NEW ATHENS, Ill. (AP) — An 8-year-old girl is recovering from bite wounds suffered when she was attacked by two German shepherds belonging to her town's former police chief.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports the girl was treated at a Belleville hospital after the dog attack this week in the southwestern Illinois community of New Athens.

Authorities say the girl and a friend were walking when Dallas Hill's dogs approached, sniffed them and suddenly attacked. A neighbor came to the girl's rescue with a baseball bat.

The girl suffered bite marks on her leg, back and chest.

Investigators say one of the dogs is a trained police dog, although neither dog works for New Athens police.

Hill doesn't have a listed home telephone number and couldn't be reached for comment Friday.