The Madison County Sheriff’s office identified the New Hope two-year-old dog attack victim as Mark Allen Partain.
His death is the second deadly dog attack, both killing young kids, in North Alabama in less than a week.
We know there are at least three dogs that are believed to be somehow involved in the attack.
Two of those dogs belong to the little boy’s next door neighbor.
The owner of those dogs say the boy was found in his backyard.
The Madison County Coroner said the child suffered fatal bite wounds during the attack.
A German shepherd mix and a husky were taken from the property to Huntsville Animal Services for quarantine.
Mike Fritz the Director of Madison County Animal Control has a grandson who is almost two years old and can not imagine how the family is feeling right now.
“It’s hard to fathom being in their shoes today,” Fritz said.
Fritz says in Madison County alone there have been 10 documented animal bites in the last five months.
But in the more than 30 years in his position, he has never seen two animal attacks so close in time, proximity, and with such young victims.
Fritz tells WAAY 31 around 90 percent of dog bites are the people’s fault.
He says you never truly know how animals will react in any circumstance.
“Just as simple as standing over a dog and reaching down to scratch him on his head that could be in that dogs mind that could tell him that ‘hey they’re trying to be dominant over me and I’m not going to put up with it’,” Fritz continued, “that may be that button that gets pushed,” Fritz said.
Fritz says there are no leash laws in Madison County but there is a state confinement code.
He says pet owners need to be aware of this code and keep their pets confined to their own property to keep everyone safe.
Fritz says if a dog becomes aggressive and you have nothing on you to protect yourself, he recommends to stand still and be quiet.
“If you’re getting approached aggressively by a dog the worst thing you can do is run,” Fritz continued, “especially if the dog has a strong prey drive, that’s what dogs look for so if you run they’re going to pursue,” Fritz said.
However if you have a taser on you just hitting the button can help spook the dog.
Fritz says dog owners should socialize their animals in different settings as much as possible.
This can help you identify a dog’s triggers and prevent a bad situation before it starts.
