29-year-old Kayla Shoestring and her 4-year-old son were mauled by a pit bull Monday evening.
Both Kayla and her son Hayden were taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island following the accident. Hayden is still there and is in good condition Tuesday night.
Kayla was transported to Bryan LGH West hospital in Lincoln. She's still in serious condition.
"She was screaming and fighting with the dog. She was lying down on the porch fighting with the dog," said witness Henry Rathjen.
Henry Rathjen was one of few witnesses to the horrific dog attack. He was on his way to work when he saw Hayden in the street.
"I drove past and he looked at me and he had blood on his face," said Rathjen.
Rathjen immediately stopped to help.
"The dog was across the street and had come down the driveway at me, so I grabbed the kid and threw him in my vehicle," Rathjen said.
Police believe the young boy was in the backyard of a house on West North Front Street in Grand Island with a male and female pit bull, when a male turned violent.
His mother Kayla separated the boy from the dogs and the two ran across the street for help.
Most of the attack on the mother happened on Matt Thompson's front porch. Thompson wasn't home at the time, but video from security cameras shows the horrific attack.
"It was a surreal scene that's for sure - of a dog that lost control, that's for sure and a brave little boy who tried to save his mom," said neighbor Matt Thompson.
Thompson tells News 5 that Hayden had already been bitten in the face.
"They came here for help and then you see the dog come from the house and a B line straight for her and he didn't even hesitate to pick that broom up. He found the broom and immediately started beating off the dog," said Thompson.
But, the dog was relentless.
"He had a hold of her arm and was shaking like it was his play rope," Rathjen said.
The attack ended with both the male and female pit bull's hauled away by animal control.
Central Nebraska Humane Society Executive Director Laurie Dethloff said the male pit bull was a family pet of Aguilar's. She had acquired a second pit bull, a female, approximately three days before the attack. The female dog may have been in heat at the time of the attack, Dethloff said.
"Once it's accelerated, unless there's a dominant intervention, it doesn't stop until things have taken their course. Which ended up with her running and being trapped against the door," said Central Nebraska Humane Society Executive Director Laurie Dethloff.
The male pit bull was euthanized Tuesday afternoon.
The owners of the dog's also surrendered the female to the Humane Society.
(WWLP 22News - Feb 5, 2013)
