BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A week after a dog attacked an 8-year-old girl and her mother in East Bakersfield, the family says life has not returned to normal.
Daisy Gomez says she rushed her daughter Arlene to the emergency room on June 6 after the attack. Arlene sustained three stitches on her hand, bruises, and 40 staples on her head.
"I don't like them seeing me crying. I don't like anybody see me crying. And right now, it's like, I can't control. You know where I feel, knowing I almost lost my daughter that day," Gomez said.
The attack has also affected Arlene's younger siblings, who witnessed it.
"My 2-year-old. She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't want to be at the house. MY 6-year-old, she's more like, she knows what happened. She's more like, oh, she checks on her, sees how she's doing. And my soon-to-be 10-year-old Evelyn, she doesn't want to be home," Gomez said.
Gomez says Arlene's nightmares have been especially difficult.
"She wakes up at 1:00, 2 o'clock screaming, you know," Gomez said.
Gomez also says Arlene randomly falls asleep — something she says never happened before the attack — and plans to have her evaluated.
"She could be up fine, talking, and then out of nowhere, she'll fall asleep. And then she'll wake up, like nothing like nothing happened like she wasn't in asleep. Eso no es normal, you know what I mean. Eso si no es normal. I have to get her seen for all of this," Gomez said.
Bakersfield psychiatrist Dr. Albert Ma, who specializes in trauma, says children who go through something traumatic need significant support.
"The best way to approach kids who had traumatic experiences not for you to talk about the trauma is for you to support them. If they're sad, they're anxious offers some emotional support, offer them, for example, distraction, until they can see a professional," Ma said.
Gomez is also recovering from injuries to her left arm. During the interview, she described nerve pain that flares without warning.
"And, um… Sorry, it starts. It starts hurting out of nowhere," Gomez said.
"One nerve. That thing hurts really bad. Cause once it pulls, it goes all the way here to my neck. all the way right here," Gomez said.
Despite the difficult road ahead, Gomez says she is grateful for the support surrounding her family.
"I'm just grateful to have the people that I have here and supporting my daughter, you know, that are here helping me physically, emotionally, mentally, you know, coming to check up on us," Gomez said.
The dog involved in the attack has not been located. In a statement, Kern County Animal Services said in part: "At this time, the dog is not in the custody of Kern County Animal Services, and efforts to locate the animal remain ongoing. Animal Services will continue to actively patrol the area to hopefully locate and impound the animal in question."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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