What happens with the dogs that reportedly bit off part of child’s arm?

DAVIS COUNTY – Animal control officials have a lot of questions about two dogs in Layton after one of them reportedly bit off part of a child’s arm last night.  In fact, they still haven’t determined which dog allegedly hurt the child.

As a rule, any dog that breaks human skin has to be quarantined for 10 days for a rabies check.  In this case, the two dogs are at the Davis County Animal Control Shelter.

“We don’t know which dog [bit], so both dogs are being quarantined,” according to Director Rhett Nicks.

The boy reportedly covered his arm with a sock and stuck it under the fence between their yards, which is when the bite happened.  That still has to be confirmed by investigators.  Nicks says he’s not allowed to comment on the specific details of the case, however, he says their investigation into what happened isn’t done.

“The officer will be combing over the yards, taking photographs, looking at barriers, looking at where the animals were and the victim was,” Nicks says.

When they’re done, Nicks and his staff will have to determine if the dog should be deemed as “dangerous” or not.  If the dog is determined to be a danger, Nicks will have to decide what happens to the animal.

He adds, “It could range from nothing being factors for the circumstances to done, if the dogs are found that they’re not dangerous, that there are enough mitigating factors for the circumstances, to up to and including euthanasia.”

However, a judge would need to approve any decision to put down a dog.  Plus, Nicks wants to quash the rumor that dogs get cravings for human flesh once they taste blood.

“If that were the case, my Chihuahua would be a vicious killer.  She got my hand playing tug-of-war on a regular basis.  No, that’s not true,” he says.