Emotional support provokes pit bull attacks at 5-year-old Portland airport whose mother claims to be on trial

The mother of a girl who was seriously injured last year by a pit bull at a Portland airport filed a lawsuit, claiming that the dog's owner did not have it properly content.

Mirna Gonzalez, of Pasco, Wash., Said in her lawsuit filed Monday that she and her family were at the Portland International Airport on December 18, 2017, when her daughter, Gabriella, aged 5, was in hospital. time, was attacked by a dog.

Gonzalez said the dog's owner, Michelle Brannan, said the pit bull was an emotional support animal, but blamed him for not having the dog in a crate or kennel.

"She did the ticketing process at Alaska Airlines without the pit bull being in a crate, kennel, or other secure container, and then passed the pit bull to the Portland harbor security without the pit bull. no animal is in a crate, kennel or other secure container, "the lawsuit states. "Once in the secure area of ​​the airport, she went to Gate C7 where her pit bull attacked Gabriella Gonzalez."

The lawsuit alleges that Brannan should have known that his dog "displayed threatening and aggressive behavior and had vicious tendencies", and bringing the pit bull to the airport was putting others at risk.

Brannan could not be contacted immediately by NBC News for comment.

Gabriella was injured in the muscles, tendons, bones, nerves and soft tissues of her face and eyes. She also had to undergo surgery to repair her lachrymal canal, the trial said. Gabriella's medical expenses are now up to $ 100,000 and are expected to increase.

Gonzalez claims $ 1.1 million in damages.

The lawsuit also denounces Alaska Airlines and the Port of Portland, which oversees Portland International Airport, for allowing Brannan to enter the waiting area with a dog that "was not an animal assistance erected and recorded "or which was neither muzzled nor detained.

Alaska Airlines did not immediately return NBC News' comment request.

A Port of Portland spokesman said that he "refrained from commenting on a pending dispute" and had sent NBC back to its revised rules on passengers transporting animals to the airport, stating especially that emotionally-supported animals must travel with their owners or be kept. in an animal carrier.

If the animal does not fit in a crate, the owner must wear it or keep it on a leash that does not exceed more than one meter of the person's body, said Portland Harbor.