An 8-year-old boy died after being bitten on the neck by his family’s dog in Danville, Virginia, according to police. Officers responded to a home shortly after 8 p.m. on August 26 and found the child unresponsive inside, the Danville Police Department said.
Authorities reported that the dog had bitten the boy’s neck, resulting in his death. At the time of the incident, the child was under the care of his teenage sister. The family told police that their 4-year-old dog had not shown aggression before.
Police removed the dog from the home and took it to the Danville Area Humane Society. The animal is being held under quarantine for rabies monitoring for ten days. After this period, it is expected to be euthanized.
“This will anger some people,” humane society staff said in a statement. “But, the dog killed a child. A helpless child. His family and friends, as well as the police department and other first responders will bear emotional scars from what they saw. It is a tragedy from first sentence to last sentence.”
Danville is located in southern Virginia near North Carolina, about 80 miles northwest of Raleigh.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “Dog bites can cause pain, injury, and spread germs that cause infection,” with nearly one in five people bitten by a dog requiring medical attention each year (https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/dogs.html). According to CDC data (https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/pets/dogs.html), dogs bite more than 4.5 million people annually in the United States; nearly 800,000 require medical care.
The CDC also advises that any dog may bite if it feels scared or nervous or wants to be left alone. Approaching an angry or frightened dog should be avoided.
