Dogs that mauled toddler in northwest Tarrant euthanized

FORT WORTH -- Four dogs that mauled a toddler who crawled through a home's pet door into the back yard Monday have been euthanized, a city official said Tuesday night.

The mixed-breed boxers bit and chewed the ears and face of the 18-month-old boy in the fenced yard of his family's house in northwest Tarrant County.

The toddler, whom officials did not identify, remained hospitalized at Cook Children's Medical Center on Tuesday, authorities said. His condition was not available.

The Tarrant County Sheriff's Department released the recording of the 911 call made by neighbor Elaine Kucker in which the boy can be heard screaming as she pleads for help.

Kucker cried that the dogs had ripped holes in the boy's face.

"His ears are chewed up," Kucker tells the 911 dispatcher. "Please hurry."

A dispatcher calmly advises Kucker what to do as emergency crews head to the scene.

"Get a wet cool rag and place it where he's bleeding," the dispatcher says. "Put the cool rag on it."

The child and his parents live with grandparents in the 7800 block of Eastland Avenue in northwest Tarrant County, off Jacksboro Highway near Lakeside.

Of seven dogs in the yard, four were seized Monday afternoon because evidence indicated that they were involved in the attack, said Terry Grisham, a sheriff's spokesman.

The child's parents were asleep, but the mother was awakened by the commotion and "got between the child and the dogs, saving the child from further injury," Grisham said.

While officers were at the house, Grisham said, a neighbor confronted the child's grandmother about the dogs, and the grandmother grabbed the neighbor by the throat.

The grandmother, Lena Grace Brown, 45, was arrested and spent the night in the Tarrant County Jail. She was released Tuesday after posting $2,500 bail. She faces a charge of assault with bodily injury, Grisham said.

The owner, who was not identified, voluntarily gave the dogs to the city, according to a news release.

Because the injuries are so serious and the victim so young, officials decided to euthanize the animals, the news release stated. Also, by law, any dog in a biting incident must be quarantined for at least 10 days to be watched for signs of rabies.

Animal control officials decided to "take the utmost precaution" and test the dogs for rabies immediately. That requires the animals to be dead.

Mitch Mitchell,

817-390-7752

Domingo Ramirez Jr.,

817-390-7763

Twitter: @stcrime

This story was originally published January 31, 2012 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Dogs that mauled toddler in northwest Tarrant euthanized."