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A border collie
A 10-month-old baby is in the hospital after being attacked by a family dog, according to Linn-San Manuel Volunteer Fire Department Chief Elia Vicencio.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department is investigating the case to determine what happened and if it could have been prevented.

The incident happened before noon, at the family trailer home at Valley Gateway RV Park. The park is 17 miles north of Edinburg.

Authorities said the dog was a border collie; the dog is one of three the family owns.

Vicencio was among those who responded to the incident. She told CHANNEL 5 NEWS, the mother and child met up with an ambulance from Valley EMS on Expressway 281. "They were actually already on the highway heading to the hospital when, I guess, the EMS people took the baby," she said.

The baby was taken to Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Deputies also responded. "The deputies went inside and they told me they had found some drops of blood in several spots, so that's why they think it happened inside the RV," Vicencio said.

Brenda Waters, a neighbor, is worried for the child's well-being. "All I know is that the father met the mother at the hospital and that the baby's head, I'm not really sure how severe they are. We're just real concerned about the baby. The mother was also bitten, from what I understand, trying to get the baby," she said.

Animal control picked up the border collie that attacked the child. Waters said she is concerned about dogs in the trailer park. "The dogs are tied out here sometimes in the afternoons. If it breaks the chain and I'm outside, am I going in or going to run for cover," she said.

Vicencio lives nearby and is concerned too. "It's just scary because you think you know (the dogs) and they can just turn on you so fast," she said.

The baby suffered a skull fracture but the injuries are non-life threatening.