By Olivia Lloyd
The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.)
WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — A mom holding her bleeding 5-year-old son who had been mauled by the family’s three large dogs rushed to the home of a deputy in her neighborhood, Florida authorities said.
It may have saved his life.
The boy was flown to a trauma center for treatment after getting help from the quick-thinking deputy and is expected to survive the July 11 attack at a home in Weeki Wachee, according to a July 17 news release from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
The day of the incident, the mom told deputies her husband was at the store and she was lying down with a cold while her 5-year-old son was in the backyard with his 6-year-old brother, investigators said.
That’s when the family’s three Great Danes attacked, the mom told deputies.
She ran outside when she heard screaming and saw the dogs pulling at her son, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, deputies wrote in the release.
She yelled at them and they scattered, then the mom picked up her son, bleeding from his “head, neck and body,” and ran him to the neighbor’s house, having seen his patrol car in the driveway, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Immediately I looked for the most life-threatening injuries, which I noticed was on his neck, and I put direct pressure on that,” reserve deputy Stephen Murphy told WFLA.
Murphy, also a paramedic with Hernando County Fire Rescue, used the medical kit from his patrol car and started providing aid to the child until backup medical personnel arrived, deputies said.
The boy was taken by helicopter to a trauma center in Tampa, and he’s now recovering from the incident, the sheriff’s office said.
“Following extensive treatment at the hospital the child is now walking and in the beginning stages of the rehabilitation process,” deputies wrote.
The mom told investigators that in the three years the family had the Great Danes, they’ve never shown any aggression toward the six children in the home.
“I’ve been in contact with mom and dad every day, just checking in on him,” Murphy told WFLA. “I’m just happy that he’s such a fighter, that he’s doing well, and maybe it’ll lead him to a profession where he’s a public servant as well.”
Animal control officers removed the dogs from the home and placed them in quarantine, according to the sheriff’s office.
“This is a horrific situation no matter how you look at it,” Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said. “Thank the Lord a dedicated and well-trained first responder, who is never really off duty, especially with a marked unit in the front yard, was able to take quick action to prevent an even more tragic outcome.”
Weeki Wachee is about a 45-mile drive north from Tampa.
What to know about dog attacks
“Dog bites can cause pain, injury, and spread germs that cause infection,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. “Nearly 1 in 5 people bitten by a dog requires medical attention.”
Dogs bite more than 4.5 million people each year in the U.S., and nearly 800,000 of those people need medical attention, according to the CDC.
Any dog can bite if they feel scared or nervous, or if they want to be alone. You should never approach a dog that seems angry or scared, the CDC said.
If an unfamiliar dog comes up to you, officials say you should:
- Stay calm and be still.
- Avoid eye contact with the dog.
- Don’t panic or make loud noises. Don’t run.
- Say “no” or “go home” in a deep voice. Stand with the side of your body toward the dog.
- Slowly raise your hands to your neck and back away slowly.
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