GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) — A father is coming forward exclusively to FOX31 and telling us his son was the 12-year-old boy brutally attacked by pit bulls in Golden.
This father asked us to conceal his identity in fear of retaliation, but he wants to speak about the attack in hopes of getting to the bottom of what went wrong.
It’s a phone call, an alert, no father could ever be prepared for.
“I get a call from my sister while I’m boarding a plane that Ty was attacked by a dog and that there was a serious injury and he was [air lifted] to Children’s Hospital,” the father said.
The father quickly learned about a pit bull attack on his 12-year-old son named Ty. Ty’s 89-year-old grandmother was also attacked and passed away days ago from her injuries. The coroner now identifies Ty’s grandmother as Mary Gehring.
“That was his best friend,” the father said. “Ty just got baptized from his grandma recently, and she was a very active role in his life. She was a very good influence. His grandma was one of the kindest people that you would ever meet in real life. To live a righteous life and then to suffer that, I just I’m struggling with it.”
Struggling has taken on many forms for this father.
“When my son was able to talk, I asked him how his grandma was doing and he completely broke down,” he said.
Hearing what his son’s going through, emotionally and physically, has been painful.
“He suffered lacerations, puncture wounds. It did break a couple of his pinkies. I know both of his hands are wrapped up,” said the father.
The father tells FOX31 he also struggles to find answers to what went wrong to result in a deadly dog attack.
“I just want the truth, and if there’s accountability that needs to be held, it absolutely should be,” he said. “And I think it should be a warning for people out there that have these types of dogs.”
The dad said he knows one of the two dogs in this case. He tells FOX31 that the family got the dog seven years ago before he and Ty’s mom divorced.
“His name was Diablo, he was a runt,” he said. “I made her [his ex-wife] do extensive research to make sure that the breed in which she was buying the puppy was from was not a fight breed.”
The dad says Diablo and Ty were close.
“They grew up together, that’s why I have a hard time believing that he was any kind of aggressor,” he said. “For the years that I have known that dog, he was a sweetheart. I have no idea where the second pit bull had come from. No clue.”
Golden Police tell FOX31 the investigation continues at this time and there are no further updates to report currently.