Dog jumped into van, attacked family at Flagler County shelter, deputies say

Dog jumps into van at Second Chance Dog Rescue

BUNNELL, Fla. – A Flagler County family is recovering on Friday after police say they were attacked by a dog that jumped into their van and went after them.

[PHOTOS:  Dog attacks family]

Deputies say a mixed breed dog escaped from its cage at the Second Chance Dog Rescue in Bunnell on Thursday night.

Investigators say a mother had left her two kids in the van to finish up some work at the shelter when the dog ran to the van, jumped inside and attacked her 3-year-old son, dragging him to the floor and hurting his eye.

The mom was also attacked while trying to stop the dog.

Deputies said the dog then broke loose again and attacked her 5-year-old daughter.

All three were taken to the hospital and have since been released.

Second Chance Rescue's director, Debi Root, told Local 6 the children weren't as badly injured as police indicate.

She says the little boy suffered scratches and a broken nose, not a punctured eye as police claim.

On their Facebook page, Second Chance said they regretted what had happened to their volunteer.

"We are doing everything we can to help her and her family," the post reads. "She (mother) is very upset."

The post also says the Labrador/Boxer mixed breed dog was dropped off at their shelter about a week ago by a homeless man who was about to lose the car he lived in with his dog.

"He had gone to the Humane Society and could not afford the $150 drop off fee, so like everyone else, they show up at our rescue and either throw the dog over the fence or beg us to take the dog," the post reads.

Flagler Humane Society doesn't want that to be a reason for people to overload other rescue groups.

Executive Director Amy Wade-Carotenuto says they have programs in place to help lower-income people who can't afford to pay the drop off fee.

"We even have people here volunteering today that had dropped off an animal that they couldn't put any money toward, but they still wanted to help out taking care of the animal."

The dog has been quarantined for 10 days. Flagler Humane Society tells Local 6 the dog will be euthanized because of the circumstances.

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About the Author:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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