Pit Bulls In Custody After Mauling 3-Year-Old
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A three-year-old boy was still in the hospital Tuesday morning, after a vicious attack by two pit bulls in the South Shore neighborhood.
CBS 's Susanna Song reports the toddler was recovering at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital, after suffering multiple puncture wounds when two pit bulls tore into him on Monday afternoon, mostly around the ears, head and legs.
Surprisingly, on Tuesday morning, the dogs were still at the house where the boy was attacked before being taken into custody. The owner put the pets in her own vehicle under the watchful eye of animal control officers. Both vehicles then drove off to the animal control where the dogs remain.
On Monday, four children under the age of 9 were left alone with the dogs. Neighbors said the kids, who live in Memphis, came to Chicago a few days ago to visit their aunt.
"He was playing with his sister, and the dog took her as being aggressive, and so they attacked him," Anthony Taylor said.
He said the boy's older sister came outside screaming for help.
"Willie saw her screaming. He just went into action. He just jumped the fence. She said 'My little brother is getting attacked. … The dogs are biting my brother."
Neighborhood hero Willie Riley said he used a stick to fight the dogs off.
"One dog was on one end pulling his ear, and the other was pulling his legs … trying to pull him apart," Riley said. "I think they were scared, must be scared too. The dogs were scared, too. They probably scared the dog, or something like that."
Taylor said one of the dogs is pregnant, but both are "pretty aggressive."
After getting the dogs off the boy, Riley helped him walk across the street to the fire station to seek treatment.
"I would want somebody to do it for my kids, if they see my kids get hurt," he said.
As for the two pit bulls, neighbors said the dogs should be put down after attacking the boy.
"If they taste blood, you can never get them to be the same again, so I just thought that they would have removed the dogs already," Taylor said.
Animal control workers showed up at the house Tuesday morning to try to retrieve the dogs, but the gate was locked. They left a notice at the home's front door, ordering the surrender of the two dogs.
