FRYEBURG — Police said a 5-year-old boy from Brownfield was seriously injured by his family’s pit bull Tuesday morning.
The unidentified child was taken to Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., and later moved to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Animal Control Officer Kathleen Hathaway said.
The dog was put down and its head was sent to a state laboratory in Augusta to test for rabies. The dog was not up to date on its rabies shots and had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, she said.
The boy and his parents were visiting relatives when the 7-year-old pit bull attacked him, she said. The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office was notified at 11:48 a.m.
“We’re not 100 percent sure what happened,” Hathaway said. “No one saw it.”
She said the boy told family members and rescue workers that he was scratching the dog’s neck when it bit him on the side of the face.
“A lot’s up in the air because no one saw what happened,” she said.
The family had had the dog since it was a puppy and had never had a problem with it. It was not neutered, which some people believe can cause dogs to be more aggressive, Hathaway said.
The family told the animal control officer to put the dog down immediately.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.