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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Florida father kills family dog to retrieve son's bitten-off finger | Florida father kills family dog to retrieve son's bitten-off finger |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Video: WTSP A father in Florida shot and killed his family's pet dog then sliced open its stomach to retrieve his son's finger that the animal had bitten off and swallowed. | Video: WTSP A father in Florida shot and killed his family's pet dog then sliced open its stomach to retrieve his son's finger that the animal had bitten off and swallowed. |
| Doctors in Tampa, however, were unable to reattach 11-year-old Fernando Brignoni's severed digit because it sustained too much nerve damage when the dog, a Malumite-wolf mix called Sassy, chewed it off. | Doctors in Tampa, however, were unable to reattach 11-year-old Fernando Brignoni's severed digit because it sustained too much nerve damage when the dog, a Malumite-wolf mix called Sassy, chewed it off. |
| The boy's father, Luis Brignoni, 41, said he heard screams from the back yard of the family's home in Bradenton, and looked out to see Fernando's 13-year-old brother hitting the animal over the head as it held on to the little finger of the boy's left hand with its teeth. | The boy's father, Luis Brignoni, 41, said he heard screams from the back yard of the family's home in Bradenton, and looked out to see Fernando's 13-year-old brother hitting the animal over the head as it held on to the little finger of the boy's left hand with its teeth. |
| He said he raced outside to find that the dog had released its grip and was running around the fenced yard, having swallowed the finger. | He said he raced outside to find that the dog had released its grip and was running around the fenced yard, having swallowed the finger. |
| "I said: 'I've got to go find the finger,'" Mr Brignoni told the Bradenton Herald. "I got my gun and I popped him. You don't know what you will do for your child. You don't know where you get the strength from." | "I said: 'I've got to go find the finger,'" Mr Brignoni told the Bradenton Herald. "I got my gun and I popped him. You don't know what you will do for your child. You don't know where you get the strength from." |
| His older son, also named Luis, was watching his brother petting the dog through the door of its cage. "I just grabbed a stick and hit the dog on the head and it ran off," he said. | His older son, also named Luis, was watching his brother petting the dog through the door of its cage. "I just grabbed a stick and hit the dog on the head and it ran off," he said. |
| Officers from the Manatee County sheriff's office arrived to find Brignoni, a landscape gardener, cutting open the dead animal's stomach with a knife. A sheriff's deputy helped him find the finger and pack it carefully so it could be sent with the injured boy to hospital in St Petersburg by helicopter. | Officers from the Manatee County sheriff's office arrived to find Brignoni, a landscape gardener, cutting open the dead animal's stomach with a knife. A sheriff's deputy helped him find the finger and pack it carefully so it could be sent with the injured boy to hospital in St Petersburg by helicopter. |
| He was transferred to Tampa General Hospital, and doctors there performed emergency surgery but found the finger was too damaged to reattach, Brignoni said. | He was transferred to Tampa General Hospital, and doctors there performed emergency surgery but found the finger was too damaged to reattach, Brignoni said. |
| The family was hoping that Fernando would be well enough to come home from hospital on Monday. He said the family has two other dogs and had no plans to replace Sassy, whom they had for seven years. | The family was hoping that Fernando would be well enough to come home from hospital on Monday. He said the family has two other dogs and had no plans to replace Sassy, whom they had for seven years. |
| "To me it wasn't only losing my son's finger, it was also basically losing a family member. And it was just really tough," Brignoni told the Bay News 9 TV station. | "To me it wasn't only losing my son's finger, it was also basically losing a family member. And it was just really tough," Brignoni told the Bay News 9 TV station. |
| "But my son comes before any animal, and at that moment it was just like: get it now or it's gone. | "But my son comes before any animal, and at that moment it was just like: get it now or it's gone. |
| "He might be missing a finger but his other four are good. Everything he could do with five fingers he can do with four." | "He might be missing a finger but his other four are good. Everything he could do with five fingers he can do with four." |
| A press release from the Manatee County sheriff's office said the incident appeared to be an accident. The dog's remains were removed and destroyed by Manatee County's department of animal services. | A press release from the Manatee County sheriff's office said the incident appeared to be an accident. The dog's remains were removed and destroyed by Manatee County's department of animal services. |
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