New York Post| by Snejana Farberov | January 25, 2023
A 7-year-old boy from Idaho was mauled to death by a neighbor’s four dogs, which also injured the child’s mother when she tried to shield him from the animals, officials said.
The brutal attack took place around 5:30 p.m. Saturday on the Fort Hall Reservation, located more than 200 miles east of Boise.
Emily Islas and her son, Kellan, were staying in an RV on Sandy Road when the boy went outside and failed to return, reported Sho-Ban News.
After a few minutes, Islas went out looking for her child and found him lying face down in the front yard with four dogs — two Rottweilers and two mixed breeds — tearing at him.
Islas tried to pull the animals off Kellan but was unable to, so she lay on top of him to protect his body from further harm, at which point the dogs began attacking the woman.
According to a statement from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, first responders were called to the scene and transported the mother and son to Portneuf Medical Center, where Kellan was pronounced dead from his injuries.
His mom underwent emergency surgery and remained hospitalized.
According to the description of a GoFundMe campaign that was launched by a friend, Islas sustained nerve damage and a ruptured artery in her right arm, as well as additional injuries to her head, back and left arm in trying to save her son.
“I know Emily, and I know she did everything in her power to protect Kellan from that attack,” Samantha Lenay wrote. “She is an amazing woman and mother and sacrificed herself to try and save her little boy.”
Lenay added that Islas’ daughter was “thankfully” not home at the time of the dog attack and was not harmed.
All four dogs that took part in the deadly mauling were euthanized by local tribal authorities.
The owners of the pets, identified as Benjamin and Juliana Wolfchild, were cited for 15 violations related to the mauling, including vicious animal attack, rabies vaccination and over the limit of canine or feline pets.
The case will be submitted to the US Attorney’s Office for further review, the Tribes stated.
Source: Kellan Islas, 7, killed, mom Emily mauled by pack of dogs in Idaho (nypost.com)