The boy's face was bitten and his lip torn by the dog before its owner fled, the family said.
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A three-year-old boy is recovering after family members said a dog bit him inside a Vancouver Walmart store.
The incident occurred Tuesday around 8 p.m. at the Walmart near Interstate 205 and Mill Plain Boulevard. Andrew Wegener said the dog bit his son Jameson's face, requiring doctors to stitch his lip back together.
“He'll never look the same as he did before,” Wegener said.
Wegener said he wasn't present during the attack but his 17-year-old son Jeremiah White was there with White's 19-year-old cousin and Wegener's six-year-old stepson.
“That was very traumatic,” White said. “My six-year-old brother was screaming his head off, screaming his little brother was hurt. Very traumatic.”
White called Wegener, who arrived at the store to find Vancouver police responding. Wegener said officers told him the dog was a brown pit bull mix. Police obtained surveillance video of the incident and an image of the dog and its owner leaving the store. White said his cousin was petting the dog before it attacked Jameson.
“I turn around and my brother's screaming on the ground, blood's coming out of his face,” White said.
White said a store manager helped control Jameson's bleeding with paper towels. He said he spoke briefly with the dog's owner.
“He told me directly that he'd pay for everything and then I told him to come to customer service,” White said. “Then as soon as the store manager came, the dog owner dropped his items and took off running out of the exit.”
White said no one from Walmart tried to stop the dog owner from leaving. Walmart provided a statement to KGW:
“We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable shopping experience in our stores. We allow service animals to accompany customers with disabilities in compliance with state and federal laws.”
On its website, Walmart states it does not allow pets or emotional support animals in stores. It's unclear if the dog that attacked Jameson had any designated role.
“Who knows if Walmart's policy was even enforced with the person with the dog in the store in the first place,” Wegener said. “A 3-year-old doesn't go into the store looking to get bit by a dog, and I don't think it's fair that just any dog is allowed to walk freely in a store with somebody and nobody knows what kind of dog this is.”
Wegener said his family is now dealing with trauma, medical bills and frustration. He believes Walmart needs to improve its store policies to keep others safe and is considering legal action.
“I really don't want to go in there,” Wegener said. “I sure as heck don't want to take my kids in there.”
Wegener hopes the public can help police identify the dog's owner. Anyone with information to share can call the Vancouver Police Department's tip line at 360-487-7399 and reference case number 2024-026340.
