Boy's hand completely bitten off after trying to play with dog
A dog has bitten off the hand of a four-year-old boy after he stuck his arm underneath a fence to try to play with the animal.
The boy, from the US state of Utah, had a sock on his arm when he put it in a gap between the ground and a solid vinyl fence in his backyard Sunday, Layton Fire Battalion Chief Jason Cook said.
He said the husky bit off the boy’s entire hand and two to three inches of his arm.
The boy’s father tried to limit the bleeding and comfort his son until emergency workers arrived. A helicopter flew the boy to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where he underwent emergency surgery
Authorities couldn’t find his hand and are almost certain the dog ingested it, Mr Cook added.
Medical personnel and animal control officials briefly considered putting down the dog to retrieve the hand for reattachment, but the surgeon determined that wasn’t a viable option.
The husky will be quarantined for 10 days, however officials have not determined if it will be put down or listed as a dangerous dog given it was the animal’s first reported bite.
Animal control also seized another husky that lives at the house but wasn’t involved.
It’s not known if the owners will face consequences. The dogs were properly fenced in at the house in a neighbourhood in Layton, a city of about 80,000 residents about 40 kilometres north of Salt Lake City.
Mr Cook said he doesn’t know if the boy was right-handed or not but that he should be able to adapt because he’s so young.
“He’ll kind of grow into his dexterity but it’s certainly life-changing. It’s just a sad turn of events for the young, little guy,” he said.
Last year, a 17-month-old girl in Wiscasset, Maine, was severely injured when her babysitter’s boxer bit her face after she touched its back.
The eight-year-old dog was taken in for a 10-day quarantine following the mauling.
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