Tragic story - baby mauled by family dog

A few days ago, an infant was mauled to death by a family dog. This happened in a community near Montreal. It has been covered in the news for the last few days. Heartbreaking story.

I saw this article in the paper this morning. At first, I almost felt this news story was too sad to post, but I learned something from the attached article. I am sure no one thinks that their pet (or their friend's pet) is capable of committing such an act, but it is important to realize that it CAN happen and to take precautions.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/...208/story.html

The take away parenting lesson here is: don't leave your 3 week old baby on the floor alone in a house with 2 full grown huskies while you go out to smoke a cigarette. And when you've just moved into the house where the huskies live (it's their territory) it's an even worse idea.

That mother is only 17. She doesn't have the life experience to know any better (heck, she's still legally a child herself). She also probably doesn't have the life experience to cope with the mauling death of her newborn, and the guilt for her part in it.

I treated a baby once whose legal-minor parents didn't clip her car seat into the base, they just rested the car seat between the father's feet on the floor of the car. They did it for several weeks, it was less hassle, and nothing bad ever happened. Until the car rolled over in an accident, killing one parent and severely brain-damaging the baby.

We had a story here recently where 2 teen parents left their infant alone for 3 hours in a car with 2 pitbulls, assuming the pitbulls would take care of the baby while they went shopping.

The take away societal lesson here is: as a society, we MUST have outreach to very young parents to help them learn how to care for themselves and their children.

How tragic :( I was under the impression that introducing your dog to an infant was a delicate process that required constant supervision..

Maybe the title should be "Don't leave infants with irresponsible parents who have dogs" :p

Initially the grandmother (in her late 30s) was implicated as well, but I believe that the charges were dropped.

Maturity certainly had a hand in this story. But things can happen regardless of maturity of those involved. It reminded me of my brother's situation with a dog that he had. His children (around 10 years old) had friends over and one of his kid's friends was attacked by the dog - took everyone totally by surprise, they thought that the dog was well-trained (had received obedience training). It really shook up everyone involved.

I think the article speaks to the subject very well, it is worth a read.

My sister attended a friend's birthday party when she was about 6 years old. Was in the garden picking flowers when the "oh so gentle" german shepherd mauled the side of her face, almost tearing her ear off. She had been over at this friend's house before and had meet the dog.

I think I was more affected by it when the mother drove my sister to our house to collect my mother and I to take her to the doctor. She was sitting there with a towel pressed against the side of her head. Lucky all healed OK.

Apparently the dog had grown up with the children, and probably thought it was protecting it's territory but dogs are animals and all have a bit of the wild in them.

Mauling isn't restricted to big dogs.

It can happen with toy sized dog as well. And it can happen with your cat too.

There was a story I heard long ago of a new born babies lip and mouth area being mauled by a cat. Baby had just nursed and had baby formula on his face. Cat came by licked the formula and got carried away. This was told to me by my father, an MD. (I think the baby was one of his patients)

You can't let your guard down even with your family pet.

Too many sad stories... Truly tragic. The 17 YO will never forgive herself. :(

I can still *see* the little boy who was bitten in the face by a friend's dog, and the panicky parents who were rushing him to the emergency room, back when I was doing my EMT clinicals some 20 year ago. I was left alone with the boy as the ER was extremely busy. It didn't help matters that apparently he was to meet a doctor at a different hospital. But the ER staff wanted to make certain he was stable and arrange for medical transport (ambulance) to the correct hospital that would do the surgical repairs. The owners of the dog were equally mortified and told the police that they would just have the dog put down, that the little boy had done nothing to provoke the dog. When I was left with him, I to make sure he stayed conscious and breathing. He was amazingly calm, and not mad at the dog, and thankfully didn't seem to be in a lot of pain (he should have been). Poor lad will be horribly scarred for life.

Oh, it breaks my heart to read that. The good that comes from sharing these stories is that for whoever out there is unaware of the potential danger or have a 'blind spot' when it comes to pets, may think twice before leaving them unattended with children.

I read this and am reminded of the book "The Wolves Among Us." My two greyhounds asleep on the couch in front of me are ANIMALS.
Dogs are for adults, and their interactions with children should be closely monitored.

and let us not forget that most injuries to children are not by dogs but by their parents... just saying, "the wolves among us"

Hear, hear.

I don't think the response to stories like these should be "keep your child away from dogs" any more than the response to stories about bicycle injuries should be "keep your child away from bicycles."

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Hear, hear.

I don't think the response to stories like these should be "keep your child away from dogs" any more than the response to stories about bicycle injuries should be "keep your child away from bicycles."

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hmmmmmm, I think that there is one major difference here...... a child is unlikely to sustain an unprovoked bicycle attack..... with a kid and a bike there is one set of judgment - the child's and yes if they do something they can fall and get hurt (and yes, a child judgment is not always sound, nor perhaps are their physical capabilities), but with a dog there is the dog's judgment and sensibilities as well. The child can be doing nothing and still be attacked. (I don't know about you, but I've been lunged at by people's dogs before when they've just been walking by me on the street....)

The lesson definitely should be don't leave your small child unsupervised with a dog, even your own dog (would you allow them to ride a bike unsupervised?) Don't allow them around dogs that you don't know at all - who knows how they've been trained or how tolerable of kids they are.

I know it would be impossible to shield a person from all dangers - you wouldn't want to raise your kids in a bubble. That wouldn't be very good for them either, but it seems reasonable to me to take precautions. Being careful around dogs is like putting a helmet on them when they ride a bike or putting a seat belt on them in the car.

Not to start an attack on huskies in general, but a local family (similar to this one) recently lost their newborn when their husky attacked it in its crib. I know, it's not the breed, but ugh... How heartbreaking!

I have a toddler, and I have too many friends who have scars from being bitten by dogs. Dogs they knew and dogs they didn't know. So we don't let DD hang out with dogs unsupervised. And when there is a dog around, we're super vigilant. You never know what a baby or an animal will do. :( :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eden

hmmmmmm, I think that there is one major difference here...... a child is unlikely to sustain an unprovoked bicycle attack..... with a kid and a bike there is one set of judgment - the child's and yes if they do something they can fall and get hurt (and yes, a child judgment is not always sound, nor perhaps are their physical capabilities), but with a dog there is the dog's judgment and sensibilities as well. The child can be doing nothing and still be attacked. (I don't know about you, but I've been lunged at by people's dogs before when they've just been walking by me on the street....)

The lesson definitely should be don't leave your small child unsupervised with a dog, even your own dog (would you allow them to ride a bike unsupervised?) Don't allow them around dogs that you don't know at all - who knows how they've been trained or how tolerable of kids they are.

I know it would be impossible to shield a person from all dangers - you wouldn't want to raise your kids in a bubble. That wouldn't be very good for them either, but it seems reasonable to me to take precautions. Being careful around dogs is like putting a helmet on them when they ride a bike or putting a seat belt on them in the car.

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Certainly, I agree with you Eden. People have to use their brains with babies...

I have raised Akitas for over 18 years now, each with it's own personality. The one and only one we have now (we used to have 5), ironically hates bikes. One of my biggest fears has been that she will get out and maul a child. We are all very cautious of leaving any doors or gates open. I have 4 boys of my own and the thought of that happening is just unimaginable. As it has been stated several times, supervision is a must. We never leave our sons, 5 and 11, alone with Chancy. I honestly don't think she would ever do them harm, but all it takes is a spilt second. Another thing I have learned over the years is to learn to "read" your dogs. They really do give subtle warnings. I feel so bad for the young mom. Can't imagine how she must feel when just thinking of it makes my stomach turn to say the least. God bless her.

I have a dog & she is the sweetest & gentlest thing. I have put hours & hours of training into her & she meets new, sometimes very young children almost every day. She has never shown any sign of aggression or fear around children. HOWEVER - I would never leave her along w/ a child. Really there are a couple of reasons for this - firstly I want to protect her from the child - who knows how the child might provoke the dog - it's just not fair on the dog. Also, whilst I trust her, she isn't human and I would not be able to live with myself if anything happened - even a tiny nip. Plus, I would feel extremely embarrassed in front of the parents. Plus, I could never feel quite the same about her again. So I think very little is to be gained by leaving her alone with a child, and there is a great deal to be lost. I want her to be an ambassador for dog-kind and help fearful kids be better around dogs - I don't need to test her in an uncontrollable situation. My trainer says 'always set the dog up for success' - so I want to make sure I am there whenever she is exposed to kids.