A girl was taken to a northern Virginia hospital after being attacked by a Customs and Border Protection K-9 in training at Washington’s Dulles airport, reports W-USA Channel 9 of Washington. The girl was at the airport with her mother to pick up a friend arriving from Argentina.

W-USA says the dog bit the girl “just under her pelvis and refused to let her go. The dog would not release her, even as the handler gave the command to release.” The child’s mother tried to help, but was bitten in her hands before the dog eventually was subdued by its handler, according to W-USA.

W-USA says it “has learned (the girl) has received more than 20 stitches to her mid section as a result of the attack” and has since “been released from the hospital into the care of her family.”

The child’s family says nothing was done to provoke the dog, reported to be a Belgian Malinois. “He attacked her, pulled her to the ground and bit her in the stomach and wouldn’t let go of her,” the child’s mother tells W-USA.

“You feel helpless when your child is on the floor, and you can’t take the animal off your child, and your screaming can’t get this dog to release your child it’s very hard,” the mother adds. “My daughter is going to remember this for the rest of her life and there will be a big scar on her belly to show for it.”

Still, the child’s mother didn’t appear to take  issue with the agency’s dog-training efforts. W-USA writes the woman “believes the dog training is good but says there should be added precautions such as wearing muzzles and keeping them away from children.”

By USA Today.