Nonfatal incident record · 2026-10-16

11-year-old hospitalized after multiple dog bites in Spartanburg; owner reportedly cited

Spartanburg police records cited by FOX Carolina describe an October 16 attack on an 11-year-old. Breed is unreported; police citations are not final findings.

Hospitalized · 1 victimBreed: Unknown / not reportedSpartanburg, SC

Date2026-10-16

LocationKensington Drive neighborhood, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Exact home address and attack location withheld.

Victim(s)One 11-year-old boy, name withheld; an accompanying eight-year-old neighbor was not reported bitten.

Dogs involvedOne large dog called Tina in the police-report account; owner subsequently located, dog reportedly secured by animal services for quarantine. Breed unreported.

Injury severityNonfatal, hospitalized: reported at least ten bites and puncture wounds/lacerations to the left arm, knee, hand and face (near cheek and eye), as described in local reporting of the incident report. No fatality reported; subsequent clinical course unverified.

Breed attributionUnknown / not reported
The October 18 FOX Carolina account of the Spartanburg Police Department report did not identify the dog’s breed or mix. A dog’s size, name or incident severity cannot establish breed.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

According to an October 18 FOX Carolina report citing Spartanburg Police Department records, an 11-year-old boy was bitten repeatedly Friday morning October 16 after he and an eight-year-old neighbor approached a dog the boy’s mother had tethered in her backyard after finding it loose on Kensington Drive. The older child reportedly suffered at least ten bites with wounds involving his arm, leg, hand and face, and his father took him to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Police and animal services later secured the dog and located an owner, who was reportedly cited for a dog running at large, missing rabies vaccination and a license. The dog’s breed was not identified and the police-described citations are allegations/enforcement actions, not court judgments.

Legal-status note

FOX Carolina reported that police cited a purported dog owner for letting a dog run at large, lacking rabies vaccination and lacking an animal license. Citations are reported enforcement actions; no finding of guilt or final adjudication established. Animal services reportedly held the dog for quarantine.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

BiteDB links to source-hosted media; no third-party photos or footage are copied.

↗FOX Carolina — Read original report and source-hosted mediaOriginal local newsroom report describing the police report; publisher retains rights to imagery/footage.↗FOX Carolina — View related newsroom video reportSame newsroom as article, not independent confirmation.

Source audit

Provenance and remaining uncertainties

FOX Carolina — Police: 11-year-old hospitalized, owner cited after Spartanburg dog attack · 2026-10-18. Original local TV newsroom article by Lorenza Medley reporting on Spartanburg Police Department incident report; not an independently obtained medical record.

Moderate-to-high for reported date, general neighborhood, child hospitalization and police citations based on FOX Carolina’s attribution to a Spartanburg Police Department incident report. No independent medical or court documentation obtained. Breed, exact address, dog history, vaccination status apart from police allegation, and outcome of any citations remain unverified.

Supplementary source

FOX Carolina — Video follow-up: Boy hospitalized, owner cited after dog attack — Same newsroom’s corresponding video report; supplementary media, not independent corroboration of police-report account.

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

No dog breed, final rabies-status finding, court disposition, clinical prognosis, or fault assignment is inferred from the incident report. This record may be updated as new source documents become available.