Two young brothers and their mother were badly injured by the dog they were fostering in their Coral Springs home Friday.
The incident happened around 2:15 p.m. at a home in the 2500 block of Northwest 106th Avenue, Coral Springs Police officials said.
Authorities said the dog, a pit bull, attacked an 11-year-old boy before his 12-year-old brother jumped in to protect him.
The dog then attacked the boys' 35-year-old mother. The 12-year-old ended up stabbing the dog to get it to stop attacking, officials said.
The 11-year-old boy was airlifted to a local hospital with severe injuries to his face, officials said. His mother also suffered injuries to her face and arm, and the 12-year-old was bitten on the back of his head. All three suffered non-life threatening injuries, officials said.
Officials said the foster dog had been taken in by the family just two or three weeks ago.
"Dogs are man’s best friend so when you hear about this and you know that they’re injured most likely from a regular playful interaction, it’s heartbreaking," police spokesperson Chris Swinson said. "Especially when their ages are 11 and 12 years old, something that’s gonna be with them for the rest of their lives."
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Experts say if you notice aggressive behavior in your dog, stop whatever you were doing when the aggression started. They also recommend redirecting your dog from whatever it’s reacting to and if the dog is being aggressive towards you, don’t turn your back to it and don’t run away.
No other information was immediately known. The incident remains under investigation.
