8-Year Old Mauled By Dog In Miami
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Rescue crews rushed an 8-year old, mauled by a dog, to a South Florida hospital on Thursday.
Miami Fire officials said it all happened at 3820 NW 12th Street.
An American Bulldog named Rudy somehow got out of the house and went after a little boy walking by with his mom.
Surveillance video from a neighbor showed a mother and son walking then suddenly, right in the middle of the screen, you can see the dog.
The video shows the 8-year old victim bouncing a ball before the attack, witnesses tell us it seemed like the dog was going after the ball.
"We just see this big dog throw himself on top of the kid, bring the kid down, just start hassling him, bit him and all this stuff," said witness Rebecca Garcia.
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"You can see the dog had a firm grip on the kid and it was just like wrestling with the kid. The kid was going side to side. They were trying to get him off, but he wouldn't lose grip," said witness Jocelyn Hernandez.
It took several people to pry the dog's jaws open and off the child.
"I guess they were both going toward the ball so then it was a tug of war between the daughters of the owner of the dog and it was like the mom was pulling her son and the dog just had a firm grip moving the kid from side to side," said Garcia.
This is not the first time the dog has attacked. Just last week, the owner's grandson, Carlos Cabrera, told us he chomped down on a man who came to the door.
CBS4's Ted Scouten asked, "Was there an instance last week where a guy got bit?"
"Ya. The same dog. Ya same dog," said Cabrera. "This is a driver that comes to my grandmother's. He was at the door and the dog bit him."
CBS4's Lauren Pastrana spoke to the alleged victim in that instance, Jesus Torres.
"I went to the door to pick her up because she wasn't answering the phone," Torres said in a phone interview. "When I turned my back, the dog got out and grabbed on to my neck forcefully."
Torres provided CBS4 News with multiple pictures of his injuries from the attack he said occurred on March 30th.
In the photos, you can see Torres with multiple cuts on his face and arm. He said he required multiple stitches.
"It's irresponsible on the part of the owners," he said after learning of the attack Thursday.
Miami-Dade Animal Services issued a statement Thursday which read in part, "The department has not received any report involving a bite from this dog other than today's occurrence. The Department has initiated a dangerous dog investigation and is currently in the process of gathering information regarding the circumstance of the bite."
Animal Services also said the dog has been licensed and vaccinated annually, as required by law for the past 6 years.
The child was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He is listed as stable.
The mother was not injured in the attack.
