Boy, 8, attacked by dog while riding bike

YORK, S.C. — Eight-year-old Juan Pablo Govea Aguilar is spending part of his summer vacation from school recuperating from a dog attack.

On Friday afternoon, he was attacked by a Chow that was chained in his neighbor's yard in York.

Aguilar said the dog was always tame before.

"He was nice to me, but I don't know what happened. He got mean now," he said.

Aguilar was riding his bike near his home at the corner of Pinata Court and Blackburn Street. He rode past the dog, which was tied to a long chain near a tree.

"The dog got angry at me.  He ran to me, pushed me and started eating me," he said.

The boy was bitten in the arms, hands, leg and back. He has a half-dozen cuts on his upper back and 15 stitches as well as staples in his leg and arm.

It could have been worse, but a neighbor saw the attack and came quickly TO Aguilar’s aid.

John Paul said he knew he had to get the dog off the boy.

"I ran across the street and kicked the dog in the ribs to get him to stop breathing for a second.  Then I grabbed (the dog) and held him down on the ground," Paul said.

That quick action allowed the boy to get away.

Another eyewitness saw the attack from a laundromat across that street.  She came outside and started throwing rocks at the Chow while Paul was running over to help.

Paul said he knew the injuries would be serious.

"When I came up to get the dog off of him, I could see the dog's teeth come out of his leg," he said.

Aguilar's parents said their son went to Piedmont Medical Center Friday night, and was there about six hours.

The owners of the Chow turned it over to York County Animal Control.  The dog was euthanized Monday and sent to a lab for rabies testing.

State health officials said that's common practice when there's a serious bite.

York police said they do not expect to file charges against the dog's owners because the animal was properly restrained in their yard.

Animal control officers were called to the dog owner's home last summer for a complaint that the Chow did not have proper food, water and shelter.

The family was not cited, and on a return visit a week later, animal control said the dog was fine and well cared for.

There has not been a previous complaint that the dog was ever aggressive.

Police have asked the Department of Social Services to check into the situation with the victim's family, just to make sure Aguilar was properly looked after.

WSOC