A 7-year-old rural Austin girl is recovering at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester from a dog bite incident.

According to a Mower County Sheriff's Department report, the incident occurred at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the family's rural Austin Township home southwest of Austin.

The girl was saying "good night" to family members and attempted to hug a 1 1/2 year old Great Dane family pet, when the dog snapped at her.

She suffered wounds on the cheek, jaw and temple, according to the report.

The girl's father told investigators the dog and another family pet may have been eating table scraps at the time of the biting incident. The father said the girl routinely hugged the dog without incident.

The animal was euthanized today by its owner, according to the sheriff's report.

Woman arrested after traffic stop yields methamphetamine

A 26-year-old Austin woman

faces an appearance in Mower County District Court today on multiple charges after a traffic stop early Saturday.

According to an Austin Police Department report, an officer was chasing a speeder northbound on Fourth Street NW at 12:32 a.m., Saturday. A southbound vehicle approached without headlights and the officer abandoned his chase of the speeder and turned his vehicle around to pursue the other car.

When he stopped the vehicle, the driver acted "extremely nervous," according to the police report. She denied having any drugs in the car when asked by the officer, but a canine search was made and drugs found.

The drugs included four individually-wrapped bundles of methamphetamine, syringes and spoons plus pipes with a residue believed to be methamphetamine and other paraphernalia with residue believed to be marijuana.

Today, she was formally charged with possession of a controlled substance in a motor vehicle with the intent to deliver, fourth-degree driving while intoxicated, possession of drug paraphernalia and other violations, according to police.

Among the items seized in the vehicle was a notebook, which police believe contain the names of drug-users and the amounts of money they owed for their illegal purchases.

Lee Bonorden can be reached by calling 434-2232 or by e-mailing :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com