Martinez Boy Attacked By Pit Bulls Comes Home from Hospital

By Bay City News Service

A Martinez boy who was seriously injured when he was attacked by pit bulls in Antioch earlier this month has been released from the hospital, his mother said Wednesday.

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Hunter Kilbourn, 10, went home Monday after undergoing two skin graft surgeries at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento to repair the damage to his head, face and arms, his mother, Melody Ralls said.

"We were really surprised he got to go home," she said, adding that he is recovering well but suffered slight nerve damage to part of his face.

The Morello Park Elementary School student, who is set to enter the fourth grade this fall, will be home-schooled for the next couple of months as he continues to heal, she said.

Hunter was getting ready to play video games at a friend's house in the 2000 block of Reseda Way in Antioch on Aug. 11 when one of two pit bulls usually kept in the home's yard attacked, Ralls said.

When Hunter was knocked to the ground, the second dog attacked, and the animals bit the boy's arms, head and face, severing part of his ear, according to his mother.

His friend, a boy around the same age, was also bitten when he tried to pull the dogs off, she said. Hunter was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, where he underwent his first surgery that night.

Antioch Animal Services took both dogs into custody and put them in quarantine, where they remained as of this morning, police Lt. Diane Aguinaga said.

Ralls, a mother of three, said her son's ordeal has opened her eyes to the potential dangers of leaving children unsupervised around pit bulls.

"There's always that controversy of owners versus pets, but you never know, so it's better to be safe," Ralls said. "It happened to me, it's going to happen to someone else."

Meanwhile, support from the community, including strangers, has helped the family cope, she said.

Two donation funds have been set up to cover Hunter's medical expenses, and several local businesses, from Buffalo Wild Wings to Great Clips, have pledged to chip in some of their proceeds to the cause.

So far, more than $4,000 has been donated, Ralls said. "I've learned there are people out there that really do want to help out," she said.

Donations can be made to the Hunter Kilbourn Recovery Fund at any Wells Fargo bank or via PayPal to 4hunterk@gmail.com.

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