An organization is stepping in to comfort a boy whose puppy was attacked and killed at a local park.
Last month, 12-year-old Liam Swartzwelder was at Riverbank Park in Verona with his brand-new puppy, Simba.
That’s when he says the neighbor’s doberman jumped the fence, pushing him down and attacking Simba.
Liam was hospitalized, and Simba did not survive.
In a social media post Sunday, the dog training organization Champion Canine said the attack happened around the same time they had just gotten a new dog, Chief.
Chief’s owner reportedly surrendered him to Champion Canine from an accidental litter.
“While we had intentions to keep Chief and have him help us teach others how we raise puppies, we decided he had a much bigger purpose,” the post says. “We wanted to donate Chief and the training that goes along with him to Liam so he had a dog to grow up with, and so Chief can help him with his struggles since the attack.”
Liam’s mother tells us that Chief will hopefully come home with their family next week if training goes well.
Champion Canine posted a video of Chief meeting Liam for the first time. You can watch it below:
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
