OZARK, Ark. (KTHV) -- A 4-year-old Ozark boy is dead after a dog attack.
On Aug. 12, at 12:18 p.m. the Franklin County Sheriff's Office got an emergency 911 call from an Ozark woman. She said a child, later identified as 4-year-old James Dowling of Hot Springs, had just been attacked by a dog.
When authorities arrived, medical personnel began giving aid to the boy, and he was immediately taken to a local emergency room. From there he was airlifted to Little Rock, but his condition worsened in the helicopter so they landed at the nearest hospital at Johnson Regional Medical Facility in Clarksville. Dowling was pronounced dead once he arrived.
Police say it appears a Rottweiler, which was kept in the backyard of Dowling's grandfather Larry Brannon, with whom Dowling was visiting, escaped from his pen and attacked the child.
Dowling's body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy. On August 15th the Rottweiler was euthanized and sent to the Arkansas Department of Health for rabies testing.
All available information has been forwarded to the Prosecutor's office for further review.
(Source: Ozark Police Dept.)