1 year old attacked by dog

ztoical

I'm sure a number of people here have heard the news story about the boy being attacked and killed by a dog in england.

As the details of the case have been coming out I was shocked to hear that the 1 year old had been left alone in his grandparents hosue with a 7 year old and 6 year old and a 16 year old was upstairs. The adults where down the road in another house. The 7 year old carried the 1 year old outside to pet the dog [a 2 year old rottwieler] The dog grabbed the baby from the child and carried him into the back garden. The 7 year old ran upstairs and got the 16 year old who tired to pull the baby away but couldn't so then rang the police.

The thread on the pets forum has wandered off taking about some breeds being more likly to attack then others and mental defects and all this but I'm shocked that the child was left alone.

Even without the dog there there were a hundred things that could have happened to the child, been dropped on his head, feed the wrong food, my friends 5 year old always wants to give her new baby sister a bath, if the 7 year old tried that she could have drowned the child - the list is endless. As tragic as this is for the parents, surely they should be held somewhat responsible for this awful event?

daiixi

They can be held responsible and there was a case earlier this year where the uncle (the dog's owner) and the grandmother (the person "supervising" the child) got into a lot of trouble. At least from recollection that's the situation.
The problem is that large dogs cause more damage than small dogs. Some of the larger breeds have been bred to be vicious. I grew up around many dogs and always found the smaller ones were more vicious although as their mouths were smaller they weren't as dangerous.
Also this Christmas a nine week old baby was killed by a Rottweiller in Australia. It would only take a split second to take your eye off the dog and baby for a nine week old to have its head crushed by a bite. Although in the OP's example it does seem rather negligent.
Not all large dogs are dangerous. If all "dangerous" breeds were banned then "tamer" breeds such as labradors (for example) could easily be bred and taught to be vicious guard dogs and the like and these sorts of situations would continue.
Finally not all dog owners are responsible dog owners and not all parents (or other figures of authority) are responsible parents (or figures of authority). They should be held more accountable than the dog because they should know better than the dog.

littlebitdull

There are many many 16 year olds who have one year old of their own. In fact the mother of the baby killed is still a teenager herself.

I have a sixteen year old myself, and I would feel he was old enough to be left in charge of children that age.

I would hope that I would tell him to keep a close eye on them, and I would hope that telling them all to stay away from the dog would be enough. To be honest I would never have left any of my children near any dog, as I simply dont trust them, they are only animals and will always behave like an animal - its unfair to expect otherwise.

Its a tragic event. For all concerned. My heart especially goes out to the poor seven year old who thought it would be nice to allow the baby to pet the dog. A natural enough thing for a child of that age to think.

And the poor sixteen year old trying to rescue the baby. Can you even begin to imagine the nightmares these poor kids are going to have for the rest of their lives? I dont even want to think about it - they will never be able to stop thinking about it.

How awful an event to have happened. For all of them.

I dont think there is ever an occasion you can trust a dog - no matter what the breed.

ztoical

I know there are many 16 years old and even younger girls who have babies of their own but the 16 year wasn't watching the baby, she was upstairs. I'm just annoyed that the focus in all the news reports has been "O my god, evil dog snatch child" The english indo didn't even mention that the 16 year old was upstairs.

Like I said in the first post there were alot of other things that could have happened to the child even if the dog hadn't been there. There is a reason people baby proof their houses. This will end up being a big focus on so called dangerous dogs and at the end of the day any dog that is not looked after and treated with respect can be dangerous, but a cat can hurt, and yes even kill a baby as well. Cars, house fires, pools/ponds kill more young children then dogs.

I do think the two people who will suffer the most long term out of this is the 7 and 16 year old.

littlebug

ztoical wrote: »

I know there are many 16 years old and even younger girls who have babies of their own but the 16 year wasn't watching the baby, she was upstairs. I'm just annoyed that the focus in all the news reports has been "O my god, evil dog snatch child" The english indo didn't even mention that the 16 year old was upstairs.

Like I said in the first post there were alot of other things that could have happened to the child even if the dog hadn't been there. There is a reason people baby proof their houses. This will end up being a big focus on so called dangerous dogs and at the end of the day any dog that is not looked after and treated with respect can be dangerous, but a cat can hurt, and yes even kill a baby as well. Cars, house fires, pools/ponds kill more young children then dogs.

I do think the two people who will suffer the most long term out of this is the 7 and 16 year old.

In fairness... all they say is that the 16 year old was upstairs... the poor girl was probably went to the loo for a minute when the 7 year old decided to take the baby out to the dog.

I don't really think it's right to lay blame at anyone's door in this case...it's incredibily sad

I do think that dogs can behave unpredictably when out of their comfort zone or in an unfamiliar situation. Just yesterday my mothers old mutt snapped at my son when he patted his head. he's never snapped at anyone before.. he's just not used to children and 3 days of "extra" attention just got on his nerves...he was out of his comfort zone and behaved in a way that no one expected.

Unfortunately the bigger the dog the more damage can be done and the harder it would be to take control back.

dame

The 16 year old probably went to the loo for a minute as littlebug said. Parents occassionally go to the toilet too and take their eyes off their baby while they do so. Is that always negligent?

Many parents hire babysitters who are 16 or younger. Are they negligent too?

It is tragic and to be honest I'd actually lay the blame on the dog and it's owners (the grandparents of the baby and the parents of the 16 year old and the two other children in the house). If you own a 7-10 stone dog, of a breed that has been known to occassionally attack and kill children, and keep it in your back garden where your children play, then really, eventually something bad might happen. It's just tempting fate really, isn't it. Would it have been any less tragic if it was the 7 year old or the 6 year old attacked? Possibly, they might have survived due to being bigger, but why take the chance that any child might be attacked?

kashi

It's a horrible thing to happen, regardless. I do feel worse for the 7 and 16 year old. I wouldn't necessarily blame anyone just yet, as it's still to early to know every detail.

I have a large dog (a German Shepherd) and am due a baby in 3 weeks. I know he adores children, but I would never leave him alone with any child. His size alone could end up hurting a child. If he got over excited he could easily knock a child over, but would not necessarily mean to hurt a child. Any dog can kill a child, especially a baby. My dog will be introduced slowly and carefully to my baby, which was always the plan anyway. Generally rotties that are well taken care of, trained etc tend to be great dogs. They aren't for everyone though, and are very strong and powerful dogs. I wouldn't reccomend them as pets for everyone, you would need to be well experienced and have the time for such a large animal.

We can analyze all we want in hindsight, but it's too late for that poor baby.

ztoical

kashi wrote: »

We can analyze all we want in hindsight, but it's too late for that poor baby.

true things always seem so clear in hindsight and I'm sure the 16 year old and the parents will be plaged with what ifs for the rest of their lives. Something really simple like making sure the back door was locked so a 7 year old couldn't open it is so easy to point out now but of course that won't change anything. I just got annoyed reading all the news reports that focused on the sensationalism and made alot of sweeping statments.