Boy, 7, mauled to death by stray dog family took in

Little James McNeelis had been reported missing to police, but just hours later his parents made an “unfathomable” discovery.

A seven-year-old US boy has been tragically mauled to death by a dog his family rescued just weeks earlier, authorities and relatives have said.

James McNeelis was reported missing last Wednesday from his home in Oklahoma when his family couldn’t find him at dinner time, KJRH reported.

James’ father, Michael, later found his son dead in the family’s backyard, where a Shetland sheepdog-corgi mix they had rescued three weeks earlier fatally attacked the boy, relatives told the station.

The boy’s family had taken in the dog as a stray and it had not shown any signs of aggression prior to the deadly attack.

James McNeelis was discovered dead in the family backyard after being reported missing. Picture: KJRH

The dog was taken to an animal control facility, sheriff’s officials said in a statement last week.

James was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It doesn’t look like any foul play,” Creek County Sheriff Bret Bowling told KOCO. “Our preliminary indications or investigation [show] it’s some kind of animal.”

James was playing outside with his new dog just before the attack occurred, relatives told KOCO.

Neighbour Shannon Edison said she and her family were celebrating a birthday outside nearby when she heard a woman let out a bloodcurdling scream.

One neighbour reported hearing screams when James’ body was discovered. Picture: GoFundMe.

“It was a very, very life-changing scream, if that makes sense,” Ms Edison told KOTV.

“We knew something was wrong. As a mother, you know that scream. If anybody’s ever heard that scream, you know that scream. Something was catastrophically wrong.”

Ms Edison said she was devastated after later learning about what had happened.

“It was gut-wrenching,” Ms Edison said.

“No family should ever have to go through something like that. I just couldn’t believe it, honestly. It was something that was unfathomable.”

The family now plan to leave the area following the tragedy at their home (pictured). Picture: KOCO

Mr McNeelis said on Facebook on Tuesday that the shattered family plans to leave the area after his son’s funeral.

“He was so full of life and light and he was going to change the world,” Mr McNeelis wrote in another Facebook post on Sunday.

“And he still is. His light will change the world. We feel alone and lost without him and we’re doing all we can but it’s just hard. Everything just hurts without my little boy here.”

This story first appeared in the New York Post and has been republished with permission