KFOR/GoFundMe
"I could see the arm inside, and one of the puppies was trying to chew on it."
A four-year-old Oklahoma boy lost his arm after trying to pet one of his grandmother's puppies.
Axel Foster reached through the fence of the breeding pen in the back yard of the Tecumseh home on Friday night, when one of the pit bulls bit his arm and tore it off.
When first responders arrived they found the child with his grandmother in the front yard, with his entire right arm missing from the shoulder down. Police officers and firefighters immediately applied a tourniquet, and began looking for the limb in the hopes it could be saved.
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View Story"The child's arm was still in the pen," Tecumseh Police Department Chief JR Kidney told KFOR.
"I could see the arm inside, and one of the puppies was trying to chew on it," one officer wrote in the police report.
When officers and animal control attempted to retrieve the arm, one of the adult dogs became aggressive, so it was immediately shot and killed.
"I've seen dog bites in the past and experience pretty brutal dog bites with children, but never a complete amputation," the stunned Chief Kidney said.
Axel was rushed to OU Medical Center, where surgeons attempted to reattach his mangled arm. Unfortunately, they were not successful.
"We raced to the hospital," his devastated mom Destiny McDow said. "When we got there, the nurses confirmed his arm was dismembered from his body."
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View Story"He was undergoing surgery to have his arm reattached to his body... again he's four years old."
"I don't know what he's going through. I never went through it. But he's only a child," she said. "What if he doesn't make it through?"
In a GoFundMe, Destiny lashed out at her ex-husband and his parents for allowing it to happen. Tecumseh PD and the Department of Human Services are now investigating whether Axel was being supervised at the time of the attack.
Chief Kidney said the grandparents could face neglect charges if it is determined Axel was unsupervised.
"What kind of Christmas is this child gonna have now? What kind of life, in general, is this child gonna have now?" he said. "It's supposed to be the happiest, joyous time of the year, and they've got this tragedy on their hands."
"To be over just an innocent type thing of wanting to pet some puppies, it's just devastating."
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