The boy was rushed to the hospital where he underwent two surgeries to reattach his arm, but the surgeries failed, forcing them to amputate the arm completely.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions graphic details that may be disturbing to readers.
A 4-year-old boy will have to spend his Christmas in pain after his right arm was ripped off by an aggressive dog at his grandparents' home. The boy, identified as Axel Foster, was only trying to pet the dogs that were in their pen at his dad's parent's home when the tragic incident occurred, according to New York Post.
According to a police report obtained by PEOPLE from the Tecumseh Police Department, law enforcement officials were dispatched to a residence in regards to a dog bite involving a child who required a tourniquet, and officers were informed that the injury was reported as a complete amputation.
When Officer Aaron McCormick and other emergency personnel arrived on the scene, he found grandmother Frances Forbes in the driveway with Foster. His entire right arm was missing from below the shoulder.
Oklahoma boy's arm ripped off while trying to pet pit bull puppies https://t.co/PGvq1Ouxad pic.twitter.com/AcUOCAFW8k
— New York Post (@nypost) December 15, 2021
When McCormick went to search for the boy's arms, he saw that two pit bulls and puppies in a dog pen, and noted in the police report that "one of the puppies was trying to chew on it".
“The child’s arm was still in the pen,” Tecumseh Police Chief JR Kidney told KFOR. “When officers and animal control attempted to retrieve the arm, the dog became aggressive to them,” he said.
The only way they could get the arm out of the pen was by killing the aggressive animal. The male pit bull was killed by shooting it in the chest before Officer McCormick was able to retrieve the boy's arm and pack it in a cooler on ice. Foster was then rushed to OU Trauma in Oklahoma, where he underwent two surgeries to reattach his arm.
Unfortunately, an update on the GoFundMe page set up by the boy's mom, Destiny McDow, revealed that the surgeries were unsuccessful. "Axel's arm rejected Sunday and was amputated. He is now awake and talking, but still on a lot of pain medications."
"We raced to the hospital. When we got there, the nurses confirmed his arm was dismembered from his body," McDow said. "I don't know what he's going through. I never went through it. But he's only a child. What if he doesn't make it through?"
"I've seen dog bites in the past and experienced some pretty brutal dog bites with children but never a complete amputation," Kidney told WNCT. "To be over just an innocent type thing of wanting to pat some puppies, it's just devastating," Kidney continued. "What kind of Christmas is this child gonna have now? What kind of life, in general, is this child gonna have now?"
Chief Kidney then added that the boy's grandparents could face child neglect charges if they determine the boy was left unsupervised when the incident occurred.
References:
https://nypost.com/2021/12/15/pit-bull-tears-off-4-year-old-oklahoma-boy-axel-fosters-arm/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bf87k-saving-axel
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe | Saving Axel
