A 14-year-old girl is in a hospital recovering from a dog attack Tuesday in Dutchess County.

Yasmine Deberardinis Smith was heading home from Geering Park in Fishkill Tuesday afternoon when a pit bull broke free from its owner and went at her.

Fishkill police say even the owner was injured as she tried to protect the teen.

Fishkill Police Officer Ray Maeang stepped in to pull the dog off of them and pin it to the ground. Sgt. Anthony Zebrowski helped keep it restrained.

"Yasmine wants to make it clear that she doesn't fault the dog. I want to make it clear that forgetting fault, people have a responsibility when they take something dangerous into the public, whether it's an automobile, a dog, or something else, to have full control of it. And to look at that control as the first thing they're supposed to do," says Don DeBerardinis, a relative of Smith's.

Fishkill police say the dog is now with the county SPCA.

The investigation is ongoing.