A 4-year-old boy from Virginia is dead after an American bully attacked him Sunday afternoon in Louisa County. Garcia Welch was at his father’s home for the weekend under a formal custody agreement when the attack happened along a highway. Deputies put the dog down at the scene, and Garcia died before he could be airlifted to a hospital. His 11-year-old brother witnessed the attack, and the sheriff’s office says the investigation is still active.
His family remembers a little boy who made friends everywhere. His aunt said that if you met Garcia, you loved him. He loved painting, video games and music, and he had just started preschool at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. A GoFundMe for funeral expenses has raised nearly $30,000, far past its $20,000 goal, which says a lot about how people respond when a family is hurting.
Closer to home, this is a story worth sitting with. The Suncoast is a dog-loving place, from the dog beaches to the parks, and plenty of us have grandkids running through the house. Take a little time to teach the children in your life how to behave around dogs, and check in on kids who witness frightening things. Have a safety rule in your family that you swear by? Share it with us and we’ll pass it along.
