Two Knox County boys are recovering after being attacked by a dog on Sunday.
According to the Knox County Sheriff's Office incident report, a deputy was called to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital Sunday night to investigate a dog bite.
The dog's owner, Phillip Maxwell, said his 6-year-old nephew, Julian King, was staying at his home for the day and had been attacked by his Great Dane named Max.
Maxwell's 13-year-old son, Mathew, was also bitten. He told investigators that Julian wanted his bicycle from the fenced back yard where the dogs were kept. Since Julian was not supposed to enter the yards with the dogs, Mathew opened the gate to get the bike, but failed to secure the gate when he closed it.
He said he heard a loud bang and saw the dog biting at the gate and trying to open it. When the gate opened, Mathew said the dog grabbed Julian by the right leg and pulled him inside the fence.
Mathew said he pushed the dog away from Julian and picked him up, but the dog grabbed the boy by the leg again and jerked him away. Mathew said he jumped on top of Julian to protect him from the dog and yelled for his parents. He said the dog kept head butting him and pushing him to try to get to Julian.
Phillip Maxwell said he heard the screams and ran to the yard, where he pinned the dog to the ground. They got Julian inside and called 911, then drove the boys to the emergency room.
Julian suffered lacerations to both sides of his head, multiple puncture wounds on his body, and several scratches and bruises. He was taken into surgery.
Mathew was not bitten, but had deep bruises on his ribs, thigh, and an injured knee.
The owners surrendered the dog to Young-Williams Animal Center.
The report does not indicate if any charges could be filed.