According to the Layton Fire Department, the child was playing in his backyard Sunday when he stuck his arm through a chain-linked fence separating his yard from his neighbor's, where there were two huskies. As the child reached through the fence, one of the huskies bit into the child's mid-forearm, ripping off his lower arm and hand.
— LaytonFire (@Layton_Fire) March 3, 2019
The child was flown to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City in serious but stable condition, the Layton Fire Department reported.
However, according to Layton Fire Battalion Chief Jason Cook, eight to 10 police officers searched the yards for the amputated arm but were unable to recover it.
"We've not found it in the backyard. Our fear is that it may have been ingested by the dog," Cook told media sources.
"I think this is one of those innocent child play moments where the dogs have probably been in the backyard many, many times," Cook is quoted by multiple media sources as saying.
"He's seen them and maybe even done something similar with them before, but for whatever reason, this one kind of took a tragic turn today," he added.
The child's condition is currently stable, although the nature of the surgery that was performed has not been detailed.
"He's managing the event pretty well, considering his age and the trauma he's gone through," Cook said, also adding that the boy's father was "extremely emotionally upset" and was also attended to by a medic at the hospital.
The dogs' owners told police officials that the huskies, which are "fairly large," have not bit or injured anyone in the past. However, Davis County Animal Control officers still took the dogs into custody.
