ATLANTA — A judge in Georgia has appointed a lawyer to defend a pit bull that could be euthanized for attacking a neighbor's 5-year-old child, a court official said on Friday.

The dog's owner surrendered the animal, named Kno, to Effingham County, north of Savannah, last summer after it was accused of severely injuring the child, assistant county attorney Elizabeth Pavlis told Reuters.

Lawyer Claude Kicklighter, appointed by Superior Court Judge William Woodrum Jr. to represent the dog, said he was still learning details of the case.

Pavlis said a hearing was scheduled this month to determine whether the dog should be euthanized. Kicklighter is doing the legal work at no charge to the county.

Bruce Wagman, a San Francisco attorney specializing in animal cases, said it was unusual for judges to appoint attorneys to represent animals.

Wagman knew of only two similar cases. One involved dogs owned by NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who pleaded guilty in 2007 to charges that he participated in an interstate dog fighting enterprise.

Vick spent 19 months in federal prison and is now playing for the Philadelphia Eagles football team.

Pavlis said Woodrum was not required to appoint an attorney for the dog and did it “just to cover his bases, I would say.”

(Reporting by David Beasley; Writing by Ian Simpson; Editing by Vicki Allen)