OLD TAPPAN — A toddler faces possible surgery after being bit by a border collie on Sunday.

The dog bit the 2-year-old girl's left ear lobe off after she jumped onto the dog by accident, Old Tappan police chief Thomas Shine New Jersey 101.5. Shine also said the dog punctured the girl's right arm.

The toddler accidentally jumped onto the dog in her Old Tappan house around 1:40, according to Shine.

The girl may also need surgery, according to Shine, who said the girl was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center.

Shine did not yet know what happened to the dog after the incident.

The Mahwah-Ramsey Daily Voice was first to report the story.

Border collies are described as athletic and extremely energetic, athletic and in need of exercise daily, according to the American Kennel Club website.

"Due to their tendency to herd animals and people, they do best with older, well-behaved children. They love their families but may be somewhat reserved with strangers," the club wrote.

Monmouth County SPCA executive director Ross Licitra, owner of three border collies, said they are docile and extremely kind and gentle animals.

"Any dog at any time can bite if it feels threatened," Licitra said, adding that sometimes small children will provoke dogs by pulling and tugging on them.

Licitra is also the chief of Humane Law Enforcement for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office but is not involved with the Old Tappan incident.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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