A one-month-old baby girl has lost up to 25 per cent of her face after being mauled by three pet ferrets at her family's home, police said on Friday.
Skyy Isabelle Fraime was reportedly placed in a car seat and left on the floor of the dining room at the house in Darby Borough, Pennsylvania, on Thursday while her parents went upstairs.
A short time later, the family's three ferrets escaped from their nearby cloth-like cage and ran over to the lone infant. They attacked her, sinking their teeth into her lips, nose and other facial areas.
Skyy was rushed to hospital with serious wounds. Although she is listed as being in a 'stable' condition, she is receiving assistance breathing in intensive care due to the injuries to her nose.
At the time of the incident, Mr Fraime and Miss Benales were upstairs at their home in the 300 block of Poplar Street, Mr Smythe said. They reportedly rushed downstairs after hearing loud screaming.
They found Skyy sporting serious injuries to her face and called 911. The baby was taken to the Children’s Hopsital of Philadelphia, where two stents were immediately inserted into her nose.
'The ferrets ran when the mom came down,' Mr Smythe Said. '[The baby] had emergency surgery. The last I heard she was in stable [condition], but she was in intensive care.'
He added that the couple - who have four other young children - are in crisis. They were reportedly clients of Delaware County Child & Youth Services prior to Thursday's tragedy.
'The parents, I believe, have problems,' he said. 'They are challenged. They can’t take care of these kids.' The couple's four other children are now in the custody of Child & Youth Services.
When told about the incident, neighbors in Poplar Street were shocked. Thomas Collins said: 'Oh my god, that's terrible,' while Josephine Pour said: 'It's really shocking to hear stuff like that.'
Ferrets, which are part of the weasel family, are legal to own as pets in the state of Pennsylvania.
No charges have yet been filed. An investigation is ongoing.
