Boy, 5, dies after being accidentally strangled by family dog

PHILADELPHIA – A 5-year-old Bucks County, Pennsylvania, boy, who was choked when the family dog pulled his scarf while playing in the snow last week, has died.

John Bruno of Warrington died Saturday at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had been transferred after the incident at his home in the Palomino Farms development.

His death from ligature strangulation was listed as accidental, said James Garrow, spokesman for the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.

On Wednesday afternoon, the boy’s mother, who was at home, looked out a window and saw her son face-down in the snow with the family’s 1 1/2-year-old hound mix pulling at his scarf. She carried the boy, who was unconscious and unresponsive, inside to wait for medical help. He was taken to Doylestown Hospital and later transferred, Warrington police said at the time.

A GoFundMe page that was set up to defer the family’s medical and funeral expense has more than tripled the goal of $5,000.

“His smile and boundless energy was electric. He loved Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, superheroes and being silly. Above all else John loved his mom, dad, and big sister,” the GoFundMe site stated.