Toddler Mauled by Family Dog
www.sptimes.com
March 1, 2007, PLANT CITY, FLORIDA - A 69-year-old great-grandmother fought off a pit bullterrier that severely injured her 2-year-old great-grandson Wednesday night, authorities said.
The boy, Ian Keo, was bitten in the head and neck by Mongo, a family dog that was chained behind a shed in the family's back yard, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The toddler was flown by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where he was in critical condition late Wednesday with extensive injuries, said sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway. Authorities took Mongo into custody along with the family's two other dogs, which are pit bull mixes.
The attack occurred about 6 p.m. at 3408 Juanita Drive south of Plant City, deputies said.
The boy's great-grandmother, Willa Sue Pick, lives in a mother-in-law cottage in the back yard while three generations of her offspring, including Ian's mother, share the main home.
Pick brought Ian out to feed the dogs Wednesday, as she often does, said neighbor Van Paulk, 34. The dogs, which were all chained in the back yard, had never caused any problems before, he said.
Paulk spoke to Pick just before she fed the dogs. He then drove off to buy some food for his own pets.That's when the attack happened.
"She said she was feeding the dog and all of a sudden he wrapped the chain around her and attacked her and then he attacked the baby," Paulk said.
By the time Paulk returned, Ian had been airlifted. Pick told him what happened, saying she had screamed out during the attack, hoping that he would hear her.
"They feed the dog with the kid all the time," he said. "It's just a freak accident."
As Hillsborough sheriff's detectives and Hillsborough County Animal Services officers investigated Wednesday night, a woman who identified herself as Ian's aunt came home to grab some clothes for her brother, who was at the hospital.
She declined to comment as did family members at Tampa General Hospital.
