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News Release
1-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Attacked By Family Dog
April 28, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE
PLEASE CONTACT KEITH PAUL, (702) 267-4510
Henderson, Nev. – A 1-year-old boy died early this morning after being attacked by his family’s pet dog Friday evening while celebrating his first birthday.
The boy was at his grandmother’s house in the 1600 block of Navarre Lane near Arroyo Grande Boulevard Friday with his family to celebrate his first birthday throughout the day. The boy was on the floor with his grandmother in the living room about 9:50 p.m. Friday, crawled over to the family’s dog and started petting him.
The dog, a 6-year-old Mastiff/Rhodesian mix weighing about 120 pounds, latched his jaws around the boy’s head and began shaking him back and forth. The grandmother attempted to pull the boy from the dog’s jaws. Other family members who were upstairs rushed down to help.
Henderson Fire paramedics rushed to the house and took the boy to St. Rose Dominican Hospital – Siena Campus. The boy was then flown by helicopter to University Medical Center’s Trauma Unit. The boy was unable to survive his injuries and died about 1:45 a.m. today. The boy had turned 1 year old on Thursday.
Henderson Animal Control officers took the dog to the Henderson animal shelter, where he will be quarantined for 10 days of observation. The dog is being declared vicious and will be euthanized after the observation period, which is done to determine if the dog has rabies. The dog does have his current rabies vaccination. The family voluntarily relinquished ownership of the dog to Henderson Animal Control.
The family has owned the dog since he was a puppy and said he has never been aggressive toward people. The boy has been around the dog since he was born and there have never been any problems, attacks or signs of aggressiveness toward the child.
There were no signs of neglect and there have been no calls regarding this dog in the past. The investigation into why the dog attacked the boy is continuing.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office will release the name of the boy.
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