According to reports, a 4-year-old Oklahoma boy had an arm ripped off by a pit bull while trying to pet puppies at his grandparents’ family home. The boy reportedly lost his right arm after putting his hand inside a dog pen Friday night while being looked after by his dad’s parents. Investigators are trying to determine whether the boy was supervised at the time of the attack. If not, his grandparents could face child neglect charges.
On Dec. 10, officers responded to the boy’s grandparents’ residence. According to reports, when the officers arrived on scene, they found the boy, Axel Foster, waiting outside with his grandmother, Frances Forbes. They said the boy’s limb was completely missing under the shoulder. His family says the boy is in critical condition and hooked up to breathing and feeding tubes after doctors were unable to reattach his arm.
“The child’s arm was still in the pen. And when officers and animal control attempted to retrieve the arm, the dog became aggressive to them” Police Chief Kidney said.
The responding officers said they could see the arm inside and one of the puppies was trying to chew on it. Officials said that one of the dogs was shot and killed as officers tried to recover the arm.
The victim’s mother, Destiny McDow, said her son was rushed to the hospital, but surgery to reattach her son’s arm was unsuccessful. She’d earlier said in an online fundraiser that the boy was fighting not only to keep his arm but his life.
The boy’s grandmother, Frances Forbes, reportedly told investigators that Axel had reached into the pen because he wanted to pet the puppies. That’s when the male adult attacked, latching its jaws around the child’s arm.
The child’s mother also said that her son was supposed to be in his father’s care. Investigators are trying to determine whether the boy was supervised at the time of the attack. If not, his grandparents could face child neglect charges.
“Finally got to see my baby boy, get to go back today. He is still in critical condition, and had to have a third surgery yesterday because his amputated arm got infected. He is on a breathing tube and a feeding tube.
The site is heartbreaking to see. I could not stop crying. I pray no parent ever has to go through what I’m going through, and I pray no child has to go through what my baby boy is going through.” the boy’s mother wrote Thursday on a GoFundMe Page.