A 6-year-old Florida boy is recovering this week after his new puppy gnawed off four of his fingers while he slept.
Dontavius Bryant of Tampa had just received the 5-week-old chow and pit-bull mix two weeks ago as a gift from his aunt.
 Dontavius Bryant (courtesy WKMG-TV, Orlando) |
But while he slept Sunday night, the dog chewed four fingers on the boy’s left hand down to the second knuckle.
“My brother told me to look at my hand,” said Dontavius at a hospital news conference. “I looked at it, and it was bleeding.”
Bryant was unable to feel any pain after being partially paralyzed on his left side last year when hit by a vehicle.
“When I woke up, four of his fingers were off. It was a lot of blood,” said Bryant’s mother, Jerrolyn “Shawn” Dewberry. “He went to sleep with 10 fingers, woke up with six.”
She says her son failed to wash his hands after dinner Sunday, and the pet named Chauka licked his hands before they went to bed.
The dog was taken by local animal-control officers to be euthanized, and police say the boy’s fingers were found in its stomach.
Dewberry says Chauka will be the last canine in the family. “I don’t want more dogs,” she said. “We’re going to stick to fish, to birds. No pets like dogs.”
Donatavius is now listed in good condition, and says he won’t let the incident hamper his playtime.
“I’ll be OK,” he said. “I can still play video games with one hand.”
