An 11-year-old boy was expected to be released from the hospital Monday after doctors were unable to reattach his pinky that was bit off by the family dog, according to the Bradenton Herald.
Fernando Brignoni, from Tampa, was attempting to pet his dog and stuck his hands through the slots in his dog’s cage when the dog completely bit off his finger, a Manatee Sheriff’s Office report said.
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The boy’s father took the dog out of the cage, shot it multiple times and removed the severed finger from the dog's stomach, the report said.
"You don't know what you will do for your child,” the father, Luis Brignoni, 41, told the newspaper. "You don't know where you get the strength from."
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The boy was airlifted to All Children's Hospital by and later transferred to Tampa General Hospital.
But the doctors decided not to reattach the finger due to the damaged nerves, the father told the Herald.
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A preliminary investigation by the Manatee Sheriff’s Office supports the father’s accounts of the events and said it appears to be an accident.
Manatee County Animal Services took possession of the remains of the dog, authorities said.
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