Baby attacked by ferrets in Pennsylvania home

DARBY BOROUGH, Pa. (KABC) -- A one-month-old baby is hospitalized after losing up to 25 percent of her face after being attacked by pet ferrets inside her home in Darby Borough, Pennsylvania.

The incident happened Thursday in the 300 block of Poplar Street. The child, named Skyy Isabelle Fraime, was placed in her car seat and then left on the floor. Skyy's mother, Jessica Benales, then went upstairs to use the bathroom.

During the time the mother was away, two of the family's three ferrets escaped their cloth-like cage. The girl's father, Burnie Fraime, told WPVI-TV he was asleep upstairs when the tragedy unfolded.

When he and Benales came downstairs, the baby was screaming, and they found the ferrets had eaten away 25 percent of her face.

Skyy suffered severe injuries to her lips and nose and other parts of her face.

"I went over to grab the baby, and then the baby's ... half the face was messed up from the ferret. So I called 911 immediately," Fraime said.

The child was rushed to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she underwent life-saving surgery. She is currently in stable condition. Her recovery will be a long process, requiring many more surgeries for many years.

Darby Borough Police Chief Robert Smythe says the household, which includes a total of five young children -- all under the age of 5 -- is in crisis. He says the family has been clients of Delaware County Child & Youth Services before this tragedy.

Smythe says, "I'm not a CYS person. I'm a cop. I've been one for 45 years, and this is the most horrific thing I've seen happen to a child in 45 years in this town."

Police are recommending charges against the parents. However, the Delaware County district attorney has not yet made a decision.

The four other children in the home are now in the care of grandparents.