TAYMOUTH TWP, MI – Days after a 10-year-old boy was mauled by his neighboring friend’s Weimaraner-pit bull mix, authorities are awaiting lab results to see if the dog had any diseases.

In the meantime, the boy is “very lucky to be alive,” according to Saginaw County Sheriff Bill Federspiel. “It was bad. Just a beastly thing that happened.”

Sheriff’s deputies received the call of the attack at 11:47 a.m. on Sunday, June 2. About a half-hour before, the boy went to play with his next-door neighbor in the 12000 block of Bell Road in Taymouth Township.

As the kids played outside, the visiting boy went to throw away a napkin or tissue. His friend’s 10-month-old, 70-pound dog Parker lunged, chased the boy down, jumped on him, and began biting him, Federspiel said.

As bystanders yelled at the dog, it delivered puncture wounds to the boy’s neck, a finger, and right leg, in addition to biting and scratching him all over, Federspiel said.

A neighbor who was working in his yard approached with a shovel and managed to separate the dog from the boy. The man did so without having to club the dog with the shovel, the sheriff added.

The man picked up the wounded boy and carried him to his mother, who called 911 and drove her son to the hospital. The boy ended up receiving about 39 stitches to mend his wounds, Federspiel said.

Deputies spoke with the dog’s owner, who said the dog had recently been given to her. She had not obtained a license for him, nor had he received his legally required vaccinations. The woman also said she could not afford a chain to keep the dog tethered, so instead used a clothesline with one end around Parker’s neck and the other under a cinderblock, the sheriff said.

Deputies told the woman to keep the dog quarantined. The next day, she brought Parker to Saginaw County Animal Control to have him euthanized, Federspiel said.

“It’s terrifying,” the sheriff said. “The dog weighed more than the kid and was going to town on him.”

The dog’s body has been sent to a lab to test it for rabies, parvovirus, and other contagions. In the meantime, the boy must undergo shots to treat those potential afflictions, Federspiel said.

“The owner said he was a sweet dog before,” the sheriff continued. “There were no reports from anyone that this kid was antagonizing the dog. Something snapped in this dog and he went after this kid, for whatever reason.”

Reports will be forwarded to the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Federspiel is encouraging pet owners to ensure their animals are licensed and vaccinated and properly secured when guests visit. At the same time, he’s encouraging parents to be familiar with pets of their kids’ friends.

“There’s a lesson to be learned here,” he said. “You can’t just assume people follow the rules and people would do everything as you would do it. To protect your children, you must go above and beyond.”