Almost 200,000 people have signed a petition to save two dogs after one bit off a four-year-old boy’s “entire hand”.

US authorities said the child reached through a vinyl fence into a neighbour’s garden where the two huskies – named Polar and Bear – were playing.

The boy had a sock on his arm when he was trying to play with one of the animals in his back garden in the city of Layton, Utah, on Sunday.

Officials said they were unable to find the child’s hand and were almost certain the animal had eaten it, Layton fire battalion chief Jason Cook said.

Mr Cook added the husky bit off the youngster’s entire hand and two to three inches of his arm.

Medics and animal control officials briefly considered putting the animal down to retrieve the limb, but the surgeon determined it was not a viable option, the fire chief added.

The child was soon airlifted to hospital and underwent surgery.

The dogs have since been quarantined by Davis County Animal Control as an investigation is carried out. The animal shelter’s director Rhett Nicks told WCMH-TV there was a chance the dogs could be put down.

Since then, a woman, who says she is a friend of the dogs’ owner, has launched a petition asking for the animals to be spared.

The petition – which has more than 180,000 signatories – says Bear thought the child’s arm was a “toy” and that he thought it was “a game of tug of war”, adding that the dog “didn’t see that there was a child on the other side of the fence”.

It continues: “This situation is unfortunate on both sides. And now both dogs are in quarantine at Davis county animal control.

“There are fears that Bear might be put down and he doesn’t deserve to be put down for this freak accident.”

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