The pit bull dog attack that led to the death of the two-year old boy has shocked the nation. File photo – Credit: Geoggirl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-Sa 2.0
A two-year-old boy has died on the Greek island of Zakynthos after being mauled by a pit bull dog in the garden of his family home.
The attack happened shortly after the family returned from a shopping trip. As they entered the property, the family’s pit bull, which they had recently taken in as a stray, is reported to have suddenly attacked the child. The dog bit the boy with extreme force, causing devastating injuries to his head and neck.
According to local reports, the parents had been keeping the dog in their garden since taking it from the street a few weeks earlier. Witnesses say the couple fought frantically to pull their son from the animal’s jaws. The father, an Albanian national, later told authorities he struggled to free the boy’s head from the dog’s mouth and cried out that the animal had “eaten” his child. The boy’s mother, a British national, is said to be in deep shock and is being treated in hospital.
An ambulance rushed the unconscious child to Zakynthos General Hospital, where doctors tried to resuscitate him and perform other life-saving procedures. Despite their efforts, his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead. Hospital staff and relatives described scenes of raw grief as the news sank in.
Speaking to Greek television, Michalis Giannakos, head of the national public hospital workers’ union, confirmed the dog had been a stray the family chose to shelter. He said the mother was still unable to talk about the incident, while the father was initially held in police custody as part of routine procedures.
Parents arrested following dog attack
Both parents had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by negligence, as required under Greek law when a minor dies in potentially unsafe conditions at home. They were later released by order of a prosecutor pending the outcome of the investigation.
A nearby house rented by the boy’s paternal grandmother is also under scrutiny, amid reports she had been sheltering numerous stray dogs there.
The case has intensified debate over how potentially dangerous dogs and strays are managed in residential areas. The pit bull involved has been taken into the care of the local municipal service. Specialists will decide whether to classify it as dangerous and determine what will ultimately happen to the animal.