The victim's mother, Rece Ridgeway, is still in shock after learning her son will have to stay in the hospital for additional week and undergo three months of rehabilitation.
It all started after Trent was attacked by a dog in his neighborhood. His leg was nearly ripped apart.
"There's no 'beware of dog' sign, and my son says had he seen a sign like that on the fence of the backyard, he never would have tried to get his toy," Rece Ridgeway said.
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| Is this 'adequate' fencing for any dog? |
Trent said he was playing with a boomerang and it flew into the backyard where the dog was sitting. The boy said the dog latched on to his leg after he stuck his foot through a hole in a fence.
"I want the dog put to sleep or the fence fixed or post the signs... the 'dog beware' signs or something," Ridgeway said.
The little boy's uncle, Michael Russell, said he and the boy's father were barbecuing outside the Fairway Villa Apartments in the 1800 block of North Ruddell Street when they heard Trent screaming.
"I didn't see him get bit, but it was an ugly cry, you know... just a vicious cry and everybody came out when the boy was hollering like that,"Russell said. "I mean, the cut looked like his calf was gone."
Russell and the boy's father ran over to Trent, who was yelling for help as he was hobbling in the field next to the apartments where the children had been playing.
Christy Nichols, the dog's owner, was at home when the child was attacked, but she did not open the door or come outside, fearful of the neighbors and all the commotion.
Nichols said the dog, named Konner, had never before bitten anyone.
"If the kid hopped into the backyard I hate it, but I don't know why the dog should have to suffer, either," she said. "He's never shown he's been vicious."
Nichols displayed photographs of Konner sitting with the family's chickens, saying the dog was raised as a puppy by her daughter, who is devastated that the dog is quarantined for 10 days.
(WFAA - May 17, 2011)
