10-Year-Old East Bay Boy Mauled By Pit Bulls, Fundraisers Set
MARTINEZ (KCBS) — A 10-year-old Antioch boy has been hospitalized after being mauled by two put bulls over the weekend. Meanwhile, fundraisers have been scheduled to raise money for the boy.
A portion of the proceeds earned at the Mountain Mike's Pizza in Martinez from Tuesday through Thursday will benefit benefit Hunter Kilbourn, who was mauled at his friend's house on Sunday.
Melody Ralls, the boy's mother, told KCBS that he has a long way to go with his recovery.
10-Year-Old East Bay Boy Mauled By Pit Bulls, Fundraisers Set
Hunter was headed upstairs to play video games at his friend's house, when the family's pit bull attacked, Ralls said. He was knocked down the stairs, when a second dog piled on.
According to Ralls, his friend suffered a bite when he tried to pull one of the dogs off, and Hunter lost a lot of blood in the attack.
Ralls said her son's skin was ripped off by the dog on the left side of his cheek. She said doctors were able to replace and cover the hole. However, most of the damage was done to the boy's right side of his face.
"Basically from his forehead to his eyebrow and then across; the dog ripped all of that off. He has no eyebrows. The dog ripped half of his ear off," Ralls said.
Ralls said she does not blame the dog, but parents need to be aware of the dangers.
"Some people think pits are more violent or aggressive than other dogs, but the truth is they're just a lot of dog. They can get up to 60 and 80 pounds and like any breed, pits need to be correctly socialized and trained," Dr. Jack Aldridge, a former director of veterinary services at the San Francisco SPCA told KCBS.
Hunter will receive initial skin grafts this week at UC Davis Trauma Center and will need reconstructive surgery. Doctors said the right side of his face, where much of his skin was torn off, may be paralyzed.
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