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The anguished parents of a Florida elementary school boy who was killed by a pair of unleashed dogs Monday are demanding that the pets’ owner be brought to justice.
“He was just a little boy,” Tiffani Connell, 35, told The Citizen between sobs Tuesday. “He didn’t do anything wrong. No parent should have to go through this.”
Matthew Millett, 8, was attacked near his DeLand home in what Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood called one of the most horrific cases of his law enforcement career.
Connell and her husband Michael Millett raged at the dogs’ owner, Amber Bailey Franco, stressing that her animals were known for causing mayhem in the area.
Chitwood said Tuesday that she was refusing to sign off on having the dogs euthanized, at least for now.
“Because she didn’t take care of her dogs, my son is no longer here,” Connell said. “I want to see her punished for this.”
“She is a terrible pet owner and our son had to pay the ultimate price,” Michael’s father added.
The boy and some friends were riding their bikes in the area when they happened upon the two dogs near the front of their subdivision. Michael approached one of the animals and attempted to pet it.
But the dogs charged at him, breaking his neck, his leg and leaving him with 12 bite wounds.
Connell said that that Monday afternoon began as any other. She picked Michael up from school at 3:15 p.m., and he came home for a customary snack and to watch some cartoons.
He asked if he could go outside and play with some neighborhood pals.
“Absolutely,” she said, signing off on a request he made nearly every day.
More than an hour later, she heard a loud knock at the door. One of Michael’s friends ran to her home to alert her to the attack.
The shaken boy told her Michael wasn’t moving.
Connell sprinted to her son. “Somebody help me! Please help!” the frantic mother can be heard screaming on a wrenching 911 call.
“As I was running over there, I saw them attacking him and ran as fast as I could, and i jumped on top of him,” she told The Citizen through tears. “I was just trying to stop them so they wouldn’t hurt him anymore.”
She felt no movement beneath her, and heard no sounds. “I did everything I could to try to save my baby boy,” she said.
The couple’s 11-year-old daughter arrived at the scene and can be heard on the 911 calling her dad, telling him what was unfolding through muffled sobs.
“She’s not good,” Millett said. “They are only three years apart and they are so close. They were like best friends.”
The trucker was traveling through Texas when his daughter called and he turned the wheel straight towards Florida.
The grieving parents described their son as a quit, fun-loving child.
“He was so sweet,” Millett said. “So smart, very smart. He was a typical 8-year-old boy, very tech savvy. He was shy but once he warmed up to you he always made you laugh.”
He loved to play soccer and baseball and fantasized about growing old enough to own his first car. “He wanted a brand new Dodge Charger when he turned 16,” Connell said. “He was very meticulous about how he wanted it to look.”
Michael’s parents said they moved to the quiet neighborhood so their kids could enjoy the fleeting privileges of childhood without fear.
“It’s just gut wrenching,” Connell said. “We thought it was a safe place for our kids to go outside and play. Never in a million years would I have thought this would have happened riding his bike 300 feet from our house.”
Chitwood said the nature of Michael’s injuries indicated that he passed quickly.
“That is what i was worried about,” Connell said, barely able to emit the words. “Was he crying before I got there? Was he scared?”
4 Responses
That breed and the trash who own them should be outlawed. Nasty baby killing dogs.
I love my pitty. She is wonderful. On the other hand, I had to put down my golden doodle for attacking and killing a smaller dog. It’s not the breed or the owner.
Dogs off leash can become a dangerous instinctual pack. Any breed! Negligence is letting your dogs wander a neighborhood not under your control as a dog owner. Deepest condolences to the family that has lost a child. 🙏
Breeds of dogs have nothing to do with it. If any breed is not trained properly they can and will attack, just like a bear, gator, lion, tiger etc. The owners are the problem. I have a pit and she is harmless unless I give the command to protect. This is an unfortunate situation where the animals where no properly trained and the owners should be the ones accountable. Having a pet should be handled like owning a gun. My heart goes out to the family of the little boy. The the owners of the dogs should face charges for murder.