Husky Bites Off 4-Year-Old's Arm When He Tried Petting Dog

A four-year-old boy had to go undergo surgery after a husky bit his arm off on Sunday afternoon in Layton, Utah.

According to reports by the Layton Fire Department, the boy stuck his arm through a vinyl fence between his house and his neighbor's where there were two huskies. The boy was playing in his yard before he went over to the fence and when he reached out to pet the huskies, one of them bit him on his mid-forearm.

“The boy had a sock on his hand and was attempting to play with the two dogs when one of them bit him,” Layton Fire Battalion Chief Jason Cook said.

Fire department crew responded to the house at about 3:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. EST) Sunday. The boy’s parents helped control the bleeding till the crew arrived.

The fire crew was able to find the dog but they couldn’t find the piece of the child's arm leading them to believe that the dog might have eaten it. A medical helicopter took the child to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City where he had surgery. He was in a serious but stable condition.

Both the dogs have never bit anyone in the past, according to their owner, but they were taken into custody by animal control officers. They were placed under quarantine as the investigation continued.

Several instances of dogs severely injuring people were reported in the past. In February, three children and an adult were bitten in the parking lot of a McDonald’s at Newark, New Jersey, by a German shepherd that was running loose. According to a public works garbage truck worker, the dog came from a yard where the gate was open and to get the dog away from the kids in the parking lot, he threw some bottles at it. The dog, however, bit the worker as well as three kids aged nine, 11 and 12 years. They were all taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dog into custody by animal control officials. The dog’s owner was present at the scene.

Similarly in February, a woman filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the Port of Portland, Oregon, after her daughter was mauled by a pit bull at the Portland International Airport. The dog was an “emotional support animal.” The five-year-old girl was attacked by the pit bull, giving her face several severe cuts at the airport in December 2017. The lawsuit stated that the girl had injuries “to the muscles, tendons, bones, nerves and soft tissue of her face, eye, eyelid, tear duct, and lip and required surgery to repair complex facial lacerations and a damaged tear duct.” According to the airport rules, emotional support animals need to be in a pet carrier and the dog, reportedly wasn’t in one.