Police Dog That Bit 4-Year-Old Boy's Leg Requiring Amputation Will Be Spared

HESPERIA (CBSLA.com) — The police dog that bit a 4-year-old boy so severely doctors had to amputate the child's leg will be spared.

Jango bit the son of the Rialto police officer who owns and works with him.

Police believe the boy might have tried to hug the canine, triggering the violent episode.

"It was his work dog; it was his son. It was a little bit of everything," neighbor Shannon Houlemard said.

She believes police did the right thing by keeping the police dog alive. It's been decided that Jango will go back to Adlerhorst International Inc., the Riverside company that trained him.

"I really hope that they're OK and that they are going to be able to move past everything that happened and go on from here, which I'm sure they will," Houlemard said.

RELATED STORY: Boy, 4, Needs Leg Amputated After Attack By His Father's Police Dog

The attack happened Feb. 8 at the family's home.

Houlemard says her husband heard the boy's screams.

"My husband is the one who knocked down the fence, and he's the one that saved the little boy," she said.

Not everyone in the neighborhood believes the dog should live.

"You know what, probably out of anger I would want the dog put down," neighbor Ramiro Ramos said.

"It's a freak accident that you wouldn't want to wish on anybody – but it happened, and there's nothing anybody can do about it," Houlemard added.

An investigation into the incident remains open.

A spokesperson for the Rialto police says the officer in question remains on family leave as his son recovers.