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four-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a pack of dogs after wandering in to his father's backyard alone.
Javon Dade, Jr. was reported missing from his dad's home
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where he had been spending the night, around 10am on Wednesday and police found his body 20 minutes later.
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was discovered in the overgrown grass behind the home, with his large stuffed bear just a few feet away.
Six dogs - two female terrier-boxer mixes, a male pit bull and three terrier-boxer mixed puppies - were also found in the same backyard and seized by Animal Control.
Authorities have said they do not know how many - or which - of the dogs attacked the boy but say it is likely Javon was playing with the puppies when an older dog attacked[...]
It is likely that at least one of the older dogs became protective over the litter[...]
They will now be testing the dogs' DNA to determine which were responsible for the attack, and they are continuing to investigate how the boy got in to the backyard.
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Wednesday, as the boy's tiny body lay beneath a sheet on the grass, his grandmother, Jocelyn Dade was seen wailing outside the home - barely able to stand.
The boy's father, Javon Dade, Sr., who had been at home at the time with his girlfriend, also appeared in the street, inconsolable.
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interviewed the father to determine whether negligence was involved in the death of his son. Police said any decision on charges would come from the Miami-Dade state attorney.
The property's landlord, Kenneth Narbin, t
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hat he had warned his tenants to remove the dogs or face eviction last week.
'They snuck the the dogs on the property,'
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Owning a pit bull in Miami-Dade is against county ordinance and can carry a fine, but a Miami-Dade Animal Shelter official said it was unlikely anyone would face a fine.
'It's not going to accomplish anything,' Kathy Labrada said.
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also state that homeowners are not allowed to have more than four adult dogs living in a single-family home on less than an acre, but because three of the dogs were puppies, this does not apply.
The dogs will remain at an Animal Control shelter until the police conclude their investigation, Labrada told
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Neighbors said that Javon Sr. and his girlfriend had lived at the home for about three months, but they could not recall seeing the boy in the neighborhood before.
Javon Jr. lived with his mother, Doreen Reyes,
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She was also seen arriving at the home, held up by friends.
Relative Tomas Rodriguez said that Javon was a 'loving kid who would talk to anybody'.
'His life got robbed from him,'
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