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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas family dog was euthanized Thursday, less than a day after fatally mauling a 9-year-old boy — a much swifter resolution than a similar case four years ago.
Authorities haven't identified the boy who died Wednesday of injuries received in the dog attack outside a friend's home in a Las Vegas neighborhood about 8 miles east of downtown.
The 3-year-old pit bull mixed-breed named Left Eye was euthanized after it was surrendered by its owners to animal control officers, and after officials determined it wouldn't be allowed to be adopted, Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said.
Las Vegas police Officer Jesse Roybal, a department spokesman, said detectives were investigating what happened before the attack.
Roybal said the dog was a family pet at a home where the boy was visiting.
The quick conclusion to the recent case contrasts with a lengthy legal battle that developed after a dog killed a 1-year-old boy in April 2012.
That animal, a 120-pound mastiff-Rhodesian mix named Onion, was initially slated to be euthanized as vicious.
But an animal rights group intervened and fought a court battle that reached the Nevada Supreme Court before being sent back to Clark County District Court.
At issue was a question of whether the owner voluntarily surrendered ownership of the dog to Henderson city animal control officers.
Onion was held at a city shelter for 21 months before being turned over in January 2014 to the advocacy group to be taken to a rescue facility outside Nevada.
In return, the group promised to pay for a memorial to the child at a Henderson park, officials said.
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