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Video: Hug From Disneyland's Pluto Sent A Boy To The Hospital, Mom Says
A woman claims her young son was injured at Disneyland when Pluto gave the boy an overly aggressive hug.
Laurie Ramirez said that her 8-year-old son Ethan was so severely injured by a hug from Pluto that he had to go to the hospital for muscle strain, KTLA reports. The family was visiting the theme park on Thursday when Ethan approached the anthropomorphic dog for a hug, which his mother caught on video. You can see the actor grab and pick up the boy, then put him down and pat him on the head. When the actor moves to pick Ethan up, it looks like Ethan is bent backwards.
Laurie said her son began to cry and complain about being in pain after the hug, and that park employees instructed her to go to the first aid station. Laurie didn't want to have to take her son that far, so a nurse came over and looked at the boy, concluding he was fine.
Laurie said her son asked to go home, so she asked the park for a wheelchair, according to TMZ. She said employees refused, and suspects it was because they didn't want to draw attention to the incident. Laurie said Ethan was in too much pain for a stroller, so she had paramedics transport him to a nearby hospital, where doctors said Ethan had suffered severe muscle strain.
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Laurie said a representative from Disneyland visited them at the hospital, offered to pick up the bill and bought them El Pollo Loco. They also informed her that the actor who gave the aggressive hug had been disciplined.
A spokesperson for Disney told TMZ that they're talking with the family to figure out what happened, but they don't believe the boy was ever refused a wheelchair.
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