TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — An 8-year-old boy was mauled and killed by two dogs in Volusia County. It happened Monday in a DeLand neighborhood.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Michael Millett was riding his bike when he stopped to pet the dogs near the entrance of a subdivision.
“At that point, Michael is maliciously mauled, brutally mauled, and killed at the scene,” Chitwood said.
A woman can be heard screaming and begging for help in the body camera video from deputies who arrive at the scene.
Deputies tracked down the dogs in a yard, and animal control took them into their custody.
After the incident, the wellness managers at the Pet Resource Center in Hillsborough County want to remind people that not all dogs can be trusted.
“I don’t think people realize it enough,” said Juan Saldarriaga, the Wellness Manager. “Working here at the shelter, we do deal with a lot of bites. Working with animal control and seeing their side of things, they do deal with a lot of bites and unfortunately a lot of those are towards kids.”
He said just because you see an animal doesn’t mean you should pet it. Saldarriaga gives these things to look out for:
- Tense body posture
- If a dog’s ears are pointed back
- Erratic behavior
- Avoid stray dogs
“People tend to trust dogs a little too easily, but anything with teeth can bite,” Saldarriaga said.
The Tampa Humane Society questioned the dogs’ ownership, and if they were spayed and neutered.
“It goes back to the owner. What was the owner doing? Where were they? Why were the dogs out for this to happen in the first place?” said Regan Blessinger, the Market and Content Manager at the Tampa Humane Society.
Blessinger said this tragedy was not the child’s fault. The sheriff plans to charge the dog owners. Blessinger added that pet owners need to know their animals, so this doesn’t happen again.
“Know if your animal is capable of being out in public, if your animal is good with children, if your animal is good with other animals. Know those things about your animal and then react responsibly,” Blessinger said. “Just really keep a watch on your animal because that would’ve prevented all of this if they were inside with their owner.”
The sheriff is waiting to see if the dogs’ owner will sign the dogs over, or if they have to go to court to fight this. Chitwood said they will do everything possible to hold the owner responsible and to have the dogs put down.