(WSVN) - Kids are scared to walk outside their homes after they were attacked by dogs. It happened in their Broward neighborhood and one parent said the county isn’t doing enough. 7’s Heather Walker investigates this story which includes some pictures that may be hard to see.
Claw marks and scars from dog bites are all over King Davis’ body.
King Davis/attacked by dog: “I got bit, like up in here, in my stomach over here. And my finger is, well, one is broken.”
The 8-year-old is scarred both physically and emotionally.
King Davis: “I just feel so frightened and I start to shake a lot.”
King knocked on his neighbor’s door and when it was opened, the dog ran out and attacked.
King Davis: “I saw everybody screaming and on their phones and trying to hit the dogs off of me. It was a really scary time for me.”
His mom, Brittany, got the call while at work.
Brittany Sanguinetti / son attacked by a dog: “Couldn’t even like work my phone, my GPS, because I’m hysterically crying after seeing like on FaceTime so much blood all over the street and over the front door, the living room and stuff. Hearing him like, say to my mom, like, ‘Grandma, I don’t want to die, grandma, I don’t want to die.”
King had 11 wounds. Nine of them needed stitches and his finger was broken. This happened back in December, then two months later.
Brittany Sanguinetti: There was a muzzle order issued for the dogs. The exact day the muzzle order was issued, that’s when the dogs get out again. They chased my son and my dad from the car to the front door, like they were practically in my living room.”
A month after that, in March, the dogs were caught on camera chasing and biting a 14-year-old boy on the leg.
We reached out to the owner of the dogs.
Dog owner: “My dog is not aggressive. My dog is reacting to the nonsense that we’ve been exposed to for the last 11 months that we’ve been living here.”
The owner of the dogs says King provoked the dog attack by repeatedly banging on the door. When we asked about the second incident, when the dog was loose, the owner said he had no comment.
But King’s mom says this problem needs to be solved by the county.
Brittany Sanguinetti; it’s just really sad that it takes for another child to get bitten up. It’s just like they’re almost waiting for someone to die before they actually take action against these people.”
A Broward County spokesperson tells 7Investigates they’re aware of these dog attacks and have issued multiple citations but the dogs can’t be considered “dangerous” until the victims provide sworn statements to the county which the families say they were never told to do.
Brittany Sanguinetti: We have them on camera, we have pictures of them. What is it going to take for you guys to make these people be responsible for their dogs injuring people?”
Both victims’ families want the dogs to be labeled as dangerous. If animal control determines that’s the case, they will have to stay in one of these cages, be muzzled and microchipped.
Brittany Sanguinetti: “They’re a threat to everyone around here.”
But the threat may soon be gone because the dog owner says he’s searching for a new place to live.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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