Dogs bite 8-y-o

An eight-year-old was left hospitalised after dogs attacked him in his community of Little Bay, St Mary, last Monday.

"He was down on the ground helpless and screaming for help. It was a gentleman who was on the road chopping grass who heard the scream and ran to his rescue," the boy's mother Loraine Mattis told THE STAR.

She said about 8:30 a.m., her son and his friends were playing outside.

"While he was there, he dropped something and went back to pick it up. When he was going to get it, my son said he just saw when the black dog use him foot and pull the gate and rush out on him, then two others came and pin him down on the ground and just start bite him up," she said. The boy received more than 30 bites.

Mattis said one of the dogs' owners told her that the gate was malfunctioning. However, the other owner told THE STAR that he is not aware of the any defects with the gate, and theorised the boy may have opened it.

"Since it happened, we have to install a lock on the gate though," he said. But Mattis is adamant that her son would never open the gate because he fears the animals. She said that since the incident, it has been a struggle for her son.

Bandage up all over

"It is like the worst time of my life I can't even find space on his body to tidy him off because him bandage up all over," said Mattis. "Every minute right through the day him repeat what happened. He will just stop for a moment then just start to remember what happened again."

Mattis said the dogs' owners have volunteered to assist with medical bills, and have even taken her to the hospital three days a week for her son's wounds to be dressed.

Last week, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck tabled a bill imposing criminal liability for delinquent dog owners.

This allows victims to claim compensation for their injuries once the incident occurred in any place other than the dog's home.

However, with the criminal liability aspect being introduced, persons will be fined from $500,000 to $3 million or six months to 15 years in prison once they have custody of the dog when it causes damages.