Olivia Lloyd
Miami Herald
HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. 鈥� A mom holding her bleeding 5-year-old son who had been mauled by the family鈥檚 three large dogs rushed to the home of a deputy in her neighborhood, Florida authorities said.
It may have saved his life.
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The boy was flown to a trauma center for treatment after getting help from the quick-thinking deputy and is expected to survive the July 11 attack at a home in Weeki Wachee , according to a July 17 news release from the Hernando County Sheriff鈥檚 Office.
The day of the incident, the mom told deputies her husband was at the store and she was lying down with a cold while her 5-year-old son was in the backyard with his 6-year-old brother, investigators said.
That鈥檚 when the family鈥檚 three Great Danes attacked, the mom told deputies.
She ran outside when she heard screaming and saw the dogs pulling at her son, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, deputies wrote in the release.
She yelled at them and they scattered, then the mom picked up her son, bleeding from his 鈥渉ead, neck and body,鈥� and ran him to the neighbor鈥檚 house, having seen his patrol car in the driveway, according to the sheriff鈥檚 office.
鈥淚mmediately I looked for the most , which I noticed was on his neck, and I put direct pressure on that,鈥� reserve deputy Stephen Murphy told WFLA.
Murphy, also a paramedic with Hernando County Fire Rescue , used the medical kit from his patrol car and started providing aid to the child until backup medical personnel arrived, deputies said.
The boy was taken by helicopter to a trauma center in Tampa , and he鈥檚 now recovering from the incident, the sheriff鈥檚 office said.
鈥淔ollowing extensive treatment at the hospital the child is now walking and in the beginning stages of the rehabilitation process,鈥� deputies wrote.
The mom told investigators that in the three years the family had the Great Danes, they鈥檝e never shown any aggression toward the six children in the home.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in contact with mom and dad every day, just checking in on him,鈥� Murphy told WFLA. 鈥淚鈥檓 just happy that he鈥檚 such a fighter, that he鈥檚 doing well, and maybe it鈥檒l lead him to a profession where he鈥檚 a public servant as well.鈥�
Animal control officers removed the dogs from the home and placed them in quarantine, according to the sheriff鈥檚 office.
鈥淭his is a horrific situation no matter how you look at it,鈥� Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said. 鈥淭hank the Lord a dedicated and well-trained first responder, who is never really off duty, especially with a marked unit in the front yard, was able to take quick action to prevent an even more tragic outcome.鈥�
Weeki Wachee is about a 45-mile drive north from Tampa .
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