Teen Ryan Hazel Mauled To Death While Caring For Dogs
A 14-year-old teen named Ryan Hazel was mauled to death while taking care of a group of dogs. The teen, who was from Rehoboth, Massachusetts, was caring for the dogs on a property in Dighton.
WCVB shares the details of the tragic incident. Hazel had been taken to the home by his grandmother so he could care for the numerous animals on the property. Apparently, after about an hour of waiting in the driveway, Ryan’s grandmother became worried when she had not heard back from him.
Ryan’s grandmother called the teen’s parents, who were out of Massachusetts on a trip. Then, the parents called a neighbor near the Dighton property to check on the boy.
The neighbor found Hazel with numerous traumatic injuries and immediately called 911. He performed CPR on Ryan at the scene, but Hazel died on the property.
Reports detail that seven dogs were found in cages and another four were loose on the land. The owner of the property is said to be 49-year-old Scott Dunmore, who was also out of town when Hazel was there. Dunmore is said to be cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn says that it does not appear that there was any foul play in this situation. Quinn declined to go into deeper detail about the injuries Hazel sustained. According to CNN, Hazel had been mauled by some of the dogs in an outside enclosure on the property.
Ryan Hazel, 14, killed when he was mauled by four dogs. Authorities say he was caring for the animals while the homeowner was out of town. It’s a job he’s been doing for about a year. @JordanMazzaTV has the latest details coming up tonight on @ABC6 at 11:00 pic.twitter.com/jYP65i9Af0
— Daniel Keith (@DkeithGWP) May 11, 2019
The 11 dogs on Dunmore’s property have been put into the custody of animal control, and the four who had been found loose are currently under quarantine. Those four dogs will be held in quarantine for 10 days, and then the town will make a decision about what to do with them.
The four dogs at the center of the investigation were said to be Dutch Shepherd and Belgian Malinois breeds. At this time, it has not been revealed how many of each breed were involved.
Ryan Hazel’s classmates cover his school locker in post-it notes of sorrow after dogs attacked and killed the teen in Dighton. #WCVB pic.twitter.com/8wNsT48ZRV
— John Atwater (@AtwaterWCVB) May 11, 2019
Hazel had apparently been caring for the dogs for the past year. A contractor who is familiar with the property explained that Dunmore has 10 to 15 dogs there that are trained for police work, and that he runs a dog training business.
According to Twitter, Quinn does not anticipate filing any charges against Dunmore, the owner of the dogs. Hazel was a student at Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical High School, and the school has brought counselors in to help students in the wake of this tragedy. Many students have been decorating Ryan’s locker with notes since the teen’s death.
