BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — A preliminary investigation supports a father’s account of shooting and killing a dog that bit his 11-year-old son in order to recover the boy’s severed pinky, a Manatee County Sheriff’s report said.
The boy was at his home Friday evening when he approached the dog in its cage. As the boy stuck his hand through the slots to pet the dog, the animal bit his left hand and severed the child’s pinky finger, according to the report.
The child’s father took the dog out of the cage and shot it multiple times. The father then removed the severed finger from the dog’s stomach and waited for emergency responders to arrive, the report said.
The boy was airlifted to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg for treatment. His condition was not immediately released by authorities. Officials said the boy’s forearm may also have been broken in the attack.
The report said a preliminary investigation support’s the father’s account of the accident. He was not identified in the report.
Manatee County Animal Control removed the dog’s remains from the home.
