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MIDVALE -- A 2-year-old boy is recovering at the hospital after being attacked by the family dog, which is a former police dog brought into the home by his ex-handler.
The dog, Kuno, had previously trained as a police dog but never served in the field. Police say he attacked the toddler in the yard of a home near 5500 West Wildberry Circle in Kearns Friday morning.
The boy, Kaleb Wane, is the son of Jerry Wane, a Midvale police officer who used to be Kuno's handler.
Kuno, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, was brought in by Midvale police to replace Koda, a police dog shot and killed while chasing a burglary suspect on New Year's Day.
Because Kuno ended up having a degenerative eye problem, which has caused him to be nearly blind, he was taken off the force just three weeks ago. That's when Jerry Wane adopted him.
"His boy was very close to the dog. The last three weeks they bonded and were playmates, and there had never been any incidents like this prior to today," said Midvale police Sgt. Marcelo Rapela.
Friday morning, Kuno and Kaleb were in the backyard playing when Kaleb's mother noticed her son face-down on the ground, not moving. She went to him and noticed Kuno next to him.
"The dog was standing over him -- not in an aggressive manner -- just standing there almost wanting to continue playing, because they played a lot," Rapela said.
"We do not know exactly the time frame, how long the attack my have taken place prior to her discover of it," said United Fire Authority Capt. Clint Smith.
Kaleb was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City with head and neck injuries. In a press conference Thursday afternoon, police said his injuries are not a serious as first thought and he is expected to be OK.
As for why the dog attacked, that's being investigated. But the exact answer may never be known.
"Maybe he just didn't realize what was going on, and the dog may have thought something else was going on and lashed out. I'm not sure," Rapela said.
Kuno is now in quarantine at Salt Lake County Animal Services, where they'll make a decision about whether to put him down.
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Story compiled with contributions from Alex Cabrero, Jed Boal and Andrew Adams.
