Child recovering from pit bull dog attack

CHARLESTON -- A family Christmas party near Walterboro took a violent turn Saturday when a

pit bull attacked a 4-year-old boy, shredding the back of his head and

sending him to the hospital for days.

Christopher Ranly, a blond-haired boy known as “Little Chris,” can’t

remember what happened to land him at the Medical University of South

Carolina Children’s Hospital. His blue eyes looked weary as he watched

“Beauty and the Beast” on the television in his room, clinging to a “Get

Well Soon” balloon with one hand and a stuffed bear with the other.

Chris lives in Greeneville, Tenn., with his mother, Brandy, and his

2-year-old sister, Ashlyn. His father, also Chris Ranly or “Big Chris,”

works in South Carolina and sometimes only gets to see his family every few

months.

The Ranlys reunited for a Christmas party at the home of Big Chris’ uncle,

Joe Ranly. Brandy said her son grabbed an apple and walked outside to eat it

when Joe Ranly’s pit bull attacked.

“All of a sudden people were running in, screaming that one of the babies

had been mauled,” Brandy Ranly said Monday. “Then I heard someone say

‘Christopher.’ “

The mother dashed outside to find that the dog had shaken her 30-pound son

so violently that the boy’s shoe flew off. He needed about 30 staples in his

scalp and a drain for the wound.

“It could have killed him,” Brandy Ranly said.

Her brother in law, who works for a wildlife and pest control company, pried

the dog’s jaws open and pulled the boy out. The Ranlys rushed Little Chris

to Colleton Medical Center, but they later took him to MUSC.

Joe Ranly said the dog, a male pit bull named Stat, remains at his home.

Ranly said the dog attacked because Little Chris came into his area while

Stat was chained up.

Asked what he intended to do with the dog, Joe Ranly said Monday, “I don’t

know what the plan is right now.”

Tim Lynes, director of Colleton County Animal and Environmental Control,

said the owners violated no laws, since the dog was on their property and

appears to be current on its rabies vaccinations.

“We won’t take the animal, as long as the owner can secure it,” Lynes said,

meaning the dog can’t have contact with people or other animals. Only a

judge’s order or a request from state health officials would require that

officers take the dog away.

Lynes said another pit bull attacked a boy last week in a similar situation

that also included head trauma. The owner shot the dog in that case, Lynes

said, though authorities prefer that owners keep the dogs alive to test for

rabies.

Little Chris remains in fair condition.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or Twitter.com/allysonjbird.