CCTV footage has captured the moment that a young girl was viciously mauled by a dog while walking across a church car park with her family. The incident took place near a Colorado Springs church on 2nd October of last year, but video of the attack has only just been released by The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Area.

In the footage posted to Facebook, the five-year-old girl can be seen casually wandering across the car park with her parents, before a dog comes speeding into the frame. The aggressive canine then charges at the little girl before jumping up and latching onto her arm. The dog can be seen clamping down its jaws and refusing to let go of the girl. As she is tugged down onto the tarmac, the two parents quickly attempt to pry the animal away.

Realising the situation is becoming increasingly serious, a number of onlookers pile in to help. Eventually, with the combined strength of three others, the dog finally releases the girl. 

The girl suffered minor "puncture wound" injuries in the attack. 

The dog’s owner was subsequently issued a charge for Unlawful Ownership of a Dangerous Animal, and the owner decided to have the dog put down. 

The Humane Society noted that the video will be added to a “Bite Blotter,” which keeps a log of pet bites in El Paso and Pueblo Counties.

The society wrote in its Facebook post:

"In October of 2019, our ALE team arrived at the scene of a dog attack, where a 5-year-old child was bitten by a dog outside a local Colorado Springs church. Luckily, the child was not severely injured and only sustained a few puncture wounds. Please note that this video does contain graphic content, so view with caution. 

"After a thorough investigation into this incident, ALE issued charges to the dog’s owner for Unlawful Ownership of a Dangerous Animal, and the owner decided to owner surrender the dog for euthanasia. However, situations like this are not uncommon, and it sheds light on a larger community issue: dangerous pets."