My mom lives in Kentucky and first heard about this on the news. The story she heard was a little different than this one.

1. The dog was an outdoor dog. He lived in a dog house in the back yard. This article doesn't mention that, but it might explain a lot.

2. The mother never tried to help the girl. She screamed at the dog to let go of her, then drove to a neighbor's house a mile or two down the road. Again, this didn't make it into this article.

No matter which story you choose to believe, you can't help but wonder how neglected the dog was. I was under the impression that the dog lived outside all the time and probably only rarely saw his people.