Babysitter's dog mauls sleeping five-month-old baby to death

'I told her I’m so sorry because I always take you with me,' says grieving mother

A five-month-old baby has been mauled to death by her babysitter's dog.

Police say Paige George died after being attacked by a German Shepherd in a house in Forest Park, Georgia.

So far no charges have been brought against the babysitter, however the dog has been euthanised.

Paige's mother Terika George told local news station WSB-TV: "I told her I’m so sorry because I always take you with me."

The incident occurred after the babysitter, who is a longtime friend of the family, put Paige down to sleep in one of the rooms of his house before going to sleep in another room, on Tuesday night.

Police received a call at 3am on Wednesday morning and were told a German Shepherd had killed a baby.

The grieving family said they were surprised as the dog had been around Paige several times before and never been violent towards the baby, her older sister or any members of the family.

Ms George said of the dog: "He ate by us, he slept by us, he followed us and sometimes I had her in her car seat and he would go over and check on her and walk away. I never heard of anything like this."

She added that she was so devastated by the loss she "can't even focus".

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family cover Paige's funeral expenses.

In April a seven-month-old baby was attacked and killed by a dog in Germany.

The mixed-breed dog, which belonged to the family, was reportedly acting "very aggressively" before biting the baby on the head.

Associated Press