Dog mauls 3 week old

DaemonSeid · #1 07-23-2009, 05:08 PM

A newborn baby picked up and dragged out of his crib by his family's dog remains in critical condition.

Thursday morning, officials at Kentucky Children's Hospital said Alexander James Smith had been upgraded to serious condition. But they later said that was a mistake.

At a home along Beaumont Road, just outside Nicholasville, investigators say the newborn was hauled off by the neck by his family dog.

The family of 3-day-old Alexander James Smith have asked for a member of the public to adopt the dog, Dakota. Michael Smith, AJ's father, says the dog will not be returning to their home.

Smith told reporters on Tuesday that a nurse told the family little AJ will make it. He has multiple injuries, including a cracked skull and ribs and a punctured lung.

Michael Smith told 27 NEWSFIRST they had just laid AJ down to sleep in his crib for a nap, and within minutes it got quiet in the house. He said they went into the room where AJ was supposed to be sleeping and found that he was gone.

Micheal Smith said he and his wife searched for ten minutes outside before finding Dakota, the family dog, had a hold of AJ. According to the family, AJ was in bad shape, but they don't believe Dakota meant to hurt him. They say Dakota, a Native American Indian dog, has been with the family for four years, and they had recently been working to get him comfortable with the new addition to their home.

The Jessamine County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.

link

so what do you do...put the dog down or give it a pass?

DrPhil · #2 07-23-2009, 05:15 PM

Poor baby.

I'd just send the dog away. Dogs can get jealous of babies and new additions to the family. I blame the parents. I don't believe in having unattended animals around kids under a certain age.

KD4Me · #3 07-23-2009, 05:18 PM

Michael Smith told 27 NEWSFIRST they had just laid AJ down to sleep in his crib for a nap, and within minutes it got quiet in the house. He said they went into the room where AJ was supposed to be sleeping and found that he was gone.

The dog managed to get the baby out of the crib?

DaemonSeid · #4 07-23-2009, 05:18 PM

agreed...I cant believe this one guy today who actually tried to compare this incident to Vick...

But moving on...yes..animals can be very unpredictable about newborns and I have no idea of what they were trying to do to help the dog adjust but it just doesn't work that way.

DaemonSeid · #5 07-23-2009, 05:21 PM

here is something else to consider:

Mr Michael Smith initially headed to the backyard, knowing that Dakota, a mixed breed with wolves in its ancestry, had a reputation for stealing household items like cups and wallets and depositing them there. He spent 10 minutes looking among the trees and bushes in the two-acre fenced backyard before finding the dog and child about 200 yards (metres) behind the house.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_406376.html

UGAalum94 · #6 07-23-2009, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Poor baby.

I'd just send the dog away. Dogs can get jealous of babies and new additions to the family. I blame the parents. I don't believe in having unattended animals around kids under a certain age.

Yes.

I have mixed feelings about criminal charges against the parents in cases like this, but it bugs me when people want to blame animals for being animals.

If the dog is unsafe generally, then put it down. If, like the relatively recent case in Florida, your snake can't be kept in it's cage because it's too big and powerful, you probably need to get rid of the snake by giving it to someone prepared to keep it safely or get a much more powerful cage yourself. (I don't get snake ownership, so I won't face this particular problem.)

But no one should be particularly surprised or outraged at the animals when they regard prey-sized humans as prey.

ETA: actually this case is weirder according to the parents. They seem to think the dog regarded the baby like a puppy.

FSUZeta · #7 07-23-2009, 06:12 PM

they ought to tie the parents down, strategically place pork chops all over their bodies and let "dakota" have at it. idiot parents!!

AOII_LB93 · #8 07-23-2009, 06:34 PM

Not blaming the dog here...dogs are dogs. The parents should have shut the door to the room with the baby in it and not left it open to the dog in the first place. I personally feel that children under the age of 10 should not be left alone with dogs in general. Partially because you never know what may happen, and also because children are pretty excitable and that can affect animals.

cheerfulgreek · #9 07-23-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

they ought to tie the parents down, strategically place pork chops all over their bodies and let "dakota" have at it. idiot parents!!

lol @ the bold. Yes, I agree, the parents should have been more responsible, because some animals are genetically more aggressive than others, and many can be extremely violent for no apparent reason.

UGAalum94 · #10 07-23-2009, 06:40 PM

I think the under 10 standard is too strict, but no dog should have unsupervised access to an infant for sure.

I think we anthropomorphize our pets so much that we forget they are really just animals.

cheerfulgreek · #11 07-23-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I think the under 10 standard is too strict, but no dog should have unsupervised access to an infant for sure.

I think we anthropomorphize our pets so much that we forget they are really just animals.

True, but to some people they do make great companions, so they see them as more than just animals. It's just that a lot people who love their pets tend to think of them as being aggressive but not violent, and that is so far from the truth.

pshsx1 · #12 07-23-2009, 07:00 PM

How sad

I'd just get rid of the dog if this was his first truly violent act.

UGAalum94 · #13 07-23-2009, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

True, but to some people they do make great companions, so they see them as more than just animals. It's just that a lot people who love their pets tend to think of them as being aggressive but not violent, and that is so far from the truth.

Oh, I love my dogs a kind of crazy amount and they get better treatment than a lot of people in the world, but I try really hard to remember they could hurt someone.

cheerfulgreek · #14 07-23-2009, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Oh, I love my dogs a kind of crazy amount and they get better treatment than a lot of people in the world, but I try really hard to remember they could hurt someone.

What kind of dogs do you have?

UGAalum94 · #15 07-23-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshsx1

How sad

I'd just get rid of the dog if this was his first truly violent act.

I think that's what they are trying to do.

Honestly, I'm not sure "truly violent" is the best description. How much of the injuries are a reflection of the dog's aggression and how much are a reflection of how fragile a three DAY old baby is?

Certainly, I'm not suggesting people let dogs drag babies around, but I'm not even sure that what the owners describe in the second linked article was aggressive behavior. The dog liked to take stuff from the house to the back yard. In this case, he took the baby. The problem, if you ask me, was that the dog had access to the baby.