Man allows dog to attack daughter

SUMMERFIELD, Del., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police in central Florida have filed battery charges against a man accused of holding his daughter on the ground while a pit bull attacked her.

Julian Saunders, 49, of Summerfield, Fla., was held without bond Monday night after his daughter and ex-wife were bitten by Saunders' 2-year-old pit bull, WKMG-TV, Orlando, reported.

Al-licia Saunders, 19, told police she and her father got into a fight over the use of a space heater in her bedroom.

She said he pinned her on the ground while the pit bull clamped down on her arm at least five times.

When her mother intervened, the dog attacked her.

"The dog could have killed her if I wouldn't have been there," Lyn Saunders said. "God only knows how long he would have held her down there."

Marion County Animal Control said the family can decide whether to euthanize the dog.