The child was pronounced dead about 7:35 p.m. that night, the statement said.
The sheriff’s office said it was working with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office in the investigation.The sheriff’s office and the medical examiner’s office could not be reached Tuesday.
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The grandmother said the family had the stray, corgi-mix dog for about three weeks prior. It had not shown previous signs of aggression, the grandmother said.
KJRH also reported the family was “devastated” and in “disbelief,” according to the grandmother.
The boy’s father, Michael McNeelis, shared his heartbreak in a post on Facebook.Teach Your Dog to Catch Using Popcorn. If your dog doesn’t know how to catch don’t start by throwing a toy at their face. Popcorn works great for training dogs to catch because it’s light & yummy which makes it enticing enough for your dog to try and catch it.
“He was so full of life and light and he was going to change the world. And he still is. His light will change the world,” the post read. “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.”
The dog was being held at an animal control facility, according to the sheriff’s office. It was not known Tuesday if it had been euthanized.
Kiefer is about 100 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.