The Staffordshire terrier attacked the 11-month-old girl while she slept, Regnum.ru news agency reported, citing the police. The girl's mother, 21, was asleep in the next room when the attack occurred, and was unable to save her child.
The girl's parents killed the animal before police arrived on the scene.
An investigation of the incident is under way, but prosecutors currently see no reason to open a criminal investigation, said Yelena Rossokhina, a spokeswoman for the Moscow regional prosecutor's office.
The child was the second victim of a dog attack this week. In the village of Vyalki, in the Moscow region, a Caucasian sheepdog bit its owner in the crotch early Monday morning. At the time, the man was walking the dog, Interfax reported.
A neighbor attempted to help the man and received a bite on the arm.
The dog's owner bled to death on the spot. When police arrived, they shot the dog.
On Thursday, a 22-year-old Moscow man, Nikita Golovkin, was convicted of cruelty to animals and sentenced to one year of corrective labor, Interfax reported.
Twenty percent of Golovkin's wages during the year will be garnished and paid to the state.
In February, Golovkin set his American Staffordshire terrier upon a group of stray puppies. When a building supervisor asked Golovkin to call off his dog, he reacted by grabbing two of the puppies, slamming one to the pavement and throwing another against a metal window frame.
Four puppies died in the incident.
In another case of extreme cruelty to animals in Moscow this week, an unidentified man shot three homeless dogs with an air pistol on Wednesday, Interfax reported.
The dogs went into convulsions that lasted several hours before dying. Police refused to respond to the scene, the news agency reported.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.