Father shot family dog to recover son's finger from stomach

An 11-year-old boy is recovering at Tampa General Hospital, Florida, with his arm covered in bandages. Doctor's weren't able to reattach Fernando Brignoni's finger because of nerve damage, but said he is doing okay and expected to be released from the hospital soon.



His father, Luis Brignoni, says he learned just how far he'd go to help his child on Friday when the family dog, Sassy, bit off his son's little finger and swallowed it. Luis says when it happened he called 911, and while help was on the way he shot and killed Sassy, then cut open her stomach to get the finger out.



"I was petting my dog then she turned around and just started biting my hand," said Fernando. "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. But my son comes before any animal, and at that moment it was just like, get it now or it's gone," said Luis.


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The family have had Sassy, a malamute-wolf mix, for seven years. They believe she may have been biting at Fernando’s sleeve, but clamped down on his hand instead. The family has no plans for now on getting a new dog; they already have two other dogs at home.