Sheriff-affidavit-reported incident record · 2023-11-09

4-year-old girl suffered catastrophic arm and tracheal injuries in 2023 Rutherford County dog attack

Sheriff-affidavit reporting says a pit bull attacked a 4-year-old girl at a Rutherford County home on November 9, 2023, causing severe arm damage and a tracheal injury requiring surgical repair.

Nonfatal · 1 bite victimBreed: Pit bullMurfreesboro area, TN

Date2023-11-09 · Reported Thursday, November 9, 2023; exact attack time not stated in reviewed source

LocationRichland Richardson Road residence area, Rutherford County; BiteDB generalizes the private-residence location

Victim(s)1 child, age 4

Dogs involved1 dog reported in the sheriff-affidavit coverage

Injury severityCatastrophic/severe: major right-arm injury described as potentially requiring amputation and a tracheal injury that required surgical repair; treated at Vanderbilt children’s hospital

Breed attributionPit bullWSMV, citing the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and an affidavit, described the attacking dog as a pit bull. BiteDB records that law-enforcement/affidavit attribution and does not independently verify breed through DNA or veterinary records.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office information reported by WSMV says a 4-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull at a Richland Richardson Road home on November 9, 2023. The child was reportedly unsupervised when her screams alerted her mother. She suffered catastrophic injuries, including severe damage to her right arm and an injured trachea that required repair at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Legal-status note

WSMV reported that the child’s mother, Candy Tittle, was charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect/endangerment after investigators alleged the child was unsupervised and emergency contact was delayed. These are allegations from the arrest/charging stage; BiteDB does not infer guilt or a later case outcome not established by the reviewed sources.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

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↗Primary incident reportingWSMV — Child left alone suffers catastrophic injuries in Rutherford County pit bull attack; mother chargedIndependent local reporting based on Rutherford County Sheriff and court-affidavit information; BiteDB links the source rather than reproducing private-residence imagery.

Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

WSMV — Child left alone suffers catastrophic injuries in Rutherford County pit bull attack; mother chargedIndependent local reporting citing sheriff / court-affidavit records · Published 2023-11-14 · Accessed 2026-09-06

WSMV reported from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and an affidavit that deputies responded to the November 9 dog attack on Richland Richardson Road. The report said the 4-year-old suffered catastrophic injuries, including severe right-arm damage and a tracheal injury repaired by doctors. The report also said her mother was charged after investigators alleged the child had been left unsupervised and that emergency contact was delayed.

Open original source ↗

Additional sources

WSMV — Child attacked by dog suffers severe injuries in Rutherford County — Independent local reporting / Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office account · 2023-11-14

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.