A six year old Oak Grove, Kentucky boy was tragically killed earlier this week by a dog. The boy and his family were in town visiting a soldier's home at Fort Campbell. The boy was in the yard with the dog, described as a German Shepherd, when he was attacked by the dog and died later from his injuries.
The dog was a trained service dog that's job was to help the soldier to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTDS is common among soldiers and dogs have proven to be VERY effective in helping them deal with the issues surrounding PTSD.
Unfortunately, in this case, the child was left alone with the dog...a dog that it sounds like was relatively unfamiliar with the child. At this point, because there were no witnesses to the attack, the circumstances that led up to it will likely never be fully known. The boy suffered injuries to his hand and to his face.
This event is a true tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to the family. It also continues to highlight the need for adults to monitor child/canine interactions. Even though most will be fine, it can help prevent the ones that end tragically.
This story was picked up by only 17 media sources...all local.
I wonder if the family might have felt more comfortable leaving the child alone given the dog's service status. One gets the feeling that the term "service dog" has a wide variety of definitions and interpretations.
Posted by: Joel | February 02, 2012 at 08:05 PM