SPOKANE, Wash. — Halloween 2023 will forever be remembered as a tragic, heartbreaking night for one Spokane family, after their dog attacked and killed their four-year-old child.
“It was incredibly difficult to watch that little guy fight for his life,” Roger Hammers said.
It was a normal Halloween night, with trick-or-treaters passing by collecting candy from homes with the front porch light on. Parents, leading their kids down the sidewalk.
All was well, until the energy shifted.
“It was definitely a messed-up Halloween, it turned into a tragedy,” Hammers said.
Roger Hammers said while his girlfriend, Jenna, was handing out candy – Hammers’ neighbor came out of his house asking for help; there had been a tragic accident.
According to the Spokane Police Department (SPD), the family’s dog had attacked their four-year-old child.
Hammers said a grandma, grandpa and the little boy live together in a home in the 900 block of East Dalton Avenue.
“We didn’t hear the attack, we didn’t hear anything like that,” Hammers said. “We didn’t hear anything until grandpa came out and was looking for someone to help.”
Hammers is a nurse, primarily working with elderly people in nursing homes. He went inside his neighbor’s home to help, and there he found a graphic scene he was not prepared for
He said he saw the little boy in his grandma’s arms.
“He was having some trouble breathing, but he was still breathing. There was a considerable amount of blood loss,” he said.
Hammers said the grandma kept pressure on her grandson’s wound, as Hammer directed her to turn him on his side.
“Jenna was on the phone with 911, and so I came back over and told her to tell them to hurry, the kid is critical,” Hammers said.
Within minutes, just after 8 p.m., SPD officers were on scene and inside the home administering aid to the child. Eventually, the four-year-old was taken away in an ambulance and transferred to SFD and AMR.
As for the dog in question, SPD said the “family’s valiant attempt to save the child’s life resulted in the dog being severely injured and beyond help.”
Officers euthanized the animal on scene Tuesday night. According to Hammers, the dog is a Pit Bull mix of some kind.
“My dog and their dog would bark back and forth, I could reach over the fence and pet the dog, the little kid played in the backyard with the dog all the time,” Hammers said. “And that dog never showed any signs of being aggressive – so I don’t know what happened inside the house.”
Despite life-saving efforts, the four-year-old succumbed to his injuries. When Hammers learned of his death Wednesday morning, his heart hurt.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s terrible. I’m very sorry to hear that he didn’t make it,” he said.
According to SPD, as of right now there appears to be no criminality in what they are calling a tragic accident.
Information of the victim will be released by the medical examiner’s office at a later date. SCRAPS took custody of the dog’s body.
As the family is recovering from this tragic event, there has been a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral costs. If you would like to donate, you can use this link.
