A 4-year-old California boy has lost part of his leg after being attacked by his dad’s police dog.
Hunter Mastaler of Hesperia was injured Sunday by police K-9 Jango, a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois whose handler — Hunter’s dad — is a Rialto cop.
The officer, who returned home after being gone two days, let Jango out of his backyard kennel and went upstairs, Rialto police Capt. Randy DeAnda told the Daily Press.
Hunter was attacked after he went outside to look for his mom, who was running errands, DeAnda said.
Neighbors heard screams and rushed to the yard, where they yanked Hunter from Jango’s mouth.
“I gave it all I had, I hit (the fence) with all I had, fell and busted my shoulder, but I ran right through it,” neighbor Jeff Houlemard said. “I kicked the dog, but it still didn’t let him go, so I whipped him around and pulled the (dog’s) mouth open. (A neighborhood teen) pulled the boy out of the dog’s mouth. (The boy’s leg) was already facing the wrong direction. The attack was probably going on for at least two minutes before he was pulled out. It was so traumatic.”
Hunter’s dad was in the shower, Houlemard said, as neighbors banged on windows and rang the doorbell. He finally came out and locked the dog in the kennel.
“It is a serious and very tragic accident,” DeAnda said. “Police K-9s are highly trained and usually work under the direct supervision of a handler. Here, there was obviously a timeframe where the dog was not supervised. It was not intentional; it was not an aggressive dog just wandering around.”
Jango, who is being kept in quarantine for at least 10 days, will not be returning to the Mastalers’ home, city officials said. Police are investigating the tragedy.
Family friend Melissa Marsden Turney created a GoFundme page, where she wrote:
“As a result of this terrible accident, Hunter’s leg had to be amputated a few inches below the knee, and he will receive a prosthetic in its place.”
More than $6,500 had been raised by 11 a.m. Friday. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/HunterMichael
