Boy mauled by pit bulls

A boy lost one ear and part of another Friday night after he was mauled by two American pit bull terriers at a home in North Spokane.

Both dogs were killed immediately in hopes of retrieving the boy’s ear so it could be reattached, police said, referring to instructions given to them by a local veterinarian.

The boy, Ryan Adam, believed to be 12 years old, was rushed by ambulance to a hospital where he was met by his parents, police said. While his injuries were disfiguring, police said they weren’t considered life threatening. His condition was unavailable.

About an hour after the attack, Ryan’s friend, Mercedez Ivie, 14, was still trembling as she sat on her grandfather’s stoop and talked about what she had seen.

She said she was with a group of friends, including Ryan and his girlfriend, Chloe Ramirez, who were returning from a movie about 4:30 p.m.

Chloe and Mercedez went inside the Ramirez home at 5508 E. Commerce, and the girls told Ryan to stay outside, Mercedez said. But Ryan followed them through the door. Inside, the two dogs – referred to as Looney and Marvey – attacked the boy.

“They were just going crazy,” Mercedez said. “We used a baseball bat and a stick to make them stop.”

Mercedez described Ryan’s injuries as “half his face being gone.” She said Ryan was missing his top lip and part of a cheek in addition to a whole left ear and half his right ear. “There was blood all over the kitchen,” she said.

The dogs belonged to Chloe’s parents, who declined to comment. They were not home when the attack occurred.

Mercedez said the dogs had never been mean to her, but kids who lived in the neighborhood took the “Beware of Dog” sign on the house seriously because they knew the dogs were trained to attack intruders.

Spokane police turned the incident over to SpokAnimal, which will make a decision about pressing charges, if any, against the dog owners.