Pit bull euthanized

Dog attacked boy, no vaccination proof

MOSES LAKE - A pit bull that attacked a 6-year-old Moses Lake boy was euthanized last week.

The pit bull was terminated because physicians at Harborview Medical Center who were treating the dog attack victim, Alex Medina, needed to immediately know if the dog had rabies or other diseases, Police Chief Dean Mitchell said.

There was no proof to determine if the dog was vaccinated through medical records, he said. The only other way to determine if the animal had a disease was to euthanize it and test the tissue.

The dog was not euthanized as a result of the investigation, Mitchell said. It was due to urgency to determine if there was a potential health risk for Medina.

The tissue samples were to be tested at Washington State University (WSU), Mitchell said. WSU personnel then provide the results to the medical center.

Results from the rabies test were not available.

Mitchell said history about the dog is unclear. He said he did not know how old the dog was but it weighed no more than 70 pounds.

A Seattle news station incorrectly reported the dog weighed 130 pounds.