Dogs Attack – Child Mauled

A young boy was “life flighted” by helicopter to a local Hospital Friday evening after four dogs attacked him near the end of his driveway. The boy was treated, and released Saturday to recuperate at home.

The boy received more than 300 stitches to repair damages to his arm, back, ankle and knee. Investigation of the attack, indicated that the child was partially drug across his driveway before being released by the dogs.

The youth’s father, said he was working around the house when the attack occurred. He stated that he had heard dogs fighting near his driveway and when he looked that way to investigate, he saw his son walking up the driveway towards the house bleeding profusely. As he got closer, he could see that he was covered in blood. The dog bites left gaping wounds and the right arm was severely damaged. The attack left large open wounds above the elbow. Authorities said his arm “looked like hamburger”.

Authorities and local residents are searching the area for a medium sized, dark colored, dog that the boy said led the unexpectedly vicious attack. “He jumped on me and knocked me down,” said the boy. “He was going after after my face but I lifted my arm up.”

Now this is a sad story concerning a very recent event in our country last month, where citizens claimed that law enforcement officials had not been enforcing the leash laws. They claimed that unleashed dogs, roaming at large, had been a problem in their area for nearly seven years!

What struck me were two things:

1. If you are raising small children in an area where dangerous canines are allowed to roam about freely, doesn’t it seem wise to “raise a fuss” with the local authorities? Barring any intervention on their part, isn’t seven years enough warning to let you know it’s time to elect new officials? I mean c’mon, with all respect to the poor child involved, his parents and complaining neighbors seem almost as much to blame as the people they’re pointing their fingers at! You can only change the system by participating in it.

2. That the father was too preoccupied with his project that he wasn’t able to render service to his son who escaped a brutal death, by a whisker. Forewarned is forearmed. Dad should have been in “visual range” of his son at all times and been close to a canister of EPA approved canine repellent or better yet, a stun baton, which are readily available and for a very small price I might add.

We can’t always trust that a trained animal handler, police officer, or dog warden will be around when this sort of thing happens. It’s always better to take care of your self defense needs (whatever they are) as your first measure, and count on the police as a secondary measure. This will ensure that you are ready to deal with the threat yourself, before help arrives.