim remains unconfirmed.

According to the director of the enforcement office of Baolong Subdistrict, the dog in Chen’s video is of a large breed, which requires a licence to own. If an owner does not have a permit, not only will he be fined, but the dog will have to be sent to the Guanlan center for homeless dogs. (Zhang Qian, Chen Manqi)