Housemates of a man whose dogs brutally attacked a 4-year-old boy can be held liable for the child’s injuries because they helped care for and feed the dogs and therefore were legally harboring them, an appellate court ruled.

On April 28, 2006, two Rottweilers and a bulldog owned by Lawrence Kelly Jr., of East Meadow, escaped from the backyard of a rental house shared by Dionisios Georgatos and Christopher Scheck.