A 7-year-old Texas boy suffered severe injuries, including puncture wounds to his scalp and neck, when a neighbor’s dog mauled him — and now its owner has been charged in the grisly attack, according to reports.
Conner Landers had gotten off his school bus in Azule, a small city west of Fort Worth, last month and was walking to his home when the dog escaped from its fenced backyard and attacked him, the Star-Telegram reported.
Lorena Parker, who lives next door to Conner, told WFAA she saw the vicious dog standing over the boy and “shaking him.”
She then grabbed a stick to get the animal — described as a black brindle boxer/bullmastiff mixed breed — to release the bleeding child.
“I caught him and started beating on the dog. And then (the dog) drug (Conner) all the way (down the street),” said Parker, who fought off the dog and pulled Conner to safety.
The boy’s mother, Cassandra Ware, told WFAA that “he just kept saying, ‘The dog used me as a chew toy, Mommy.’”
Conner Landers was walking home from school when a neighbor’s dog escaped from its yard and attacked him. Parker County Sheriff's Office
Conner Landers was wearing a white T-shirt “drenched in blood,” according to his mother. Family HandoutShe said her son “was wearing a white T-shirt that was completely drenched in blood.”
Conner was rushed to a Fort Worth hospital, where he spent several days after the Jan. 21 mauling.
“He underwent more than three hours of surgery to repair nerve damage to his face and to close more than two dozen lacerations on his face, head and body,” Ware said in a news release.
The dog’s owner, Patti Jean Bell-Neveling, was arrested and charged in the vicious dog attack. The dog has been euthanized. Parker County Sheriff's Office“The doctors anticipate he will need several more surgeries to repair additional nerve damage to his face and to repair his tear duct,” she added.
Conner also will need physical therapy to regain the use of his arm and learn to write again, according to CBS DFW, which reported that the dog was euthanized due to the severity of the unprovoked attack.
The dog was tested and found to not have rabies.
Its owner, Patti Jean Bell-Neveling, 49, was arrested Monday and charged with third-degree attack by dog resulting in serious bodily injury, a felony, and sent to the Parker County Jail, the Star-Telegram reported.
Conner Landers will need physical therapy to regain the use of his arm. FOX4
Conner Landers went through multiple surgeries to repair the damage done to him and will need additional surgeries, doctors say. Parker County Sheriff's Office
Neighbor Lorena Parker saved Conner from the dog. FOX4“The fenced enclosure was inadequate. The dogs had gotten out before. The homeowner knew or should have known the fence was inadequate and made steps to try to rectify that. And that was not done,” Sheriff Russ Authier said, according to WFAA.
“We commend Conner’s neighbor for her bravery and quick actions in saving him. We are praying for Conner to make a full recovery,” he said in a statement.
Parker has been awarded $500 from fundraising efforts by animal control officers.
