Spokane Boy Mauled By Two Dogs; Loses Ear

SPOKANE - A boy mauled by two pit bulls Friday lost one ear and part of another, police said.

Police immediately killed the dogs.

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, adding that his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

His condition at the hospital was not immediately available Friday night.

A friend of the boy, Mercedez Ivie, 14, told The Spokesman Review she had been with a group of friends, including Ryan, who were returning from a movie late Friday afternoon.

She and another girl went inside the other girl's north Spokane home, telling Ryan to stay outside. But he followed them in, she said, and the two dogs attacked the boy.

"They were just going crazy," Mercedez told the newspaper. "We used a baseball bat and a stick to make them stop." She said her friend was missing his top lip and part of a cheek in addition to his whole left ear and half his right ear.

The dogs' owners, who were not home when the attack occurred, declined to comment.

Police turned the case over to the Spokane animal control agency.