Four year old Arkansas boy dies from dog attack

Update 8/17:  The boy has been identified as James Dowling.

Original:

A four year old Arkansas boy was found seriously injured yesterday afternoon -- apparently after being attacked by his Grandfather's Rottweiler. The boy, from Hot Springs, AR, was staying with his Grandfather for the week in Ozark, AR.   The Grandfather was staying at one of his friend's houses in Ozark.

Yesterday, while his grandfather went to work, he left the child with the friends he was staying with. At some point, the grandfather's Rottweiler jumped a 4 foot tall chain link fence that was sectioned off on part of the back yard and attacked the young boy.  The people he was staying with found him badly injured in the back yard and he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

There were no witnesses to the attack.

There are certainly some red flags here. Four years old seem syoung to be playing in the yard unsupervised.  And a four foot tall fence isnot nearly high enough to contain a large, athletic dog. 

It is definitely a tragedy for all involved.

Ozark is a small community of about 3500 people -- and about 22% of the population lives below the poverty line. This story has been picked up by 2 media outlets.

I will update this if more information becomes available.

Comments

[Hanna at Dog Products]

My heart breaks for everyone involved. I can’t even imagine how much pain the child must have suffered before finally passing away. The adults in his life are most likely feeling guilty for leaving him unsupervised or at least I would hope they are.

I also feel badly for the Rottweiler who was merely acting on his instincts or responding to some provocation. I say that because I honestly don’t believe that dogs, any dogs, are blatantly evil. He too will probably lose his life.

Such tragedies can and should be avoided but adults who act responsibly!

[kmk]

Good grief, can we declare a moratorium on dog related fatalities? What is going on?

[Mary]

4' fence is, unfortunately, the height considered "standard" for residential yards. In my experience, about 50% of dogs can easily jump that height. For only a little more money, a 5' fence can be installed, and only about 15% of dogs will jump over that. I would like to see taller fences became the norm.

[Audrey]

I happen to live 3 houses up from the house where this horrible thing happened. Although I don't know the exact situation of who the child was left with, I can tell you that the back yard is completely surrounded with a 6 foot privacy fence. So to assume the child was "unsupervised" cannot be completely fair. I know lot's of parents who feel comfortable letting their four year old play in a seemingly secured back yard environment...especially in this small community that we live in. However, obviously the dog pen must have been inside the privacy fence, so I personally wouldn't have felt comfortable with my child out there with the dog also inside the fence. I also know that the gentleman who owns the house and lives there (the person the grandfather is staying with) is an elderly gentleman who is not in good health. I have known him for years. Like I said, I don't know the specifics of who the child was left with, but I can't imagine anything more horrible to have to live with, whoever it was. Very sad day for our neighborhood. As for the dog, I have never seen it personally because of the privacy fence. But late in the evenings while I walk up the road, it growls viciously, almost eerily, to the point I pick up my pace because it's dark and I can't see well enough to feel secure that the dog is behind the fence. I have never been afraid of dogs, but this one has always given me a very uneasy feeling from it's growl..even having not ever seen it.

[kmk]

Thanks, Audrey, for the report. It is indeed quite sad. It almost sounds like a case of an unsocialized dog, irregardless of the breed.