Saturday, October 26, 2013

5-year-old attacked by grandmother's dogs

ARKANSAS -- A 5-year-old boy is in surgery tonight after being attacked by his grandmother's dogs. It happened Friday morning in Pulaski County.

THV 11 spoke with the little boy's mother by phone. She says she left her son with his grandmother this morning but before she could even get out of the driveway, she heard screams.



A 6-foot privacy fence surrounds Lula Watson's home with signs warning visitors of what's inside. Friday morning as she walked her 5-year-old grandson through the gates, her dogs attacked both of them. Her neighbor who wished not to show his face said this isn't the first time.


"They are very vicious dogs. They are known to have attacked people. They have killed my dogs, they've killed other people's dogs. They have chased people down the street whenever they get out. When people go down there, if they go inside you are going in at your own risk," says Watson's neighbor.

Lt. Carl Minden with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office said because Watson could not prove the dogs had been vaccinated, animal control took two pit bull mixes, a rottwheiler and a blood hound away.


"Animal control deemed at this point that they needed to quarantine the dogs. The owner did release them to them. They'll be quarantined, probably have some testing done and the last I heard the child was at children's hospital," says Lt. Minden.

Animal control says the dogs have been deemed vicious and will be held for at least 10 days. They describe the attack as one of the worst maulings they've ever seen. It's a mauling Watson's neighbor says is completely preventable.
 

"It's okay to have a dog if you gonna put them on a chain. But when you let them run loose in the yard, they gonna get out," says the neighbor.

Animal control says they've been to Watson's home on two other occasions in response to dog bites. The last call occurred in April 2013.


As for the young boy, his mother tells us the dogs bit his head several times and has serious injuries to his right ear and eye. Right now, they're waiting to hear whether or not doctors could save his eye.

(THV 11 - Oct 25, 2013)

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