Okla. Police Forced to Shoot Dog to Get Boy's Severed Arm

Warning: This story contains graphic material.

A family dog ripped a young boy’s arm off during a visit to his grandparents’ house over the weekend, Oklahoma police said.

The boy, an “adventurous, smart” 4-year-old, is now fighting for his life after the brutal attack, an online fundraiser set up by family members said.

It was just after 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10 when an officer with the Tecumseh Police Department responded to a call about a “dog bite,” according to a police report shared with McClatchy News. As Officer Aaron McCormick drove to the home, dispatch told him to have a tourniquet ready, as he would be dealing with a “complete amputation,” the report said.

McCormick arrived to find the boy and his grandmother in the driveway. He put the tourniquet to use, doing what he could to stanch the bleeding wound that began just below the boy’s shoulder.

Firefighters at the scene helped stabilize the boy, and McCormick went to find the dogs, the report said.

The grandmother pointed him to an outdoor pen with what police called two pit bulls and puppies inside, along with the boy’s arm.

She told him to “shoot the dog,” the report said, “that’s the only way you can get the arm.”

“The dog” was Diesel, a male dog that police believe clamped onto the boy after he reached into the pen to pet the puppies. The boy had bruising on his face from being slammed against the fence, and pieces of his shirt were scattered inside the pen.

Another police officer and an animal control officer showed up to help. If there was going to be any chance of reattaching the arm, they would need to retrieve it soon.

They tried corralling the dogs into another smaller pen attached to the larger one, but Diesel would not stay, according to the report.

The other officer unholstered his pistol and shot Diesel in the chest, killing him, the report said.

While the animal control officer kept the remaining adult dog at bay, McCormick grabbed the arm and they slipped back out of the pen, the report said.

McCormick borrowed a cooler from the fire department, snagged some ice packs from an ambulance, and secured the arm inside.

Later, he spoke with the boy’s grandfather, who said the dogs were his. The boy didn’t live with him, but had just spent the night there, the man said.

The boy was taken to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he underwent an operation to reattach his arm. The first surgery on Dec. 11 was unsuccessful, and a second attempt was scheduled for Dec. 12, the police report said.

The boy’s mother, Destiny McDow, told TV station KFOR that all attempts, at least so far, have failed.

“I don’t know what he’s going through. I never went through it. But he’s only a child,” McDow told the outlet. “What if he doesn’t make it through?”

Police and the state Department of Human Services are investigating, according to KFOR.

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