3-year-old boy in China gets mauled by Alaskan malamute in elevator

A three-year-old boy suffered a large gash on his face and scratches on his body after being mauled by an Alaskan malamute in an elevator. 

The shocking incident happened in Shanghai on June 19. The child and his grandmother were taking their own dog, a white Samoyed, out for a walk. 

The pair were riding the lift when they were joined by a neighbour who had an Alaskan malamute. 

In CCTV footage posted online, the malamute was seen sniffing around the boy and his dog before pouncing on them. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZTNLdN7w84[/embed]

The malamute appeared to have injured the boy while attacking the Samoyed. 

The terrified grandmother was seen trying to shield her grandson from the large dog by standing in between them.

Although the malamute's owner managed to pull it out of the lift on the next floor, the damage had already been done. 

It was reported that the boy had suffered a 7cm-long gash on his face and claw marks on his body from the attack. 

After the incident, the malamute's owner took the boy to a hospital to get his injuries treated.

At first, she did not want to claim responsibility for the incident and insisted that she tried her best to pull her dog away from the boy. 

But a review of the CCTV footage showed that the dog was wearing a harness but unleashed, and she agreed to apologise and pay for the child's medical bills of 10,000 yuan (S$1,970) after police investigated the case. 

kimberlyfoo@asiaone.com