Deputies say a man shot and killed a dog and retrieved a finger from its stomach after the caged animal bit his 11-year-old's hand Friday in Bradenton.
According to a news release, the boy stuck his left hand through the slots in the cage attempting to pet the dog. The dog bit him, completely severing his pinky finger and possibly breaking his forearm.
Deputies said the boy's father removed the dog from its cage and shot it multiple times, killing it. The father then removed the finger from the dog's stomach while waiting for paramedics to arrive at the home on the 5200 block of 22nd Street Court East.
The boy was was airlifted to Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg.
Deputies said a "preliminary investigation supports the father's accounts of the events, and it appears to be an accident."
Manatee County Animal Services personnel removed the dog's remains.