3-year-old attacked by his family’s dogs, Tennessee cops say. Now, dad is charged
A 3-year-old is in critical condition after he was attacked by a group of dogs that belong to his family, Tennessee officials say.
Memphis police said the toddler was attacked around 5 p.m. on Monday, March 6, by at least five dogs, according to WMC. He was taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in critical condition and has been updated to critical but stable condition.
The toddler’s father was charged with child endangerment following the incident, the police department told McClatchy News.
Memphis Animal Services will also charge the boy’s father with harboring dangerous/vicious dogs once he is apprehended, a spokesperson with animal services told McClatchy News.
Memphis Animal Services also cited the man for failure to maintain dogs, dangerous vicious dogs, dogs at large and rabies shots and tags, WATN reported. Animal Control took the dogs, which Memphis police described as pit bulls, after the attack.
The dogs are in a mandatory 10-day quarantine for rabies, the animal services spokesperson said. Once the dogs are released, their outcomes will be determined by a court.
Witnesses told WHBQ they heard the boy screaming before finding him in a field near his home. A driver who passed the scene stopped his car and pulled the dogs off of the child before police arrived, the witnesses said.
“Bite marks all over the baby’s head, the face, the body. They had to put a trache (tube) in his throat so he could breathe,” Paul McCorkle, a witness, told the outlet. “They grabbed the baby and they were trying to bite him. They were biting him. If it wasn’t for the good person who was in the car, they probably would have eaten him.”
Neighbors said they are familiar with the “vicious” dogs, which have been a nuisance to the neighborhood, WMC reported.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 9:13 AM with the headline "3-year-old attacked by his family’s dogs, Tennessee cops say. Now, dad is charged."
