Parents sue neighbors after dogs bite off Layton boy’s hand

Austin Brown sits on his mother’s lap at their home in Layton on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2019. | Mark Wetzel, Deseret News

Parents say dog owners and property managers knew dogs were vicious.

SALT LAKE CITY — The parents of a 4-year-old Layton boy who was playing in their backyard when huskies bit off his hand in March are suing their neighbors, saying the dogs were known to be vicious before the attack.

John Brown and Hope Brown filed the suit Monday in Farmington’s 2nd District Court.

John Brown managed to pull his son Austin away from the dogs, but not before the child, then 3 years old, lost his right hand and arm up to his elbow on March 3. The animals pulled his arm and shoulder under the fence, “where both dogs viciously attacked and mutilated the child,” the lawsuit says.

Family photo

Austin Brown was playing in the backyard of his home on March 3, 2019, when two huskies from the neighbor’s yard got a hold of his arm from underneath the fence and chewed it off.

It alleges negligence on the part of Joey Young, Teri Young and Christine Young. No attorney was listed for the three in court documents as of Tuesday. They also couldn’t be reached at publicly listed phone numbers.

The parent also are suing the neighboring home’s property managers, saying they knew the dogs were dangerous but did nothing to remove them or terminate the Youngs’ lease.

They are suing for medical expenses, emotional stress and punitive damages to be proven at trial.

“He is an ‘I can do it’ boy,” Hope Brown told the Deseret News in December as her son played with Legos. “He has figured out how to do everything with what we call his little arm.”

Mark Wetzel, Deseret News

Austin Brown plays with Legos at his home in Layton on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Austin was playing in the backyard of his home on March 3 when two huskies from the neighbor’s yard got a hold of his arm from underneath the fence and chewed it off.

She said she was in shock when she learned what had happened and has received death threats and messages blaming her for her son’s injuries. Her husband, a military veteran, has PTSD from the attack and they have since divorced.

A friend of the family started a GoFundMe account to help with their Christmas and medical expenses. As of Tuesday, the site raised more than $8,600.

The dogs, named Polar and Bear, were sent to a sanctuary after their owners surrendered them, part of a deal that spared them misdemeanor citations for possessing a dangerous animal.

Authorities originally said the boy had a sock on his hand and was trying to play with the dogs. Hope Brown said that was not the case and her son actually was partly pulled under the fence.

Siberian huskies are generally friendly, alert and gentle and are not typically possessive, according to the American Kennel Club.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2MLsD37