Neighbor’s dog charged at 2-year-old boy, seriously mauled his face, police say

A 2-year-old boy was seriously injured and hospitalized Thursday after his neighbor’s dog got loose and attacked him in Pembroke Pines.

Police said the child and his grandmother were standing in their front lawn when the dog, a bull mastiff/boxer mix, charged at the boy. The dog mauled his face and body, and injured the woman’s hand. It took three people to pull the dog away.

“The child’s grandmother, as well as two of the dog’s owners, attempted to stop the dog during the attack,” police wrote in a media release. “The dog was eventually separated from the child, and secured.”

The boy was taken to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital for treatment. His injuries were not life-threatening. His grandmother’s injuries were minor.

Broward County Animal Control was notified of the attack, and police said the agency would respond to “remove and assess the dog.”

Last month in Miami-Dade County, one man was hospitalized and another treated for minor injuries after they were attacked by a pair of loose dogs. The dogs were identified as an American bulldog mix and a bull terrier mix, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS 4.

A Miami Herald reporter required reconstructive surgery after a Canary mastiff mauled his face while the reporter was on assignment in Key Largo in November 2018. A Monroe County judge ruled that the dog, named Diesel, must be removed from Monroe County, permanently confined or euthanized within 14 days.