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Foster Dog Bites Boy
January 20, 2015 permalink
A ten-year-old boy known only as DR had a fear of animals. Oregon DHS knew where to place him: in the home of Lillian Yun, a woman who rescued lost animals. Patron, a Doberman Pinscher mix, mauled the boy, inflicting permanent facial scars.
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Foster child who was afraid of animals placed in home with Dobermans, then mauled, suit says
A 10-year-old foster child who had a fear of animals was nonetheless placed in a Gresham foster home that also served as a Doberman Pinscher rescue and then was mauled in the face by one of the dogs, according to a $900,000 lawsuit.
The boy will need an estimated $50,000 for counseling and for cosmetic surgery for permanent scars on his face, according to the suit filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The suit also seeks $850,000 for the boy’s anguish and suffering, including nightmares and trouble sleeping because of the “savage attack” last last July 10, the suit states.
An attorney for the boy filed suit on his behalf against the Oregon Department of Human Services, which certified the boy’s Gresham foster mom, and Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, which DHS contracted with to place the boy in the home of foster mom Lillian Yun, the suit states. Yun also is listed as a defendant.
The suit states that the boy, identified by the initials D.R., moved into Yun’s home on Feb. 14, 2014. At some point after that, he was bitten at least once by Patron, a Doberman Pinscher mix who lived in Yun’s home. Then on July 10, he was attacked so badly he was sent to the hospital -- and that led to his immediate removal from the home, the suit states.
The suit faults Catholic Community Services for keeping the boy in the home, “even after D.R.’s counselor voiced concerns to her supervisors at CCS about D.R. being placed in a home with dogs.”
The suit states that Yun also had repeated contacts with animal control services and “had been bitten multiple times in the past by dogs she had ‘rescued.'" The suit states that DHS and Catholic Community Services should have known that children placed in her home could be in danger.
DHS, Catholic Community Services and Yun couldn’t be reached for immediate comment. Hillsboro attorney Matthew Kehoe is representing the boy.
Source: Oregonian
