‘They were eating my son’ Boy hospitalized after being attacked by dogs, family says

By Karen Wynne

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    RUTHERFORD COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — The family of a juvenile boy says he’s recovering in the hospital after he was attacked by a pack of dogs while riding his bike to a friend’s house near the Rutherford County line.

Twelve-year-old Hunter Bishop, a seventh grader at Polk County Middle School, was airlifted to Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina, where he’s now about to have his fourth surgery, family members tell News 13.

“They looked like they were starving, honestly. And, the way I looked at it, they were eating my son,” recalls Amber Barnes, Hunter’s mother.

Barnes says she made the horrific discovery Friday afternoon, Aug. 25, along Grassy Knob Road in Rutherford County. She was looking for her son, but never expected to find him in a ditch, surrounded by about 10 dogs.

Barnes says two people, she’s not sure if they were the dog owners, pulled the dogs off Hunter, enabling her to put him in the car and rush him to a nearby emergency room.

Barnes says the sheriff’s department has reached out to her. She says three of the dogs are in quarantine, but that’s not enough for her.

“Putting some dogs into custody is not going to get justice for my son,” Barnes says. “They’re going to be out in 10 days and somebody else is going to get hurt.”

While Barnes’ top priority is Hunter, an active boy who loves fishing, football and basketball, she also has words for dog owners.

“If you can’t take care of dogs, give them to someone who can and make them, let them be raised right,” states Barnes.

Barnes says her son is likely to remain in this hospital for a few more weeks and doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return to school.

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