Boy, 8, Dies After Being Attacked by Family Dog While Under the Supervision of His Teen Sister

An 8-year-old boy from Virginia has died after being attacked by a dog.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, just after 8 p.m. local time, the Danville Police Department (DPD) responded to a home and found the boy “unresponsive” with “apparent signs of trauma to his neck consistent with an animal bite,” according to a news release.

Police said the boy’s family told officers that the dog “was not previously known to be aggressive.”

At the time of the attack, the 8-year-old was being cared for by his teenage sister, authorities said.

The 4-year-old dog was taken to the Danville Area Humane Society after the fatal attack. Police did not share the breed of the dog.

According to local news outlet WSET, the dog will be observed for 10 days to check for rabies. After that, it will be euthanized.

Paulette Dean, executive director of the Danville Area Humane Society, explained the decision in a statement to the outlet.

“We will not put the dog up for adoption, nor will we transfer him to any group or sanctuary for rehabilitation. We will euthanize him,” she said. “This will anger some people. But, the dog killed a child. A helpless child.”

“His family and friends, as well as the police department and other first responders, will carry emotional scars from what they saw,” Dean added. “It is a tragedy from first sentence to last sentence.”

After the incident, local police offered support to the boy’s neighbors.

“Whenever there’s a traumatic event that occurs, the Danville Police Department holds heart walks in the area to do exactly what we’re doing here today, again offering those services and letting people know what happened,” Matt Bell, a public relations specialist for the department, told WSET.

One neighbor, Tenita Younger, said the incident “made me feel sad and hurt.”

Another neighbor, Kenyetta Atkins, added, “I ain’t like it. That’s too sad how the little boy died like that.”