A GoFundMe for an 8-year-old boy attacked and killed by two dogs near his home on Monday had collected nearly $80,000 as of Friday morning, surpassing the $50,000 goal set by relative Jackie Pasqualle Hart, who organized the effort.
“Our family is devastated with the loss of (the victim),” Hart wrote in the GoFundMe page. “He was incredibly smart, funny, caring, loving, and so adventurous. (His) contagious laugh and light will be missed tremendously.”
Hart said the money will be used for funeral and medical expenses and to help the boy’s parents who will take time from work to grieve and spend it with their two other children.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said that at 4:55 p.m. on Monday, the 8-year-old was out riding his bicycle with a friend when they saw the dogs near the mailboxes at the entrance of the Berry’s Ridge subdivision. The victim went to pet the dogs that were friendly at first but then attacked the child.
Chitwood said that the dog attack was so vicious the boy suffered 12 devastating bite injuries that left him with a broken neck.
On Wednesday a News-Journal reporter visited the subdivision with concrete walls and metal gates at the entrance that were open.
At the base of a nearby tree at Arabesque Drive and Arborvitae Way, a cross memorial inscribed with the boy’s name was set, surrounded by flowers, candles, and toys, marking the scene of the tragic incident.
Knocking on doors to speak with neighbors to learn if the dogs had been a problem or a nuisance in the neighborhood, the reporter knocked on the door of a home that turned out to be the child’s parent’s residence.
The boy’s father was very upset, and said the reporter was not allowed to be in the community and declined to talk.
Once he identified himself as the child’s father, the reporter offered his condolences and apologized for intruding on their grief. The reporter said he was not aware that he was uninvited to the subdivision and walked away.
As the reporter walked away he looked at the homes to verify the numerical address and left. The father came out of the house, followed the reporter away from his property, and said he was calling the police. When the reporter looked back, the father had his cell phone up either taking pictures or recording. The reporter waved to him and continued to walk away. The father kept telling the reporter he was calling the cops, so the journalist gave him a thumbs up and walked to his car.
A few minutes later, a sheriff’s sergeant approached the reporter and television news crews outside the subdivision and requested that the media stay away from the family and respect their privacy.
The News-Journal reporter later understood why the child’s father was very upset.
Unbeknownst to the reporter, the parents had asked the sheriff’s office to advise the media to stay away, that they wanted their privacy respected during their grief.
The sheriff’s office sent out a notice to all the other media informing them of the grieving family’s wish but excluded the News-Journal.
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