Not knowing the situation.... how old is the dog, was he being tormented/teased/roughly handled...??? by the boys, etc... what my recommendation would be is to contact a rescue organization in your aunt's area to discuss owner surrender/adoption.
You also mention your mother may take him... does she have experience training dogs? If this is an option, you should probably have an animal behaviorist evaluate the dog to see if they can figure out the root of the aggression problem and then how hard it would be to correct (then your Mom will know whether or not she thinks she can handle it). If not, again, contact a rescue in your area (preferrably maltese specific or small breed specific). There have been rescues who were said to be aggressive horrible dogs who turned out to be fine in another environment...no problems at all.
Thank you for caring about the little guy xoxo
You also mention your mother may take him... does she have experience training dogs? If this is an option, you should probably have an animal behaviorist evaluate the dog to see if they can figure out the root of the aggression problem and then how hard it would be to correct (then your Mom will know whether or not she thinks she can handle it). If not, again, contact a rescue in your area (preferrably maltese specific or small breed specific). There have been rescues who were said to be aggressive horrible dogs who turned out to be fine in another environment...no problems at all.
Thank you for caring about the little guy xoxo