MIDDLETOWN — A Middletown man has been charged with a felony count of child endangering after his pit bull bit his girlfriend's 16-month-old daughter.

        A judge on Monday set bond at $25,000 for Delbert Kay, 24, who was being held in the city jail Monday. A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 22.

        The injured child, Destiny Belcher, was in fair condition at Children's Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, on Monday. The dog was being held at an area animal shelter and was expected to be euthanized, said Middletown Police Maj. Mike Bruck.

        Lt. Don Owens said a city ordinance classifies pit bulls as vicious, so Mr. Kay could face additional charges.

        Destiny and her mother, who was at work at the time of the incident, had been living with Mr. Kay at his residence in the 1000 block of Park Lane, police said. Emergency crews were called there around 9:20 p.m. Sunday, and found the girl had severe cuts on her head.

        According to police, Mr. Kay gave this account: Destiny had apparently gotten out of bed and gone into another room where the dog was kept in a steel cage. Somehow, the dog got out of the cage and attacked the child. Mr. Kay pulled the dog's jaws off the child's head and called police.

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