Medics were dispatched for a report of a dog attacking a child around 7:25 a.m. in the 3500 block of Mercer Street in the Port Richmond section.
Witnesses say 11-year-old Shane Bucher was on a couch in his neighbor's home, waiting with other children to go to school, when the dog lunged at him.
Shane's older brother Brad was there to witness to the attack.
"I was crying. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I was in shock," Brad said.
Brad says the dog had Shane by the neck and was shaking him like a doll.
He and others battled to pull the dog off, but he wouldn't let go.
Shane struggled to get away and ran outside, where witnesses say the dog had him by the throat.
That's when neighbor Bill Reynolds heard the commotion and came running with a gun.
He shot the dog twice before it let go.
Shane was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children where he is said to be in stable condition.
"Shane is doing good, he's recuperating well... everything's going to be okay," Shane's father Paul Bucher said.
Police tell Action News the dog, named Zeus, was a 3-year-old American Bulldog with no history of aggressive behavior. His owner, Rhiannon Kelly, says Zeus was well trained and gentle.
"Zeus was completely out of his nature, he's never acted like that; [he's] very good dog, lives in a house with six kids, has seen Shane 1,001 times," Kelly said.
While no one knows what set the dog off this morning, there is forgiveness all around.
Zeus's owner and Shane's father hugged each other Wednesday afternoon and even Shane was apparently concerned about Zeus. Paul said his son is not mad at the dog, he just doesn't know what happened.
Shane had some cuts and deep bite marks that luckily missed his jugular. He's badly shaken, but, happily, on the mend.
