2-year-old Pasco County boy's skull fractured after dog attack

HUDSON, Fla. - While two-year-old Noah was playing in his driveway with his family, a dog got out, ran down the street, grabbed Noah while he was riding his bike, and dragged him, according to the boy’s family.

The incident happened around 5:40 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, and a caretaker of the child shot the dog to defend him, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

"He was just peacefully out in his yard not knowing any better, just riding his bike with his parents right there watching him when the dog, the neighbor’s dog got out and came out of nowhere," said Marlene Barnier, Noah’s grandmother.

As of Saturday, Barnier says he’s in critical condition and being treated at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

"He did have a fractured skull, the dog from the bite, fractured the skull. They did have to do some surgery, brain surgery, to get the fragment out that broke. The fracture, it broke, and they had to go in and remove that," Barnier said.

There is a GoFundMe set up to help the family with hospital bills.