Louisville child dies after being bitten by dog

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A young boy died after being bitten by a dog in a home in the Chickasaw neighborhood of Louisville on Thursday, according to Louisville Metro police.

The attack was reported at the intersection of 38th Street and Grand Avenue around 12 p.m., according to LMPD spokesman Lamont Washington.

The child, who police said appeared to be 3-years-old, was transported to Norton Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“The only thing I saw was the black shadow of a dog leaving the room,” neighbor Shelby Lee Caldwell told WAVE 3 News.

Answering his next-door neighbor’s frantic calls for help Thursday, Chadwell knew he needed to act fast.

“We had to fight the dog out of there, beat sticks, make noise, get the dog out of there,” Chadwell said.

He said they were able to get the dog off and away from the boy, but despite police and EMS efforts, they were too late. The vicious attack had taken its toll.

“It looked to be the worst... it’s not something I want to relive,” Chadwell said as he began to choke up.

The dog had gotten out earlier and was bothering neighbors down the street, according to Chadwell.

“The guy next door was having trouble getting it under control and getting it back to his house,” Chadwell explained.

He said the man has had trouble before controlling the animal, which he describes as ferocious and strong. Inside the home is where the dog turned on the small child, police said.

Chadwell believes the dog’s owner was the boy’s grandfather.

“I think it’s the next door neighbor’s lifelong family dog,” Chadwell said. “They’ve had a couple mishaps with this dog before. This is the second or third time this year the man next door had trouble wrestling this dog.”

Louisville Metro Animal Services will quarantine the dog for 10 days.

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