hope the dad put a bullet in the dogs brain.

the dad doesn't seem like the kind that should have bullets.

My heart goes out to the mother and the rest of the family..'cept for the dad that needs to be put down along with the dog. Sadly its another example that it isn't the breed of dog, but those who care for them, very dumb.

Stories like this always have me saying what was the parents thinking. They brought in this strange dog into the home not knowing it's history and then the dad sleeping with the other child and with the baby outside the room on a swing (If I'm watching a baby, I'm awak unless the childs in the crib asleep pure and simple) with the dog thats crazy. He should have been awake.

Idiot people and their goddam pets. When will people learn... it's just unbelievable.

Hey DMorgan, What's wrong with having a pet. Millions of people have kids and pets too without having any incident happen. How many people who have kids and pets had their child saved by a family pet? Unfortunately the parent in this case failed to take any preventionable measures regarding the infant. I can only imagine his horror and the guilt he will have to live with all his life. As for the dog well not all dogs are bad and with this one we don't know what provoked him to do this. It could have been he was hungry or the babies cries agitated him but what ever the reason he will lose his life too. Sad for all involved:(

DMorgan, you said it.
The animal lovers will now begin their usual "The baby must have done something to the dog" bull@!$%#.
Oh, wait...i see they have already begun...

Yep, you nailed it Tina. The old "oh, millions of people have done something similar without problems, so what's the big deal?"

Idiocy comes in all forms, from all directions.

Even if the father had good reason to be napping- like he had worked the night shift- the baby should have either been in a more protective bed- like a crib, or been in the same room as the father and 3 year old. I have always had pets, but I didn't leave the kids with them like that. I was even more careful when the kids got old enough to move around and still too young to know not to pull the dogs hair or tail. I'm sure the horror of the event will haunt the family for the rest of their lives. The loss of a child is always a tragedy, but to lose one like this must be even worse.

So the mom takes her kid to the doctor and comes back to not only the death of another of her children but the possibility of her kids being taken away because of what happened?

Obviously they need to get rid of the dog, I don't think anyone can argue that. And there may or may not have been "neglect" on the fathers part; watching an infant and toddler is tiring, maybe when he was trying to get the 3 year old down for a nap he just accidently passed out with her. The infant was probably already sleeping in the swing (thats what my kids did in the swing.) I highly doubt he expected the dog to tear it apart in the meantime.

I really don't think the kids should be taken away from their parents over this unless theres some MAJOR information missing that the article doesn't share. You guys are so willing to rip the dad's head off when he's actually the one that has to deal with the full weight of this accidental tradegy on his shoulders alone. Think about what it would feel like. Think about if what I described is what happened to you and your husband, or vice versa. Do you people even have kids?

The problem here seems clear to me: they just need to put down the dog.

I never saw this on the national news, but a few months ago a 2 day old baby was killed by the family dog (this was near Pittsburgh, PA) Everyone felt so bad for the family until details started to emerge. These people lived like slobs and had several big dogs in their home including pitt bulls. This is the strange part, the mother wanted the dog back after this happened. The dog has a reprieve by a judge from being euthanized.

I'm not knocking Pitt bulls, my daughter had 2 of them and for the most part they are loving dogs that make good pets, it's just bad owners.

Obviously, this breed of dog is very docile and non-violent so the dog had to have been badly mistreated before he came there or there is some other rare reason. Having owned many labs and knowing family and friends who have owned them, this is really weird. They have always been the best family pets with kids.

As a former animal control officer I'd like to weigh in on this one. Dog attacks on small children in the home are very common. I remember a call I went on some years ago. The family had a great dane that was purchased as a puppy from a good breeder when the child was a newborn. The dog and the child were growing up together. When the child was two he got too close to the dog's food bowl during feeding time and the dog attacked. I was called to the ER by doctors to make a report. What I saw there was horrifying. This little boy had over 125 stitches in his head, it looked like a highway road map. The child survived, barely, and the parents insisted they get the dog back after it's 10 day impoundment. ANY dog can and will attack in certain circumstances, fear, anger, food agression, play that got out of hand. If a pomerian attacks it is completely different that if a large breed attacks or gets too rough. That being said, no child should be left unattended with any dog EVER.

As to what the father was thinking leaving a tiny baby alone in a swing while he slept in another room, my opinion on that is that he was a fool. These people had a new dog, a new baby, and a sick 7 year old, perhaps exhaustion played a part in this tragedy, I don't know. I do know that it was a decision that will haunt him and the family for the rest of their lives.

As a long time dog breeder albeit of toy dogs, I NEVER sell my dogs to people with small children. This is for the safety of the child, as well as my dogs. It amazes me when another of these stories surface, after years of these incidents occurring, that people don't realize how serious this can be. The arrival of children in the home should take preference over any pet. Realistic decisions have to be made where a babies arrival and even when an already existing pet is in the home. We love our animals, but they ARE animals, and no one knows inside a dog or cats brain when an "intruder " comes into its world. Children by the time they are around 10 years old are old enough to learn to partially care for and respect the animal. This is a learning process. I have bred dogs for 30 years, and with intelligent conversation with people interested in acquiring one of my dogs, have never had an incident. This is also the reason I do not allow my kennel to be viewed like a "zoo".... Such a tragedy that could easily have been avoided with a few intelligent conversations and actions.

My sympathies go out to the family for their loss.

Animals are exactly that, animals. My grandfather told me years ago never fully trust even an old milk cow cause you never know when it will turn on you - anyone ever butted by a cow knows that it hurts. Any animal can and will attack: a guy I worked with show me a scar he got from an enraged bluejay when he came too close to her nest. So it always wise to be cautious and respect them and never leave small children around them alone.

Everybody seems to be laying all the blame on the father when the mother has just as much fault in this, knowing the father was asleep and leaving while the baby was still in the swing instead of placing the baby in its crib.

so dad was sleeping but surely there was some crying when this happened and more than likely screaming from an injured baby should have been enough to wake almost anybody from a sound sleep

but all the finger pointing won't bring the bady back

Hangon1minute - Who said the father was asleep with the baby in the swing when the mother left the home? He could very well have passed out after she left.

That father was certainly negligent to have left an infant unsupervised in a swing. Further, he had to have been more than "asleep". He would have to have been passed out cold, perhaps on drugs, alcohol or medication. In any of those cases, he should not have been responsible for watching 3 children.

I can't imagine that the baby didn't literally scream for it's life when the dog attacked, the dog probably was making noise as well. There would have been one heck of a lot of noise going on. If the baby was right outside the father's room when this happened, the noise from the attack would have woken anyone who was in a normal state of sleep.

At least this time pitbulls and rottweilers aren't getting the blame. I personally know more people who have been attacked by labs and retrievers (which had NOT previously been mistreated) than by pits and rottis. The two rottweilers I know are better parents than human parents - the family's kids are never out of their sight. The dogs have herded them away from the road and kept them away from a hornet's nest hidden in a tree trunk. The same family's retriever ignored the kids.

The baby was in a swing just outside the door of the room where the father was sleeping at the time of the attack. When the dog first bit the baby's leg, the baby would have screamed, and as the dog chewed through the baby's leg, down through the bone, the screaming would have gotten louder, and the father slept through all that? There is definite neglect here, and the father needs to be drug-tested and prosecuted, because he was on something pretty powerful to sleep through that kind of noise.

I'm not here to hash out the same old things which have been
broken down time and again; I'm just here to emphasize one specific point which
is that priority should always be to the favor of a child. What I'm saying is as parents we should
always be at least one step ahead of any possible situation in effort to thwart
said situation. My daughter is over six
now, and my son is in his mid-third year and my level of awareness has only
risen with time, hell, I thought every parent was that way. I look ahead constantly for ANYTHING which
may in any way pose threat to the health and welfare of my children. Buddy, our JR Terrier was our
"baby" before the kids, great dog to say the least. Once the first child came along, Buddy was on
a short chain so-to-speak, and due to the fact this dog and I are limited in
terms of how in-depth our conversations may proceed and I have no way of
knowing if and when he's lost his mind, I hovered between him and my children
constantly. I have missed out on more
hours of sleep (MANY MORE) than I could even give a crap about, and if need be
I'd have stayed awake 24-7-365 for as long as was needed to ensure the safety
of my children. I wasn't going to let
SIDS, sickness, or a possible good dog gone bad, or anything else for that matter,
get my children. Good for them I'm
accustomed to sleep and food deprivation from my time in service, and awesome
for them that I've got the character of a father who puts himself dead last for
their sake. I'm not sure any punishment
to this father would ever trump the pain I'm sure he feels right now, and
therefore I say let him live out his days remembering what his carelessness has
brought. I can't say I hate this man and
not to play the devil’s advocate but a part of me hurts for him even though he
could have done different, hell, right about now I'd be a mental and emotional
wreck over something like this. I keep
thinking of the words “let those among you without sin, cast the first stone
". How many of us on here are out
on a witch hunt, or out for blood knowing full and well that if along the path
of our own lives, each and every blunder were revealed, particularly those
which greatly impacted the lives of others and even possibly hurt them, we may
then find less enthusiasm for the "hanging" of this dad and maybe a
bit more compassion. Sounds to me as
though he made efforts to care for his children, and time will reveal the truth
anyhow, but none of us were given a life guide and sometimes the unthinkable
must happen before EVERYONE wakes up. And remember, just because your child wasn't
brutalized by the family pet while you took an afternoon siesta in the hammock,
doesn't mean your pet wasn't plotting and you may have barely escaped along the
way the burden of reading comments on a post about you such as this.

Well what do you know, it wasn't a Pitbull, Presa Canario, Rottweiler, Doberman, etc. A retriever/Labrador mix. Odd given that these are among the most stable breeds. Clearly, a dog that may have been abused at some point. either way, time to put it down. The Dad made the mistake of trusting it around kids. Now he will have to live with it the rest of his life.

This is Just the sort of thing that can happen with shelter animals. No history, no assurance, except what the shelter fools tell you. Funny how many of these attacks are from shelter or rescue animals. But, you have to dig pretty deep to get hold of the numbers, because the animal lobby don't want the truth about "rescued and rehabilitated" animals known, would be bad for business. And to answer some questions, Yes, these people feel the animal is more valuable than humans.

When my kids were home, a dog that so much as growled or showed it's teeth at them was gone. We had many good dogs over the years and a few that weren't, not surprisingly, the problem dogs were strays or adopted. Never had a kid bitten or mauled because we watched them closely and any potential problem dog got lead poisoning. We Never had a problem with dogs raised from pups. Not even the so called "Bully breeds". Lesson, If you have kids, don't bring adult dogs not known into the home with them. If you must have a dog, raise it from a pup and train it well all the time. And don't be to sentimental to get rid of it if it makes even one sign of aggression. A growl, not playing, or bearing it's teeth should not happen and if it does even once, it's time for Fido to go.

Losing an infant in such a horrible way and losing their other children as well, is unimaginable.

To others who might have infants and toddlers..... 1) NEVER leave an infant in a swing UNATTENDED. 2) NEVER leave an infant or young child with a pet. I have two dogs, that are "child-friendly", but I would still not leave them in a room with them, UNATTENDED. 3) If your significant other cannot stay awake, take ALL your children with you! While these things might seem like common sense to many, obviously some parents need to be told these things. Parenting is a hard job but not something you should do half-heartedly.

We've had 8 dogs in the 30 years I've been married. We bought the first for $50, a Doberman puppy, spoiled her terribly, she was our "baby". Adopted 3 more, full grown Doberman's. We were given 4 more dogs over the years, because the owners needed to find new homes, a Black Lab, a Lab Retriever mix, a Beagle and a Pit Bull. The Dobies and Pitt, never, ever bit anyone, the other 3 each took some nips at the kids (kids being kids).

I can assure you we NEVER left our dogs alone with our infants, period! Kids are grown now, and we are down to one dog, the pit, and she is the sweetest girl in the world!

Pets take responsibility.

This is a major tragedy. My condolences to all concerned. This is not the time to make all kind of comments. NEVER EVER leave a baby alone with any dog. Dog parents have different rules than human parents. This is not the dogs fault. I have had three rescues all Dobermans. The first one was great with kids but, I never left her alone with them anyway. The other two had been abused so I never left them alone with anyone. It is the owners responsibility to monitor all in their care. If you take on the responsibility of an animal ...any animal or children, be watchful and careful. May God recieve this innocent child and comfort all who loved him.....

Jo-An Thank you so much for your comments...I also have a pit bull he is 18 months old and the sweetest dog was a gift from my hubby before he went to Afghanistan He is the ambassador for our neighborhood which is out in the country he loves horses and runs with the kids riding bicycles...loves other dogs and cats...he has been raised without yelling or hitting..good dog..I also have a golden retriever she is 12 and just as sweet as can be raised her from a pup but I will be honest I am older(in the grandma age) and she does not care for kids not that she does anything aggressive she runs from them too much activity and energy for her...but this is the saddest story I have heard..hindsight is 20/20 such a sad sad thing for the parents whatever the story bottom line the baby is gone and questions will be asked...my prayers are with all concerned...

msfruhauf

Thank you for being a voice of reason among the cacophony of posters with a lynch mob mentality.

Since when does an accidental tragedy become an excuse to play the blame game? Can an accident no longer be considered an accident? I am simply appalled an astounded by some of the sheer lunacy in these posts, especially the extremely vulgar DMorgan.

Add to that the all too common knee jerk reaction of CPS. Do any of you have the slightest clue what damage is done emotionally and psychologically to young children snatched from the only home they've ever had and the parents they love and need? Of course you don't, but let me tell you it can be quite devastating and some children never fully recover.

There is a very little known perfect storm when it comes to dogs mauling or mauling and killing infants. This is mainly because these incidents happens so rarely it is hard to study. It is the relationship between a dog that enjoys eating feces, especially human feces and an infant with a high fat content in their feces from formula and the dog can smell it. I have literally witnessed two dogs born and raised together viciously fight over an infants diaper containing feces. They even snapped at the owner when he tried to take the diaper away to dispose of it. Honest truth, ask your vet if you don't believe me. I think this is very likely what happened in this instance. Primarily because the infant's leg had been chewed or pulled off and I believe this was done in an effort to get at the contents of the baby's diaper.

Truly very sad for all involved, especially the dad. And it seems the authorities, along with most of the posters on this thread want to hang and quarter the father for a very tragic accident he will never forget or forgive himself for.

Justsara is the only commentor to ask the right question. HOW THE BLOODY HE-- does anyone sleep though their child being eaten by the dog? Outside the bedroom door? Big room? Ear plugs? DEAF? All the dog comments are meaningless. How does a parent sleep through that kind of screaming ?

Mo, what if the dog bit the child's throat first?

This is horrible for all involved. my kids would nap in their swings all the time, this situation is not really that unheard of, but he should have woken to the sounds of the baby crying. Also very unusual for a dog to do this, any dog. A 2 month old does not provoke an attack in a swing, unless it was crying and upsetting the dog. More info is needed. But....What if the baby had passed away before the dog attack? That would be easy enough to prove. I would sure like a follow up to this story...

As sad as this is, I do find it funny people would actually try and defend the dog, that’s like trying to blame a rape victim and before you say you can’t compare the two… who is more tame with self-control and intelligence, an animal obeying it’s predatory instincts or a person who lets his/her darker nature get the better of them. Not to say the parents weren’t at fault for trusting an animal they were unfamiliar
with but that doesn’t make the animal innocent either. Not to say animals can be held accountable for their actions but it’s seem to me we treat animals as pure and innocent yet wonder why people are so bad; have you even considered why people do bad things in the first place? Then you might say we’ll why doesn’t my dog or cat so loving and loyal? Because he/she has had the wild bred out of him/her and is raised in a tame environment and last time I checked, we don’t have an ancient old eugenics program to make people tame.

@Zoinke

but we are still one of the most destructive, violent, sadistic species of animal as well.

I take it you’re not familiar with dolphins and chimps then. And if you think
about it, a good chunk of the animal world is sociopathic, having no concern
for beings aside themselves (Before you say anything Mammals and Birds mind you only make up a small portion of the animal kingdom and with most other organism groups there are usually only certain kinds that care for their offspring with plenty others that don’t.)

@ ModerationInAllThings

Human animals do much worse to other human animals daily, be it mureders, rape, gang affiliations, greed, economy sell outs, divisiveness purpotrated by governments and all else... human animals can learn MUCH more from companion animals. Those bashing dogs as 'animals' are really lost on this
one.

Murder- A good chunk of the animal world has animals that kill their own kind for selfish reasons. Such as lions that kill cubs to bring females into heat, chimps warring with each other and dolphins that kill their own kind just for kicks.

Rape- Dolphins and Waterfowl

Gang Affiliations- Many social species are like this, especially primates and dolphins.

Economy Sellouts- Again many social species.
Divisiveness perpetrated by the government- Primates again

While we can certainly learn a lot from animals, I would hardly say how to obtain a utopian peace is one of them. (and those are only a scratch at the surface of things). Again as said before, even wonder why people do bad things? Here’s a hint, what kingdom (in taxonomy) do we belong to?

Do you really think the guy would not have been woken up by the screams of the baby while it was being attacked??? Come on people, see what really happened here and stop blaming the dog. GEEEEES. The guy should have charges filed for murder, he incited and was part of the attack on the baby OR knew it was happening WHILE it was happening. But, maybe, just maybe, he was sleeping in a soundproof room? yea right

Caroletoo,

Thanks, yes old dogs get a bit grouchy, just like humans...

It is a sad story!

I agree with Mo and Justsara. There is more to this story than meets the page. If the father slept through a child's screaming, it was NOT a natural sleep. There could have been drugs or alcohol involved. I am thinking THAT is why the other two children were put in protective custody, not because of the dog. Likely the dog WAS euthanized - They usually are when this kind of thing happens. (The dog's behavior may have been a reason why it was dumped by its owner - we'll never know.) I do know, and agree with the others who assert that parents should NEVER leave a child alone with ANY dog of ANY breed, for the safety of both the child AND the dog.

With regard to adopting rescues from shelters, I am a big proponent for adopting dogs and I have two "rescues" my home - both Pit-x's - and they live with two small dogs who are not rescues. (If you are not sure about adopting from a shelter, go to a reputable rescue as they will have had more time to evaluate the dog to see if it is appropriate for your situation. Adopting from a rescue opens up their space to "pull" another dog from a shelter.) My rescued dogs are both lovely, sweet and docile dogs, but I introduced them to the smaller dogs slowly, and I still separate the bigger dogs from the smaller dogs when I leave the house. It is an "ounce of prevention" plain and simple. Murphy's Law is alive and well in the world of children AND dogs.

Obviously, this breed of dog is very docile and non-violent so the dog had to have been badly mistreated before he came there or there is some other rare reason. Having owned many labs and knowing family and friends who have owned them, this is really weird. They have always been the best family pets with kids.

Dogs are Dogs. No breed should be left unattended with an infant or toddler, no matter what the breed is. I could counter with this fact and say that I have had pitbulls most of my adult life and raised my children around them and ran my horse ranch with them at my side. I dont care if the dog is a lab, a pit, or a chihuahua. Don't leave it alone with a young child.

The mother is NOT off the hook here, or she better not be! There is no way this father was mearly asleep when that child was mauled. He was either drunk or on drugs, and the mother had to know that when she left the house! Both parents should be brought up on charges, with the mother's being child neglect at the very least! BOTH of these parents put this child in a dangerous situation, and both need to be charged. I cannot imagine the screams that had to be coming from that child as that dog attacked, yet it was the mother who found the child? Yeah! Charge both parents because something is really fishy here, and it is a good thing their children were taken away!

It is a very sad day today:( I even feel sorry for the dad' failing to protect the most unprotected. let' learn another lesson here. let' not leave the childrens unsupervised at any time, and if you think you can't, let' not have them. the same for the animal lovers, if you think that you won't have full control of them just don't get them.

The dog was NOT to blame. Mentally deficient posters would have blamed anything and anyone but the father - and he IS the one to blame. This idiot was responsible not only for the baby, but also for the dog. As for blaming the mother - she took another child to the doctor - what was her sin here? There is absolutely no mention of her having prior knowledge of her husband's alleged drug usage or that she KNEW he was sleepy - or any of the other mysoginist crap that is being spewed. And maybe the guy was exhausted from being up all night with a sick kid - nobody knows that either. All we know is that the dad was there - and the baby was horrifically killed. As for CPS stepping in - that's their job, so get over it. A baby was torn apart while her guardian slept in another room. And you want to leave the children in the same situation where a child's death occurred DUE TO NEGLECT???? I am very saddened over the pain I know this poor baby must have suffered - and appalled that there are such stupid people out there placing blame where it doesn't belong.

Marty's post has a lot of common sense. I cannot understand leaving a new dog alone with small children. Dogs are territorial and the babies swinging legs was an invitation to attack. The parents should not have brought a full grown dog into a family with two very small children. That is dumb.

This is truly a sad story for the baby and the entire family but how can anyone say it was the parents fault?

People need to "fix" their thinking in this country. A "dog" is still an "animal"! Animals do not have real reasoning capability when their instincts take control. A pet boa costrictor or pythons swallow children whole when they want food; pet lions kill for many reasons; a pet chimp attacks for no reason; and, so do pet bears - and dogs!

Oh, I forgot, they're not animals! They must be human because the SPCA and others spend millions of dollars per month on TV commercials trying to make us humans think that pets - especially dogs - are human too. And, if they are right then the dog deserves to be read it's Miranda Rights, arrested, a bail hearing held and a jury trial set and a fair trial held to determine if this dog actuall did this crime.

I am not trying to downplay the horror this child must have went through or the horror the mother and father and the other children in the family will have to live with for the rest of their lives. I just don't understand how the blame for what someone else does - even a pet dog, or pet lion, or pet bear - can be placed on the poor mother and father. They will suffer enough - for life!

As for blaming the mother - she took another child to the doctor - what was her sin here? There is absolutely no mention of her having prior knowledge of her husband's alleged drug usage or that she KNEW he was sleepy - or any of the other mysoginist crap that is being spewed

What was the mother's sin? She had to know her husband was either drunk or on drugs, as that is the only way he didn't wake up when he's 2 month old child was screaming in pain, or hear the dog attacking the child. She left her baby with someone who was not capable of caring for her child adequately, and is therefore guilty of neglect! As for your claims of "mysoginist crap", I am a woman an a mother tired of women not paying attention to who is caring for their small children. Especially one not old enough to be able to protect himself! She married the father, and since she had other children with him, HAD to know what sort of sitter he would be. She could easily ahve taken the baby with her, but chose not to thereby endangering her child. Period. End of story!

Mac, dogs are domesticated animals and have been for over 10,000 years. They were the first animal on the face of the earth to be domesticated by humans, and have been an essential part of human evolution since pre-historic times. It is easy for me to say that mankind would never had survived the mega-predators of the previous ice age without our symbiotic relationship with dogs. We have responsibilities as the leaders of the pack to set the ground rules and enforce them. Snakes, lions, chimps and bears (oh my!) are not now and never will be capable of being domesticated as a species. Constant close contact with humans has so altered the domestic canine's genome that they are a completely different species of animal from their wolvish ancestors. They subvert ther predatory instincts in the face of a strong leader and, essentially, remain in a puppy-like state throughout their lives. You ever hear an adult wolf bark? Of course not. That is something a puppy does. But keeping those instincts in check requires constant reinforcement of pack hierarchy, something many people are unwilling or unable to do with their dogs. Those are the ones who act out, who chew on furniture, who pee in the house, who bite. If a dog knows its place in the pack, it can be safely left alone with any number of babies.

When the dog first bit the baby's leg, the baby would have screamed

Ok seriously everyone that keeps posting about how "the dad would've heard when the baby started screaming", you really have NO IDEA where the dog bit the baby first (throat/head perhaps??) or how long, if at all, it was screaming for. Do you guys even know how small 2 month old infants are? Especially compared to the size of the dog's jaw?

Once again this is one of those stories where reading all the following posts makes me sad to think about you guys ever serving jury duty. You know so little about what happened yet you're ready to lynch this Father and have the kids taken away from the Mother too. Really, really sad.

The dog was new to the pack. The first thing a pack animal does that finds themselves in a new pack is strive to position themselves in the best possible ranking. It is natural for pack animals to eliminate competition.

This was not the time to acquire a new dog.

I am so sorry for that family, and I am sorry for that dog.

Marty,

I completely agree. It amazes me that some people believe that their friendly docile animal could never attack. If a human being can freak out and lose control of their actions under certain circumstances (extreme stress, fear, rage,etc.), why would anyone think an animal could not? I love animals and have many of my own, but one should never forget they are not "toys", but creatures that can respond to stress and react accordingly. I agree that the family will probably carry this weight with them the rest of their lives, but hopefully someone else's child can be spared because of this tragedy.

Also, since 2 months old tend to cry quite a bit, even if he managed to let out a "cry for help" it probably wouldn't have sounded much different than when it crys every other time throughout the day. It most likely wouldn't have lasted too long either, even if the dog didn't bite its chest, head or throat or anything other than the leg, the loss of blood in a little body like that most likely would've led it to become unconcious fairly soon after the limb was dismembered. I love thinking about how if any of you are parents, you've never ever been asleep while your child was awake. You're such hipocrites. God it's just so sad I don't know how heartless you people can be to not be able to accept it as an accident. I'm so sick of this American mentality that if a tragedy occurs, there MUST be someone to sue or put in prison over it.

And now I have more reasons to hate dogs and this father. The father at least deserves time behind bars and the dog just needs to die. There is no excuse for what happened to the poor kid.

In any of those cases, he should not have been responsible for watching 3 children.

He wasn't.

The father was watching TWO children, and one dog - and, yes, he was responsible for watching the dog, as well.

The mother had the couple's eldest child with her, as she had taken the child to a doctor's appointment.

That said, I am pretty sure there will be more to this story in the days to come - in most cases, even when a family has a tragedy like this, the children are not taken away so quickly as they were here.

msfruhauf

Also, since 2 months old tend to cry quite a bit, even if he managed to let out a "cry for help" it probably wouldn't have sounded much different than when it crys every other time throughout the day.

And the defense is...hey, kids cry all the time, so why should the father have realized his kid was in distress? LOL! Good think you're not a attorney! There isn't a parent alive that would sit back and take that as a reasonable excuse!

First the father should be put in jail for child abuse, second the dog needs to be put down. Parents have to live with this the rest of their lives. What the hell were they thinking???

Any dog can attack regardless of breed. There is no such thing as a "safe" dog. Sounds like a big piece of the story is missing.

Wow, such nonsense in this thread. So many experts on exactly what happened. We don't know how quickly the Dad reacted. Are you all experts in how long it takes a large dog to rip off an enfant's leg? Some of you seem so certain the man was on drugs or drunk.... Amazing you know that for a certainty.

This is a horrible situation that this family is going through. A preventable accident, but still an accident unless more information comes forward. People throwing around accusations only make things worse because if you are proven wrong, what will you do? Dig in your heels or admit you erred?

Either way, all I have is sympathy for this family.

How is it that the mother had to be the one to find the dismembered limb of her child and call 911? Where was the father and where was the other child?

Why was it that the baby was not taken into the room with the other child?

Was the door to the other room closed?

Why was the baby in the swing outside the room? Perhaps the child was placed out there because it was crying and the father wanted to sleep, so when the dog bit the baby the father probably ignored the child screams?

Or was it really the dog that killed the baby in the first place? Could the child have been dead and the dog took the dead body as a toy and chewed on it like dogs like to do on bones and shoes etc?

Frankly it would not surprise me if the dog is being blamed unjustly?

Hope the dog was not put down before a full investigation including time of death, cause of death etc is known for sure. To put the dog down and then find the dog was not the killer the baby, if it is later found that the baby died of other causes would be sad.

Many questions not many answers in the article so far. Will wait for the autopsy report and for further investigation.

Anyway, wished I had not read this article... it is really upsetting all round. Plus I am so tired of hearing about death and distruction. So soul destroying.

Peace.......

@ msfruhauf and @ J.heron

Nice to see some people here with some sense.

What if the baby had passed away before the dog attack? That would be easy enough to prove.

Reminds me of a documentary I saw where they try to figure out what/who killed someone. In one case it was an infant that had multiple bite (rat) marks on its body and it was dead. First, they wanted to blame the mother (the baby was asleep with her in her bed; she had taken some medication to relieve pain from her birth but the side effect was that she fell into a sound sleep), thinking she rolled on top of the kid accidentally. Then, they thought the culprit was a rat because the area had a bad rat problem and because of the bite marks. I think in the end the baby was born with under-developed lungs and it died before the rat got involved.

So, that is indeed on possibility. However, it is still the father's fault. Why wasn't he watching the baby?

Is dog to blame or the Dad ?

This is so sad. Having said that I have an 8 yr old westie that adores my 4 grandchildren, stands guard outside their bedroom door when they spend the nite, curls up next to them when they are sitting on the floor watching TV, she even shows signs of distress when the 6 mo. old starts crying and she runs to get me to help the baby. BUT, I would NEVER leave her alone with the kids, never.

Is dog to blame or the Dad ?

Falls on the dad. Put any animal with a baby and there is a chance that the kid could get injured/killed. I remember a few years ago, a golden retriever killed a toddler after jumping on them (crushed the kid). Not a viscous attack, but it was that dog's (not saying the entire breed) nature to jump on someone if happy or wanted to play.

This is for ALL of those that didn't read the complete article...the mother found the baby and had to be the one to call 911...WHAT?? That should tip all of us off that this dad was a bit more than "sleepy"! When a 2 month old is right outside of your door screaming and a dog is possible barking and growling and you continue to sleep to the point that your wife is the one that has to not only FIND the child but to call 911 at 11am in the morning...very tragic indeed.

I've always had pets, dogs AND cats around my kids when they were little. The kids were taught very young and always chaperoned by me, to be kind and stay away when the dogs are eating, etc. They learned to always put their hand out, not over the dog's head when meeting a neighbor's dog, etc. My dogs were either in the room with me and the kids, or outside or in the basement when the kids were playing around on the floor. My dogs were also raised with kids, so they knew little ones could pull their hair, etc. And they both, dogs and kids, learn how to get along, always chaperoned.

this is such a sad story. It only takes a minute for a child to get badly hurt, so quickly. all kinds of accidents. A good friend of mine was moving and her little boy was walking around carrying a glass of clear liquid, they thought it was water. When he drank it, they found out it was bleach. He spent quite a bit of time in the hospital. I know a baby that chewed on a balloon and it popped and a good sized piece of balloon got caught covering his trachea and no amount of CPR could loose that balloon. Dogs, balloons, accidents, they are all scarey.

for all of the people blaming the aggressive dogs, people say pitbulls are terrible killers. Ever see a picture of a dog fight? Those dogs don't hurt the people in the ring with them, they always hurt the other dog. Even a pit bull doesn't want a problem from a person.

Why hasn't anyone considered the possibility that the mother left the baby in the swing and the dad and other child were already asleep? The article does not say the dad put the baby in the swing and went to the other room to sleep.

She could have done that to keep from waking them up when she left. The dad could have known she was leaving but not that she wasn't going to put the baby in bed or wake him up.

DMorgan & Tina - I guess you missed the story last week about the baby that was abandoned in the woods in a trash bag and saved by a stray dog that picked it up and carried it to the shed where it's own puppies were? It is sad that you have such deep hatred for other living creatures that you fail to see that the fault in this tragic incident lies entirely with the parents. From the tone of the article it seems that the father was asleep when the mother had to leave so she put the infant into a baby swing and left him unsupervised with a large dog in the home. It is unclear if she tried to wake the father first or if she just left and assumed he would wake up.

At the end of the day a good parent does not leave an infant unsupervised and in the reach of a dog, cat, pet python, or a fish tank or the family bird. Infants need to be watched at all times unless they are asleep at which point you use the baby monitor and look in on them every few minutes. These parents did not do what good parents do and their child paid the ultimate price as a result. The dog is not blameless, but neither is it responsible.

Your first obligation is as a Mother to your Child. If you have a mate who can "sleep" through this murder, then I pray all your children are removed from your "care".

Most of us love animals, but know what comes first in our line of duty.

Why not feed the "Dad" to the dog! Remove the children to a home where they will be valued and learn the difference between having Pets, which are animals, and sweet, human babies who deserve their chance at Life.

I hate to sound harsh but this is what happens to people who are too stupid to watch their children, sleep when they sleep or make sure another adult is there before you go to sleep. People like that should not have children or pets. Animals are like children too they need to be taken care of and be taught right from wrong!! They deserved it for being so ignorant as to leave a baby with a dog while the dad slept.

Yes, first off babies belong, while they are sleeping in bassinets or cribs, where they are protected. Second, you can sleep while your baby sleeps, but a child that young should not be out of your hearing. That is the whole reason why if you have not put them in a bassinet to sleep in your room, but you have them in a different room in a crib, you can purchase a monitor, so you can see or at least HEAR what is occurring. Third, mothers and fathers the world round have learned to sleep with one eye open when there is a child younger than 6 months old, under your care! Fourth, you do not leave the baby in a swing with out ADULT supervision. The only time we sleep is when our baby is asleep. Parents must use caution when they mix animals and babies who are too young to call for help or defend themselves. My God I slept with one eye open the first 7 months of my babies life in a bassinet next to me bc I was so concerned a kitty of ours might think that bassinet is soft and lay/smother the baby. They grow fast- you can sleep later. Pay attention to your kids! And I feel for that mother. She must be devastated. I wonder how she feels about the father now? And yes, that damn dog needs to be put down for taking that kid's life!

Drugs come to mind.

Or maybe the father is just a half-wit.

NMEast that was my first thought also. There had to be terrible screaming, even enough to wake the 3 year old. I agree that large chunks were missing from the story.

Some babies need the movement of a swing or vibrating seat to sleep...my son was born 5 weeks early and that baby slept in either a swing or vibrating infant seat for many weeks...but I would think the poor baby would be screaming... this is too sad

Yep, there is more to it than meets the eye! Too many unanswered questions about the "Daddy" not hearing sh.t. Ah well, another S.C. low life mystery.

Poor kid and poor dog.

NMEast

The child had to be screaming, did the father sleep through that? The 3 year old too? Why was a 2month old left alone in a swing? If it was sleeping, it should have been in a crib, not left in a swing. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Something isn't adding up.

Let me help you with the math:

Put the dog down

Lock the father up.

Yes the family has suffered greatly. Condolences to the child who died, the mother and other children. Who in their right mind allows a dog in the house with such young children unattended? I don't want to hear it dog owners. Dogs are pack animals and they will establish a pecking order. In that process children are defenseless.

The safety instructions on any child swing say boldly NEVER LEAVE INFANT UNATTENDED. Heck, that's a basic parenting given: Never leave the baby unattended. You don't stick baby in a swing and go take a nap. Ever. You don't put baby in the tub and take a nap, you don't leave baby in a high chair and take a nap. When you're the parent on duty, you stay on duty. Babies nap. Parents parent. At 11 in the morning, dad should have been awake and watching over his kids, not sleeping while one was being torn apart.

Interesting, labs have this reputation of being such gentle dogs! My neighbor's lab went after her daughter's face, and she put the dog down. I have known many small dog owners who have had horrible experiences with labs attacking and killing their smaller dogs. The only bad experiences I've ever had with a dog has been with labs. And, this dog was a lab mix.

The parents had recently brought the dog into their home. They should have been constantly observing this unknown dog and his personality with all of their children because, pet dogs do kill children, more so than sharks, bears and rattlesnakes every year! To introduce an unknown factor into their home with two children and a new baby -- how utterly sad.

Put the dog and the father down.

I swear, sometimes I think people should be required to pass an I. Q. test and get a license to be allowed to breed. Might cut down on the number of idiots in the world.

Solomon Kane

Put the dog and the father down.

I swear, sometimes I think people should be required to pass an I. Q. test and get a license to be allowed to breed. Might cut down on the number of idiots in the world.

Feel free to move to china where a second child DOES require a license.

I agree, something here is not adding up. First of all, the kid would have started screaming it's head off the minute the dog made the first move. Why didn't the father wake up?!?! The second thing that does not make sense is that retrievers and labs are extremely gentle breeds by nature, so I do not see a mix of the two being an aggressive animal. I have seen little kids torture labs and retrievers, pulling on their ears, climbing on them, poking them, hitting them, etc. and never once seen one get angry at all. There is no way a 2 month old baby could do anything to a typical retriever-lab mix to provoke them to attack like this. This dog must have been specifically trained to be an attack dog or been rabid to behave like this. Which brings up another questions - If the dog had a mean disposition, why would the parents allow it into a house with young children, let alone go to sleep leaving an infant at it's mercy. If it is true that the dog tore the baby's leg off, then there must have been something seriously wrong with this animal that should have been readily apparent to the kids parents. I have a suspicion that the father was somehow involved in what the dog did to the baby, otherwise I do not understand how this could have happened. I certainly do not buy that it happened the way they are telling it. Unless the father was unconscious do to drugs and/or large amounts of alcohol, there is no way he should have slept through this kind of attack. The baby would have screamed which would have set the three year old off screaming. I do not know how anyone could sleep through two kids screaming. The baby was still alive when the mom got home, so it is not like the dog killed the baby with a single bite before the baby could scream. I do not buy that the mother came home with the seven year old and found the baby alive in the swing with it's leg torn off by the dog and the father and three year old sleeping peacefully. This just does not add up!!!

Labradors (and mixes thereof) are the single most popular type of dog in this country. To state that a labrador (or a retriever) wouldn't bite unless they were rabid or attack trained is simply ridiculous. ALL dogs of ALL breeds are capable of biting and to think otherwise is just not realistic. The rules of responsible of dog ownership are really very simple - never, ever, ever leave a child, of any age, alone with a dog, of any size.

It should have been in a crib not a swing. Why because you say so? Do you have any idean the number of parents that let their children sleep in swings? I let both mine and they both grew up just fine.

With the media latching on to pit bull attack stories, I was afraid it would be about a pit bull. While I was a bit surprised by this story being about a Lab attack, I really wasn't that surprised.

Purebred Labs, bred by responsible breeders, are usually gentle dogs. We had one when we were first married. However, within the past 5 years, I've heard of labs biting and attacking people. I blame it on backyard breeders, who don't care about keeping the breed true to AKC standards and allowing bad traits, such as aggressiveness, to carry on to the next generation of puppies.

And before you say anything bad about Pit Bulls, we had one of those too. Our pittie was simply the best dog we ever had. She loved our son and was his best bud. Not an aggressive bone in her body. Of course, like all responsible dog owners, she was spayed and obedience trained. And..like a responsible dog owner, no matter how sweet your dog is, you should never leave a baby or toddler alone with your dog without your supervision. Especially, a dog that you just brought into your home. Babies are pretty defenseless against any animal and toddlers might instigate a tragedy by treating the dog badly. Some dogs can take abuse, some can't tolerate any abuse.

I agree with most posters here, though. I think there is a lot more to this story. You never, ever leave a baby in a swing without any supervision and that poor baby must have been screaming very, very loudly.

Even my husband, who sleeps like an unmoveable rock, always made sure I was awake (I was) when our babies cried. God forbid he take care of them himself! His usual response, "Hey, hon'. "Baby's crying...mmpphh..zzzzzzzz(insert snore here)zzzzzzzzz".

THX,you said it and are right! My son is a Paramedic and one of his early calls was to a home where the father put the baby in the swing and went to take a nap and when he got up, found the 7 year old son had beaten the baby's head in.....In everyone's rush to condemn the dog for doing what a dog will do, should there be the same rush for condemning a jealous older sibling? In both cases, an idiot father who had to take a nap instead of watching over the children he created.....

Trust_Verify,

Just blowing off a little steam. Wasn't a serious suggestion.

Kris### - aggressive dogs are not the fault of backyard breeders, they are well known to be the fault of AKC so called "responsible" show breeders, because temperaments, allergies, immune system deficiencies, and other things that are not judged in the show ring are being ignored in favor of conformation standards randomly arrived at by this year's fashion. It is the backyard breeders who are breeding true pets, when they breed dogs that have proven their PET ability, rather than show ability - show dogs are not even pets, most often they are just business. Support your backyard pet breeders! (Btw, AKC hates this, less $$ in their registry, so don't expect the brainwashed to understand or agree)

In any case, I am willing to bet dad hurt the baby somehow, then blamed/framed the dog. It is not anywhere within the realm of normal canine behavior to sever a limb off a baby. I can't think of a single scenario where even the most vicious dog would do that.

t_v, from the time she was 2 years old my daughter was tended by our beloved dog. She was the best baby sitter I ever had. She would have given her life for my daughter. That dynamic is a very common one well know to people who don't slam their minds shut to anything with which they disagree or are unfamiliar.

It is never the dog's fault. It is always the fault of some human who was too stupid, lazy, or vicious to properly socialize a dog.

I have never allowed bad behavior but I have had some touching friendships e.g. cat and rat.

Feel free to move to china where a second child DOES require a license.

No country is perfect. China isn't. Neither is the US.

But, sometimes China does have good ideas... People need a drivers license in this country. But any moron can have kids -- as we see in the news all the time.

The story isn't adding up. Very sad.

Tera - I can understand your rant regarding the AKC. However, most backyard breeders don't think about the health, temperament, congenital deficiencies of the dog or bitch when breeding. Maybe you do, in which case, you are the exception. Most of them only care about the Benjamins. They don't pay a vet to give the puppies shots, which is why they can sell them for less than a reputable breeder. They don't check temperaments, x-ray for congenital problems, etc., because that would cost more money. Money that they would lose out on. Dog breeding should not be considered as a source of income, but as improving the breed, as a whole.

I have rarely seen a misbehaved dog with aggressive tendencies at any licensed dog show. The AKC is concerned with conformation standards. What's defined as a Labrador Retriever, regarding appearance, as well as, behavioral traits, is what gets judged. If you have one that conforms to all the physical traits, he passes that test. If he bites the judge's hand for checking his teeth or private parts, then he is disqualified and should not be allowed to breed.

The dog involved was a mixed breed, given away for unknown reasons. Mixed breeds can be terrific dogs, but this dog was new to the family and we don't know the reason why he was given up. If it was for aggressive tendencies or the inability to tolerate children, the person or shelter should be able to tell someone. Of course, people who give their pets away often give bogus reasons for it - not being housebroken, allergies - even when they don't really have them, don't have time for it, too energetic, etc.

Anyway, they should have known better than to leave the baby alone with a strange dog - a week is not long enough for the dog to be trusted with anyone, yet. Dogs try to find out where they "fit" in their pack and who the leader of the pack is. When a leader does not come forward, any dog will try to take over that role. If the parents do not take leadership, then their babies are not respected and are at the bottom of the pack order.

Not to mention, the swinging back and forth of the baby in the swing might have aggravated the dog. The dog should be euthanized and the father is responsible, in this case, for the tragedy. Since he will have to live with this horrendous tragedy, I'm hoping he will never do this again and he will suffer every day of his life knowing he was responsible for it.

New, unknown dog, should have been in a crate when not being watched by family.

Baby in a swing? Ok I'll buy that, but the father should NOT have been asleep. Why was the baby outside the bedroom? Would have made more sense to have it in the bedroom with the sibling and Father.

I agree with others, a LOT missing from this story

Just because people have a license to drive doesn't mean they are the best drivers or even good drivers. It also doesn't mean they won't have an accident or get in their car slobbering drunk and kill a whole family in an accident they will likely walk away from. The basis for your argument is both ridiculous and ignorant and you're the one complaining about morons. Pot meet kettle, pathetic.

Who wants to put money on the fact that the dad was intoxicated while this happened?

Comes down to irresponsible parents. Who would take a stray dog in and leave it alone with a baby? Who? It is not the dogs fault, no one knows the dogs history or the abuse it may have suffered.

This is 100% the parents fault. I also think we do not have the entire story, more will come out after the autopsy. I agree with others this does not add up.

t_v, from the time she was 2 years old my daughter was tended by our beloved dog. She was the best baby sitter I ever had. She would have given her life for my daughter. That dynamic is a very common one well know to people who don't slam their minds shut to anything with which they disagree or are unfamiliar.

It is never the dog's fault. It is always the fault of some human who was too stupid, lazy, or vicious to properly socialize a dog.

I have never allowed bad behavior but I have had some touching friendships e.g. cat and rat.

Are you serious? Your dog was your baby sitter? Wow I am going to take my advise on child and animal raising from you. Of course it can be a dogs fault. Dogs DO NOT think like people, they are pack animals and will fight you for a better position in the family pack. I love my pets to death but it will be a cold day in he*& before I leave them alone with a child. A dog can have a bad day just like a person can. Everyone thought Dennis Rader was the nicest and kindest man they ever met until they found out he was the BTK killer. Don't be ridiculous.

Tac 210--Not arguing that the baby may have needed the rhythm of the swing but then put the swing in the bedroom where you are and not on the other side of the door! Stories like this definitely give dad's a bad name.

My daughter got a 6 month old mixed lab puppy, and the comment from the pound was about such a terrible early life this puppy had. she didn't think much of it. After the puppy was spayed, she began submissive piddling. Then about two weeks later, when they would put her in her crate, she'd try to vite at them. found out that she was raised by her Mother in a snow drift in the winter and had not met one person until she was 6 months old. She had a lot of behavior problems, food aggressive, biting people and afraid of strangers. She obviously never bonded with humans before my daughter and her family got the dog. My daughter uses a lot of food treats for training, praise and never yelling or hitting a dog. And yet this dog just couldn't adapt.

I have had wonderful rescue dogs, but lately I am hearing about some people having big problems with older dogs that have behaviors that they cannot handle. I rescued a 6 year old shih tzu, who was a doll of a dog, but she was incontinent all the time, she'd been a breeder for 5 years, and could not hold her urine at all. Lots of these dogs have some problems. Its pure folly to allow them near a baby.

I breed English Mastiffs. We currently have 6 huge dogs in our home along with our 21 month old daughter. I cannot imagine leaving her alone with even the smallest puppy for even an instant. The thought horrifies me. Her fingers are so tiny and she doesn't know enough to keep them away from dogs mouths yet. How anyone could leave a child that age alone with a dog, any dog is beyond my comprehension.

The dog MUST be put down as should ALL dogs that bite a child no matter what size they are. You cannot risk a repeat of any biting incident. However ultimate responsibility rests with the father. Only a complete fool would leave a child that age alone with a dog of any size. Even tiny dogs have killed babies. No dog is safe unless the owner is responsible.

I have owned rescue dogs in the past and some were good dogs while others were not. The same is true of dogs from breeders. Saying "oh, its a gentle breed" is idiotic. Please people have you ever seen puppies and dogs play? Do you have any idea what could happen to a child if the dog decided to play with much less attack them and you were not there to intervene?

Dogs are wonderful creatures but they are not baby sitters nor are they toys. Respect them and love them for what they are but do not assume they are capable of human thought. They are dogs and think like dogs. You are the source of food and dominance in the home. If you treat your child casually with the dog it will assume the child is of lesser status and treat it accordingly.

Commonsense people, commonsense.

PJ---You are one of the only comments on here that was written in legible english...I don't understand all of the spelling mistakes when their is a spellcheck button offered...But the misspellings I can deal with, you can ussualy figure out what word they meant...As for the sentences that don't make sense, well that speaks for itself...Do these people read their posts' , and does it make sense to them ? They usually are making points and asking questions that are already aswered in the article so I guess they are just barely reading and understanding the headline and not comprehending the article at all...
Once again thank you for giving me one comment to read and understand what the hell you were getting at...As for the rest of you no wonder our economy and country is in the tank you are all severly disabled intelectualy among other things...And you probably relate real well to the jackass who allowed his baby to be mauled by this beast...Good God how can so many people be so mentally challenged ? They say collectively IQs are rising with time I don't but it...If true how dumb were people 100 years ago on average....
Take a little time to pay attention to people's grammar and sentence constuction and you will agree with me...Now I am by no means perfect and I know I use run-on sentences and my commas and other puctuation are sometimes lacking and or misplaced but when I proofread if it is confusing to read I edit it.....Do these comments make sense when they read them themselves ? And it isn't just them the authors themselves are guilty also which is a sad state of affairs....When people read garbage they think it is correct and repeat the same stupid mistakes....I see pretty bad mistakes in many publications on-line and in print....It is very lousy to allow this stuff to be published considering a computer can correct most of this if utilized...I will leave it at that and repeat what you said......COMMONSENSE PEOPLE, COMMONSENSE.....

While I was correcting my mistakes the computer went haywire and now I am guilty too ..(They say collectively IQs are rising with time I don't but it)...From above should say " I don't buy it " ( Hit the TEE instead of WYE key) And there are several spelling mistakes...And a comma or two missing...Ha

OH Well that is what I get for trying to complain about others...

And still right now when I click on spellcheck or bold or italics or any other option they won't work...

But that doesn't excuse people from not making any sense or asking questions that were answered in the article...

So, in your very first run-on sentence in which you criticize everyone's English, you make your own spelling mistake. It should be "there" instead of "their". And it's "usually", not "ussualy". That's hilarious. What's that story about not throwing stones?

In bred Labs are as crazy as Dobermans used to be....we have one across the street and the neighborhood has taken them to court twice for menacing and barking.

"retriever-Labrador mix" ??

I thought a Labrador was a retriever?

Regardless of breed - large strange dogs and infants do not mix.

The article says the surviving children were placed in protective care, but did not say where the dog is being held (for evaluation, evidence collection, and euthanasia.)

mailman, what about the dachshund that chewed the infant's legs off? Little dogs are equally dangerous as big dogs when it comes to small children and infants. In fact, they are often worse because they have been treated as surrogate babies by "parents" and then when the real baby comes, they are relegated to dog status and become very jealous and dangerous to the infant. No one ever seems to think of dogs and cats as thinking, feeling and loving creatures but as things to use and toss aside.

The only reason Pit attacks get so much attention is because of the idiots that breed them for dog fighting they are a really nice breed like labs can be as well but as this shows any breed of dog can attack you. I have a pit bull never been attacked by her but I have bite marks from my aunts little Yorkie now ask me which one I would rather have as a pet.

While any pit bull can be sweet to its owner the FACT is the dog has been bred FOR aggression (especially dog aggression-which makes them more dangerous to people because they redirect the aggression to the nearest human), gameness (UNwillingness to give up a fight), attack without the usual warning signs (growling, staring or posturing) and high pain tolerance for 1000 years or more. The pit bulls unique 'hold and shake' attack style also causes terrible injuries; compared by forensic experts to shark attacks. It was NOT bred to be people friendly or trustworthy. The list of canine homicides at dogbitelaw (people killed by dogs) is by far led by pit bulls. In studies pit bulls are six times more likely to attack their owners than other breeds; and indeed the dog fatalities have many examples of pit bull owners killed by their own dogs. And before you tell me it's the owners google Darla Napora, a bit bull activist who was killed by the pit bull she raised from a puppy.

"I have a pit bull never been attacked by her but I have bite marks from my aunts little Yorkie now ask me which one I would rather have as a pet."

Wow you were attacked by a Yorkie and you lived to tell about it? Well thank your lucky stars you survived the vicious attack of a 3 pound dog. When will pitt loving morons learn that it's not just about if they attack, but by how much irreparable damage they cause when they do attack...

Wow you were attacked by a Yorkie and you lived to tell about it? Well thank your lucky stars you survived the vicious attack of a 3 pound dog. When will pitt loving morons learn that it's not just about if they attack, but by how much irreparable damage they cause when they do attack...

I see where you are going with the thought but remember we are talking about a baby. A yorkie is still dangerous to an infant

Mailman8----I have the same query..Isn't a Lab a retriever? I mean I understand if they mean Labrador, Golden-Retriever mix..But I thought the full name of the breed was Labrador-Retriever,sometimes nicknamed Lab and specified by color ie; Black Lab, Chocolate Lab etc. ????

Mailman--I just researched it a little and yes a Labrador is a retriever.....Now if they specified Golden Retriever or Chesapeake Bay retriever then it would make sense but just to say Labrador/ Retriever mix doesn't add up to anything but stupidity....Because like we both said a Labrador is a retriever.....I guess they could mean it is a Labrador Retriever mix meaning it is mixed with some other unknown breed and that is the only known part of its breeding known.....But if that is the case they are confusing us none the less....And if you are writing for a living and have a staff of editors, proofreaders and assistants than you suck.....I mean @!$%#, I am the only one on staff here at my computer, and I feel like I am a little easier to understand with the point I am making, right ?

I just went on a rant above about people's comments making no sense, and I mentioned that these articles are guilty also.....It is becoming acceptable in this country to have terrible grammar and spelling which is sad considering there is computers capable of correcting most of this crap....And on here at least for the spelling all you have to do is click on the ABC check button...

And it is not just grammar as a matter of fact proper grammar isn't needed to be understood....Most people don't use it anyway....But you can either be vague or clear when you write and you have to think about diversity when you write for a living ( You expect people of varying backgrounds to understand you right ?) I see this daily in my own household I seem to be translating all of the time for people being very vague while talking and not being able to get their point across to others....I attribute alot of it to pure laziness...I think I am good at communicating because I put effort into it.... As a good example of this laziness I will point out how in these articles they will mention a first and last name and title 1000 words prior and then just use the last name crediting them for a statement and you have to scroll all the way back up to see what their full name and title is to see what credibility they have for the current statement......Now that is pure laziness on their part....Because it isn't redundant to use their title again and they sure aren't saving us anytime leaving out a one or two word title saving us reading time when like I said we have scroll back up anyway to check that person's credentials....And I am not talking about a story with one official involved I am talking about one with multiple sources credited and this person being credited with making one short statement originally and the you forget about them and read two pages of text and then they just say " Blah blah blah blah vlah " Jones said.......... Instead of saying Juliet Jones the assistant V.P. at the labor dept. it is a whole hell of alot easier to read that again when quoting multiple sources than having to scroll or click back to a previous page to check...And I am only talking about when it is much later..It would be redundant if they were right next to each other but they could just structure the article so that they use everything they have from that particular source at the same time instead of writing like they have A.D.D. and jumping all around ......I notice alot when reading about a sporting event it seems they never start with the beginning of the game and progress to the end.....They start with the high point and then jump all around confusing the @!$%# out of the reader....What are they learning in college?

Everyone complains about the aggression in a pit bull, because they were bred to fight. Has everyone noticed that in all dog fighting pictures one sees, the pit bulls NEVER go after the people, they go after the other dog. I have heard the only reason they have to rehabilitate fighting dogs is because they have not learned that you can be nice and not fight. so they rehabilitate fighting dogs to be around other dogs. Just as rottweilers, dobermans, german shepherds, etc. have been said to be aggressive, I have had friends with these types of dogs and they were never aggressive. So I think it is the owner that causes these problems. After saying that, I wouldn't leave a cocker spaniel with a small baby either.

I have to admit that I have neuropathy in my feet, my feet are numb. And I read a few years ago about a family pet that ate this woman's big toe off while she slept through it due to neuropathy. So I can only sleep with my feet covered up. LOL.

Weren't pit bulls bred for hunting badgers...? That was why they were bred for gameness; to never back down.

I have a 120lb. German Shepherd, and while he is not aggressive, he is ultra dominant. An inexperienced handler would likely have a difficult time with him were he any younger (he's ten). Cocker spaniels are more dangerous, statistically, than all the other breeds you mentioned. Sometimes poor breeding can lead dogs to snap, too. Inbred dogs can be very unpredictable... My wolfdog (RIP) was ACCIDENTALLY left alone with my infant son a few times. We thought he was out wandering in the woods bc he would hide and was very quiet, only to leave a room briefly and return to him cuddled up with the baby... Though he was very gentle and only ever had issues with getting excited and knocking my son over AFTER he started walking, I certainly would not have left them alone knowingly. We were, however always cognizant of constant reinforcement of pack order, so that may have played a role in his gentle non-competitive behavior. I also never saw him chase a cat or anything else, for that matter; he just naturally had zero prey drive.

PS-I don't think I would ever leave a baby with my German Shepherd, as mellow as he is. He's awesome with my 4 year old, though.

Pit Bulls get a bad reputation because idiots don't know what a pit bull terrier looks like. There are so many dogs that have the misfortune of looking a certain way that are all labeled as "pit bull" when involved in dog fights or attacks on people, even if they're a mixed breed with no bull breed in them. If they come out looking a certain way, they're going to get that label no matter what.

And while nobody will care, I'm with Tigress. I had an American Pit Bull Terrier. She was a great dog. She was great with kids, great with my cats, and great with other dogs. She never made any attempt to hurt anybody. Most dangerous thing about her was her tail. You could maybe be whipped to death with it from her wagging it, but that was about it. However, I HAVE been bit or nipped at by all manner of small and medium sized dogs. Chihuahuas, some kind of froo-froo dog I don't know the breed of, yorkie, Cocker Spaniel, etc. The Spaniel was the most aggressive dog I've ever been near. She bit through my lip once. She didn't calm down until the last couple years of her life when she finally decided to be friendly to me.

If only more would follow your sterling example . . . ; )~

Of the criminal variety.

or an unexpected accident.

Mandy,

All accidents are unexpected .... that's why they call them accidents. The accidents that are anticipated and prepared for are the ones that don't happen.

Denver, you can never prepare for all accidents.

You do NOT leave a dog and an infant in the same room, unattended! PERIOD!

There are accidents that are true accidents and accidents that anyone with a normal level of intelligence could tell you were inevitable. This falls in the latter category. Infants alone with any animal is a bad idea.

You are only told of the leg being severed not of other possible injuries, perhaps the throat of the child was bitten not allowing him to scream.

This is another example of poor reporting to get the story first.

Rushing to judgement, based on incomplete information, seems to be the new American way.

Defamation laws need to be enforced against the media. I wonder if the full story will be printed, or put on-line, with the same fanfare as this story.

You are right: Anymore I believe only half of what is reported. The rest is usually omitted or given the spin that the reporter wants to give it.
Journalism today is a joke.

Probably going to be another one of those ones where dad is later found to have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol while "napping"...

Maybe he got access thru Rush Limbaugh's dealer...

relly

The biggest problem here is the dog was a new arrival to the family.

The biggest problem here was the parents did not use the brains they were born with.

Do you know how many folks I've met who have had horrible experiences with labs! All of my bad experiences with dogs have been with labs. My neighbor's lab went for her daughter's face, and she immediately euthanized it. I have known many smaller dog owners who have had horrible experiences with labs killing and brutalizing their smaller dogs, and the labs have been put down.

A few years back, I was chased by a growling, barking and very vicious lab. I was terrified. Interesting, I haven't met anyone yet, who has had a bad experience with a pit bull. One study featured online, quotes dogs that do the most biting and attacking, and this study listed labs at the top of the page!

skor154 - Why are you entering twice with slightly different stories. I can also guess that you really have no experience with labs.

@ John 656232.....YOU obviously have no experiance with Labs! they are NOT the cuddly pets they are made out to be. We have one in the neighborhood that is a total whack-job and has attacked several people.

I'm with John on this one. I've read some of Skor's comments before and he/she usually refers to some obscure study or other and then presents some eccentric theory based on those "studies" and on his/her own particular biases. I don't question that both labs and pit bulls can unexpectedly attack, but I'd take Skor's comments with a grain of salt, that's all.

Actually Lab attacks occur more often then Pit attacks more so because there are so many more labs as pets out there in the family home and around people but you don't hear about them as often because labs aren't bred to be a fighting dog and have the bad rap that pits do. Its sad that such a kind breed is stained with the stupid actions of people.

Skor, after you are done lobbying for pit bulls, consider the fact that labs are the most common dog in the country. Stands to reason they will be responsible for the most attacks. The telling figure would be number of attacks as ratio to that breeds population. Pitt's will probably get that one hands down. The domestic dog is like an immature wolf. He still follows pack hierarchy and will view a small child as a member of the pack who he will pass in ranking by asserting his dominance. Amazing how many people who have dogs and don't really understand their social anthropology. Your dog behaves because he views himself as the lowest member of the pack. When he defends, it is because that is his job as a member.

Definitely not the dog's fault - dogs and babies need to be supervised. Seems rather obvious to me. I am always amazed at the people who leave their dogs unsupervised and are just shocked that the dog does something destructive. They do make kennels that keep everyone, including the dog, safe.

There's more to this story, definitively! Now, mothers can't leave their children ALONE WITH THEIR own FATHERS anymore??? I just hope the dog is not killed before the cause of death is known, or at all! There are drugs to induce paranoia and agression on animals, ask the dog fighters! WAS THE CHILD ALIVE WHEN THE PET 'ATTACKED' HIM?

Someone posted here that there are thousands of abortions every year in this country, What does have to do with this story? To answer your question, A WOMAN HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE A CHILD WHEN SHE IS READY. I don't care the reason TO ABORT!!! A God's gift, a bundle of joy??? Tell her to the 9, 10, 11, 12 year-old girls PREGNANT with their own fathers, uncles, cousins, relatives' children!!! What's next? Marry them with their rapist so they can have their gift from God??? A drug addict, a healthy person wants to have an abortion? I am not going to take care of them myself? Are you? I have a child, he's my joy!!! Alcohol is legal, I don't drink. Smoking is legal, I don't smoke! Abortion is legal, I'LL DO WHAT I WANT WITH MY BODY!!! You don't believe in abortion, DON'T HAVE ONE!!! If you ask me you are the hypocrite! How many children in foster care or for adoption have you helped??? A FETUS IS NOT A BABY!!!

Going back to the post: R.I.P. Baby. I hope you didn't suffer.

I knew a girl who nearly lost her arm in an unprovoked attack by a lab. She was simply a visitor in a friend's house (read: intruder-from dog's POV). And she was familiar with the dog. AND the dog's behavior was well known and predictable. Azureblue is exactly right. Most dog owners are largely unaware of how dogs' social motivation influences their behavior. That being said, unfamiliar dogs and small children simply do not mix.

Not very many people are willing to develop the dominance relationships necessary to avoiding conflict between dogs and humans either. Just something I've noticed. There is a tendency, especially when it comes to children, to assume that the dog seeing the parent as "master" will automatically translate to the parent's child. Not so. The child ALSO has to be clearly demonstrated to be higher rank than the dog. There are a lot of simple and necessarily non-aggressive ways to do so. I think it is just something that is not well understood by most people. Actually, the only dogs I have seen to be cognizant of vulnerability in children are "wolf dogs." A side note: they have the lowest number of owner attacks "per capita." Pit bulls aren't the highest, and I don't remember which breed is off hand. I know dachshunds are high, as are Jack Russell Terriers. I suspect that small-breed dogs are more likely to have warpy dominance relationships with their owners for various reasons that are not breed specific. German shepherds are pretty high too due to being a highly dominant breed.

Somebody earlier mentioned fecophelia as a possible "motive" for the attack. I thought that was astute. Some dogs "frenzy," for lack of a better word, when poop is involved...

I'll also say this: Leaving ANY infant unattended, anywhere other than a crib, dogs or no, is negligent. Really not enough info in the article to judge anything other than this is a tragedy on all fronts, though.

I can relate to your husband. I was a single parent for a number of years. After I remarried and had another child my "mommy gene" refused to go back into recession. I was the one up and out of bed at night. I walked my younger son to school almost every day from K through 6. Drove him most days to middle school. Took and picked him up from high school until he got a driver's license. When he left for university I asked if he wanted me to walk him to class the first day.

You're right betty. how dare other people not have the same sleeping cycle and habits as your husband? Clearly everyone else is a lower being.

Just this week I slept though a large thunderstorm. I also live close to the airport. And I have very loud upstairs neighbors who I have gotten used to sleeping through.

So, Mandy, since you seem to be defending these cowardly morons...

...you have no problem leaving a 2yo in a room, with a dog running around, while you go nap in another part of the house? you're cool with that, eh?

DMorgan Or maybe I just wait until we know all of the details before being a judgmental moron who thinks they are better than everybody else because "well this is how I raised my kids"

Kris, the bow is from a costume. And I'm 24 and a graduate student. I have done plenty of growing up. Oh and btw, lots of people have trusted me with kids, considering I spent several years as a gymnastics coach and girl scout camp counselor ;-)

My husband could sleep through anything and he slept all the time. If he sat on the couch, he was out. I never left our boys alone with him, I could never trust him to watch them.

It's not nice to rag people, guys. MANDY is obviously just a bleeding heart liberal who is more concerned about her right to privacy, and not wanting to be "tethered to an infant" than she is about common sense and what being "responsible" means. I wonder if the parents who had kids in her care at "camp" knows her position on this? Hm. Makes you wonder how many of them would continue to leave their kids in her care if they knew how immature she was? Question of the day! By the way, I am 25...had my first kid at 19....9.5 months after getting married. So just because you're 24 and in graduate school doesn't make you smart and it sure as hell doesn't give you common sense. Book learning doesn't mean you're a fit human, much less a fit parent.

Anyways, it comes down to this: Dogs will attack. Period. We love them, they bring great joy to our lives (I personally have 3: a German Shepherd, and Aussie Shepherd, and a Pekignese). However, I love my children more (I have two daughters). We have made it 5 years thusfar with no fatalities, from dog or other. It comes down to this: you don't leave your kid unattended in a room with ANY dog, especially a dog that you JUST BOUGHT WEEKS EARLIER. You don't know that dog from Lassie, and to be that utterly foolish and not even use the brain you were born with is why tragedies happen. That dog was just beginning to settle in and see that place as "home turf" and in comes this new addition. That dog had no loyalty to the parents of the kids, the "pack leader" had not had time to be established, and therefore he had no urge to see the baby as anything more than an intrusion; an unwelcome dog in his junkyard (which is understandable, since animals have very base INSTINCTS...not the ability to reason and function on the level humans are capable of).

As a parent, you are conditioned to think ahead in order to AVERT tragedy. Me personally, I walk into a room and my eyes scour the whole area looking for potential breakable/danger/threats/possible trouble that my child can get into. It's what you do, as a good parent. You HAVE to anticipate.

There are a few issues here: As a mother, if I knew my husband has a tendency to fall asleep while watching my kids, I wouldn't leave them with him. Period. This was not their first rodeo seeing as how they have 3 kids. However, being a newborn, and BOTH parents are drained and exhausted, I can see where the dad would think "Baby is safe and contained, I can sneak in a nap". Still not okay, but logically it made sense to him (assuming he made that decision rationally and drugs or alcohol were not in play). Those first couple months are exhausting, and you NAP WHEN YOU CAN. Otherwise you're just as much a danger to your child because you're too exhausted to function. Now, as a mother of two, if I can get away with taking ONE kid someplace and not needing to drag the other with me, oh believe me, I WILL. So the mother leaving the other two there is not completely out of the park crazy or a "sin" (unless of course, she knew her husband to be UTI of something, then that's a different story). In that case, she is just as responsible in this tragedy.

My other issue is that CPS removed the other kids from the home. I tend to not think very highly of CPS in general, just because they are all over the map and have no consistency in protecting children. They reunite kids with, or leave them with druggie parents and wonder why things happen. Just a week ago a man was arrested where I live for beating his 7 week old son to death, because CPS did a "quickie" evaluation on him and never went back, despite numerous warnings and calls from people who knew him. Anyway, I digress....

CPS removes these kids from the home. It can be one of two scenarios here: Either drugs (not just illegal, could be prescription as well) or alcohol did play a part (because as others have pointed out, how do you NOT hear this going on?) and the article isn't disclosing that there were other factors, OR, CPS comes in and oversteps their bounds (as I've seen them do in cases that didn't require kids' removal from a home) and proceeds to emotionally scar these kids for life, when there are plenty of kids who NEED removed from their current situation and CPS can't be bothered. There is no telling what really happened there, but I would hope that removal would only occur if there was a legitimate reason for it, not that it was just a tragic accident and CPS wants to fly to the "rescue". One can only assume that since they were removed, there are factors the article didn't release due to the nature of the accident.

As far as dad not hearing.... a baby would be screaming. Loudly, and in that bloodcurdling way only a newborn can scream. Also, a 2 week old baby's legs do NOT come out of the leg part of the swing. They just aren't long enough. And the way a newborn sleeps in a swing, they sleep with their head/neck all scrunched because they don't have the power to hold their heads upright. So I don't know how logical the "throat biting" theory is, or the leg being the first thing severed (all the article said was that was the body part mom saw first laying there) but I suppose anything is possible. The other scenario is the dog could have physically pulled the baby out of the swing and proceeded to kill him. Newborn baby 2 weeks in doesn't weigh much at all (8-12lbs?) , and Labs have a strong bite force and the ability to drag prey for miles. That's why they make great hunting/fetching dogs.

So this is going on, somehow the dog gets the baby and is dismembering him. Where is dad, why does dad not hear baby? Why did dad not nap on the couch next to the swing, if one must take a nap? SO many could have/should have's in this situation, but it comes down to this: BOTH parents will live with this loss and guilt the rest of their lives. No parent is perfect and sometimes that results in the loss of a child's life. Accidents happen every day. We do what we can to avert them, but sometimes it's not enough. But by the grace of God go ALL of us who have children and haven't lost one due to some sort of tragedy. We are the lucky ones and cannot imagine what the parents are going through who have lost a child. People are very quick to point fingers and call people dumb, and say "That's common sense, didn't they realize that __________— could happen?" Yet, those parents might look at any one of US and see the potential danger in something we allow OUR children to do that we don't see. It doesn't make us "bad" parents....just more aware in some areas than others. I forbid my children from eating hard candy because I am terrified they will choke to death, but my daughter was eating a small dorito one day, and a LITTLE piece got caught in her throat. Had my husband not acted as quickly as he did, I would be one child short today because of the way it lodged in her throat. Something so simple, but another mother could look at me and say "Doesn't she realize kids under three shouldn't eat foods like that?". Yet, she'd had them dozens of times before, so where was the danger??? But by the Grace of God go I.

It comes down to this: this baby is gone, and it is one of the saddest things in the world. Not only do both parents have to live with this guilt and pain, but they have two other children who have to find a way to cope, as well. Yes, the dog should be put down, simply because it's violent to the point that it can do what it did. Sad, but probably the only viable option. If potential adopters knew the story behind the dog, no one would take him anyhow. And if they let him loose rather than taking him to a shelter, someone else might take him in and end up experiencing the same thing these parents did because they hadn't been warned and informed. Put the dog down, assuming all is kosher, give those parents their kids back (since I guess losing one wasn't enough??), and let them try and move on with their lives.

Mandy sounds to me like someone who has learned the media twists and distorts stories to sell. She is not saying that this is not a tragedy. She is saying we don't know the whole story yet. That's it. Ands, she's right.

Exactly Sparkly.

Wyldchyld, and having kids at 19 doesn't make you the brightest crayon in the box either. You don't automatically become a genuis after spawning, the proof is in this article. But I sure hope that nothing accidental happens to your kids and thousands of people blame you when they don't know what happened. That would sure suck.

I wonder if the parents who had kids in her care at "camp" knows her position on this? Hm. Makes you wonder how many of them would continue to leave their kids in her care if they knew how immature she was?

You really know very little about how mature I am. Next to nothing in fact. And my personal opinions about how I would raise children has very little to do with what I do with other people's children. And its not a "camp" its a camp. No air quotes needed. Girls spend 4-6 days there. No Electricity. No toilets. No cell phone service. Just nature, horses, games, and learning.

One major point, made several times in the discussion about this case, remains true.

The article presents us with almost none of the details or facts about what happened, other than:

- New to the household Dog killed 2 month old child, while child was in a swing.

- Father asleep at the time in another room. Another 3 year old child in same room.

- Mother away for home, taking another 7 year old child to a doctor.

Those are the only facts ( we're being told ) presented to us, and are so limited in their scope as to render all of our speculation ( my own included ) as useless Assumptions ( and that seems to be the goal of all journalism in today's world. ).

Not that think this is what happened, but with only those facts to consider, presented here is an equally likely Assumption here could be that:

- The father works the night-shift. Sleeping at that time is a normal routine for him, but difficult due to daytime activity. He takes a sleeping aid. He might ever be a deaf person.

- The mother is tending the children. Puts the 3 year old down for a nap in the bedroom with the father, while taking care of the other 2 children outside that room.

- The new dog is normally kept outside.

- The 7 year-old has a sudden accident (choking, broken limb, sever cut, etc... ), mother yells out that she's taking the 7 year old to the doctor and he needs to watch the baby. Without checking to see if he responds, she hurries out of the house ( Nowhere in the article mentions this was an appointment, it's just an assumpition by us. ),

- Leaving in a hurry, she doesn't lock/secure/close the door. The outside dog, agitated by the activity, enters the house after she's gone.

- The 2 month old baby is a mute, and cannot scream or cry, or is not, and the dog attacks. The father, sedated, fails to wake up.

Granted. That is a highly unlikely situation, but it does fit the limited facts. The point of this being that we do not know what happened in any detail whatsoever. The investigation is still ongoing. Speculations and assumptions on our part are not additional facts.

Let's cool our jets here. It is a terrible tragedy, especially to any parent. Let's let the investigation happen, and hope the further reports of it publiclly disclose more of the facts.

Mandy, Wyldchyld appears to posses a great deal more practical intelligence regarding child rearing than you do so it might be advisable to avoid attacking her concerning her age at the birth of her first child. Amazingly the majority of women through history had children by her age. I am sure a great many of us remember exactly how idiotic some of our classmates were back in college and frankly grad student or not it just isn't that impressive to those of us who have lived in the real world.

PJ, really none of you has any idea how much experience I have with children.

And I was not attacking her for her age, just commenting that she wasn't a genius just for having kids at a young age. Not saying its a bad thing, just saying that it doesn't mean she knows all. I'm not sure why you feel the need to then try to attack my being a grad student, when saying that was a comment on an earlier portion of this thread (which I am sure you did not read before commenting)

Please read all before jumping in on a conversation PJ.

Dont have any more pets please. Your "giving away"of living animals is disturbing. Before you bite back, I'm a mother who had dogs and cats when my kids were young and they survived fine. it's not like dropping off unwanted items at a thrift store. People can fence their yards, build comfortable kennels and restrict animals to certain parts of the home, if they plan ahead. You sound like you couldn't be bothered to try.

Wait, let me guess. You thought the cat would steal the baby's breath, didn't you?

The dog should of been put outside . The Dad should of been paying attention and never leave an infant in a swing unsupervised. This whole thing should of been prevented. Horrible and sick in my opinion. I'm sure that dog has been put down by now.

@nirvana - even having supervision in the room is still asking for trouble.... All it takes is for the parents back to be turned away and all the child needs to do is raise their arm and start swinging at the animal... Thus causing the animal to react defensively... and all it takes is that one second for the dog to tear right into some flesh.

Nirvana: Do us all a favor and quit getting pets. You disgust me.

Nirvana - Oh. So, it's okay to give the cat away, but it was hard to give the Jack Russell terrier up. Weird.

How long did you have the cat before giving it up so easily? Were you afraid the cat would scratch the baby or steal it's breath? The poor cat did nothing wrong, but you got rid of it anyway. Nice.

Since you're not what I'd call a responsible pet owner - a Jack Russell terrier with their high energy level? Really? PLEASE, do not buy another pet. Pets are not disposable. Sounds like you didn't research the type of dog you thought you wanted. Glad to see you learned your lesson there.

btw - if your son is allergic to pet dander, he probably will be allergic for the rest of his life. So when he's older, you should not be researching or selecting ANY breed of dog or cat. There are ways around minimizing pet dander, but it doesn't sound like you want to be bothered and another dog/cat will be going to the pound through no fault of their own. Maybe a snake or reptile would be better for you. Oh, wait...you'd probably get rid of them, too.

All of you who are jumping all over Nirvana need to get a grip. You're behaving as if Nirvana said she let her animals out on the shoulder of a busy freeway.

Nirvana sounds like a caring person. Nirvana probably took the time to find a nurturing environment for the animals the family gave up to ensure that their children were safe and healthy.

If her son had allergies because of dander from the dog, what would you want, just let her son continue with eczema outbreaks?

You don't even care how severe the eczema outbreaks were; the poor child could've been covered from his head to his feet, skin dried out completely, cracked and bleeding, in addition to excessive itching. Yet, all you can do is condemn Nirvana because she didn't want her son to suffer unnecessarily.

I suppose if it were your son, you would've told your son to learn to live with the eczema outbreaks. I'm wondering, who really is "disgusting?"

Having known people who refused to get rid of their pets even while their child suffered horribly with allergies, I have to commend Nirvana for putting the welfare of her children above that of her pets.
Sounds as if a lot of people here don't.

Kris, can you and people like you stop responding to dog attack stories with comments about your wonderful pit bulls? I have a child who was attacked by a pit bull (and for all those who then insist it had to have been provoked, this was out on a public neighborhood street where we were walking when the dog came tearing out to knock us down and then rip into my child). This pit bull campaigning only rubs salt in the wounds and is, at best, completely irrelevent and insensitive at a time like this.

even though other dog breeds have attacked/killed humans the pit bull is the only breed that has been legislated against...now if people really want to protect their children why don't they outlaw the family pool...statistics show 10x more children drowning in family pools than being killed by dogs. and then there are those local meth labs, drug dealers and gangs, all recruiting your children into them.

esbee,

even though other dog breeds have attacked/killed humans the pit bull is the only breed that has been legislated against.

Ridiculous!

esbee...no, other breeds are on that list, too.

And I agree w/Jo-An...you are ridiculous.

I remember those swings...wouldn't sleeping in that position be bad for the child's spine?

That's why they call it a SWING and not a SWINGING BED

Nirvana- Good for you. People come first. Animals are animals. They are not on the same level as humans, regardless of what the brainwashed atheists want us to believe. Children come before animals.

My say - Sorry for your troubles, but our pit bull was the best dog we ever had, which is why I am an advocate for responsible pet ownership. All dogs bite. All dogs can be dangerous. All dogs need to be spayed/neutered and obedience trained. All dogs deserve to have a responsible pet owner.

Sorry to strike a nerve here and I wish your child a speedy recovery, but I have a right, just like everyone, to post what I want to. I'm sure there are a lot of people in the world that have been bitten by dogs - just read some of these posts. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

Did you know that not one pit bull attack was reported on a dog that was spayed or neutered? Just doing this for your dog, no matter the breed, cuts down on a lot of behavioral issues, as does obedience training, socialization and good fences.

Again, it was certainly not my intention to rub salt in your wounds, but pit bulls are not always aggressive and attack people. This story was about a Lab mix that was new to the family. I don't hear you calling out any Lab owners here.

Also, for all the posters condemning the put-down of Nirvana. I never said she shouldn't have given up her dog, even though, there are ways to deal with pet dander allergies. Her biggest fault is that she said to wait until the child was older before picking out another dog and to research the breed. My point was that she should not ever get a pet as children don't normally outgrow pet dander allergies. Her son will have it for life.

My biggest complaint is that she seems to have no qualms about getting pets, especially her cat, which she gave up for no reason other than she had a baby, then getting rid of them and expecting to get another one later. I have no doubt that she is a good mother - I wish she had gotten her son tested for allergies earlier - she just should not have any pets. She does not possess responsible pet ownership skills.

Some people just can't be bothered with pets and let's face it, they are a bother, just like kids and should be a commitment, just like kids. They don't like being given away, taken to a shelter, where they may end up in a gas chamber or euthanized because no one wants them. You should never just give your pet away because they are too much trouble, you have no time for it, claim to have allergies when you really don't, or because they were cute when they were little, but now that they're grown, they're not as cute, etc. It's tough on pets who thought they had a family, but are just given up willy-nilly for any reason you make up. It's too easy to just give them away and to absolve yourself of any responsibility.

Lou:
While I agree with you that animals are not on the same level as humans, what do atheists have to do with it? And "brainwashed atheists" at that?

Lou - You're right. People are people and animals are animals.

Hopefully, you don't have any pets. I would feel sorry for them and for you.

Kris1234-3592742,

You are correct! My biggest pet peeve is people just getting rid of their animals, for stupid reasons. I can understand the allergy thing, but I remember people telling me to get rid of my cats when I was pregnant with my first child, and I thought they were nuts! Seriously, people told me the cats would suffocate my babies!

Have you thought that maybe that dog just reached its breaking point and wasn't used to kids. I work at a dog groomers I've had labs snap at me they are not all fluff and cuddle they can inflict harm even if they seem nice and sweet and kind. It happens they have moods too just like humans.

We didn't have dogs or cats in the house with kids under 5 years - for the animals' sakes even more than the kids'. Small children are hard on animals. They don't understand they're living, feeling, hurt-able things. They should be old enough to understand how to treat animals before they're left alone with them. And babies should never be left alone with animals.

Absolutely! Air filters, hard floors, a separate space for the pet can go a long way. Nirvana had a previous record for disposing of pets. Lazy person, lousy pet owner. Also, there are fewer allergy sufferers in homes with pets.

@Stephaniecali

Nirvana had "a precious record?" Two animals - a cat and a dog. My, how you exaggerate.

But, there's one thing you're forgetting. It's not your business. If Nirvana didn't want a cat around her newborn baby, that was her business. If Nirvana didn't want a dog in the house because her son had eczema, that was her business.

You have no right WHATSOEVER to condemn Nirvana for making a decision for her family. To reiterate, IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

You need to apologize to Nirvana because you're totally out of your lane.

And, there's a phrase for people who put the "welfare" of animals ahead of the well being of their children, to the detriment of their children. It's called Child Neglect.

Nirvana & TortCots are obviously the same person. Nice try, but still, stick to goldfish. I'm betting your children weren't planned either. You lack the capacity of doing any research and follow trends. After one pet mishap, you should think long and hard before attempting to get a pet again. You're the type of owner rescue shelters try to weed out, so it's likely you bought both pets at the mall.

just saying...

As the owner of several pets over the years (30), 8 dogs, 16 cats, turtles, and an iguana, all but the first, (which we paid $50 for when we first married) were "give aways", we kept every one from the day we got it until their death, I can't fault Nirvana for giving away 2 animals. Hopefully she gave them to someone that wanted them, and could properly care for them.

Luckily none of our kids had allergies bad enough to have to make that decision. One of them would sneeze and get a runny nose, from the cats, but he wouldn't stop letting the cats sleep with him, crazy kids!

Pets are a big responsibility, and should't be taken lightly.....

To defend stephaniecali, I have to say that I have a very ignorant aunt and uncle. They are the definition of HORRIBLE pet owners. For as many years as I can remember, they would recycle their pets, meaning they would have a different dog every time I saw them or my mom would tell me. For no good reason, they would get a different dog as though they were bored of the previous one. ALL THE TIME!! I am totally disgusted by them. Then, they never even properly trained any dog that they owned. I would say, they never owned the same dog for more than 2 months at a time.

Reading this article was heartbreaking. I feel for the family- but they should have known better- you do not leave a dog alone with a child- ever. Especially a strange dog. I'm unclear if they adopted the dog or took him in as a stray. Either way- his temperment is unknown.

Biff is correct- motion can trigger this type of response.

Previous posters have wondered how dad could have slept thru the attack. There is something called predatory drift- I witnessed it a couple of years ago when a dog attacked another dog. It was done in silence- the dog attacking was going in for the kill (throat, abdomen, genital area). Assuming that scenario- and the child already being killed- the father may actually not have heard anything.

But still- the child should never have been left unattended with a strange dog in the room.

It is how the dog's lineage was developed, if you knew how many pit bull owners interbreed their litters you would be shocked. When you interbreed a litter not only do you have unhealthy pups, you can have more aggressive dogs and this is in any breed right from the pit bull down to the ankle biters. I work for a rescue shelter and no matter how many evaluations, temperament tests, etc. you can not say for sure how an adult dog is going to do in a home environment. The dog could be an absolute love at the shelter but once you have the dog in a home environment the dog can display aggressive behaviors towards people and other animals. If there are small children in the family I do suggest that they look towards adopting a puppy or a dog under 1 year of age. People need to be aware that when you bring a new dog or cat into your home there is an adjustment period for the dog or cat and you must be vigilante with your family to make sure that no one ends up getting hurt due to the dog or cat not being properly supervised. Don't ever leave your pets alone with you children it just takes seconds for a child to be hurt by a pet attacking them without warning. I have seen what an unsupervised pet can do to a child and it breaks my heart every time I see it.

I love dogs, and have raised and cared for some great dogs, different breeds, from pure breads with papers to muts. Nonetheless, I would not be foolish enough to leave a dog, any dog, with a baby or toddler unsupervised. Babies and toddlers don't know how to interact with dogs and would come out the loser in any accidental confrontation. Big dog or small, but big is more dangerous, being stronger with bigger mouths.

I have seen Labs bite. My son in law has one that has bitten a few people. And I 've seen pitt bull attack results on TV, that are horrific, needing tons of stitches to repair or even limbs lost. I think the difference is how they bite. Labs tend to bite and let go. Pitt bulls hang on and shake.

I suspect there is more to this story than we have heard. I do extend my sympathy to the family, because such a loss is indeed heartbreaking, regardless of what stupidity allowed it to happen.

Abortionists tear babies apart every day and no one seems to care. How about it, folks? What makes this baby any more special than the 3,500 babies who die daily by legal abortion? God helps us get our priorities straight and see where our culture has gone.

ugh purplekylady... really?

put the dog in a "kettle"? Low heat, how much liquid, for how long?

oneiron, may want to do a quick google search b4 assuming that a kettle is the same as a tea kettle. I just checked google for "dog kettle" and it's a rarely used term for a dog KENNEL as in a cage that holds dogs. Either outdoor cages or smaller indoor ones.

you should come to my house, we love our dogs like members of the family and they are very well behaved. But I still wouldn't ever leave them alone with a baby.

And most every time I meet a dog it's badly behaved.

That's because they don't like you.

They're excellent judges of character.

Really, then other people must suck too. Dogs either jump on you or snarl at you when you walk by. The smaller the dog the worse they behave too.

There's no *need* to have a dog, but they can bring some happiness to a person or family that treats the dog well. Dogs, good breeds anyway, have distinctly un-human characteristics which can make them one of the best behaved members of the family. They are loyal companions who don't even recognize when they are being neglected a bit. They don't argue and don't pass judgment. They don't talk back to you or claim life is unfair. And they don't make insensitive comments on news blogs, which this one is full of, very unfortunately.

Of course they don't talk back to you, argue, or pass judgement.
They're DOGS.
They are not humans.
We always had dogs on the farm who lived in the barn.
People who grow up in the country with dogs don't generally fall into the "animals as humans" mindset.

Of course they don't talk back to you, argue, or pass judgement.
They're DOGS.
They are not humans.

You write that like it's a bad thing, but these are the things that make them superior to humans.

We always had dogs on the farm who lived in the barn.
People who grow up in the country with dogs don't generally fall into the "animals as humans" mindset.

That's because they are not members of your family. My dog follows me around the house, and if she's hungry and I give her a bowl of food and walk away, she'll leave the bowl and follow me to see where I go first, before returning to her bowl and finishing her meal. Dogs don't have to be companions, but they can be.

You're missing out, alan. Unfortunately, a lot of people are like that w/their animals...I have a neighbor that lets his puppy, who is slowly growing up into a big German Shepherd, just run outside and mow down my dog, and anyone and anything else. He isn't mean, just untrained.

Needless to say, my neighbor is an idot.

dogs are like kids, there only as smart as you teach them.

Dogs are great! They are loyal, loving and smarter than most people! Actually alot nicer too. But it is of course how your raise them or train them. Police use dogs, the blind use dogs, the military use dogs, the special forces use dogs. They can be very intelligent and yes, they have saved many, many lives.

This is not about dogs, it is about irresponsible people, this case parents. So all you people who do not like dogs, well I bet you dogs don't like you; they are very smart.