Mother slept while Luling toddler was mauled, killed by pit bull

keyetv.com ^

[Chet 99]

The Central Texas toddler attacked and killed by a pit bull wandered into a backyard with the dog while his mother slept.

18-month-old Tyson Miller died Thursday in Luling.

Police say the child woke up before any of the adults in the house and walked outside through an open door.

His mother, Melissa Miller, woke up between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. She told police she searched the house then went to the backyard and discovered her son with severe wounds to his head and neck.

Police say it appeared the child had been dead for "a while" but they don't know how long.

Miller and her son had been living at the home on Hackberry Street for about two weeks with her boyfriend. A friend of Miller's boyfriend, Amanda Ayala, had asked him to keep the dog there. It was chained during the attack.

Police say the dog does not have a history of aggressiveness or complaints.

Ayala has signed a voluntary euthanasia order for the animal.

The Caldwell County District Attorney will investigate the incident.

[Leisler]

Pit Bulls are sweet little babies.
The kid must of asked for it.

/sarc.

[fleagle]

So sad...but this is the kind of tragedy that happens when people are idiots.

[She hits a grand slam tonight]

the pit was on it’s 1st night there & chained at that & a small child walked to it in the yard.
what else would you expect, I’ve have expected any dog to attack.
That back door should have been better secure.

[behzinlea]

Then you wouldn’t mind if a parent or other concerned relative went over with a shotgun and took care of the dog? It’s just a natural response, after all.

[fleagle]

I hear that, but if it happened to be, say, a Pomeranian chained out back we wouldn't have a dead child.

I have respect for all breeds of dogs, but a dog like a pitty in the wrong hands is just too dangerous.

And absolutely, the house needed to be secured to prevent a child from wandering outside. This was an entirely preventable tragedy on many levels.

[null and void]

I read it as middle of the day. Otherwise, pretty much what you said, most dogs wouldn’t lash out, but chained up in an unfamiliar environment, “abandoned” by it’s owner, it’s a bit of a craps-shoot with any breed.

[Thank You Rush]

“”And absolutely, the house needed to be secured to prevent a child from wandering outside.””

We’re talking about noon or after and the mother wasn’t out of bed yet?

[kanawa]

Kid’s dead, save your sarcasm.

[LongElegantLegs]

Terrible.
A neglected pit bull is a tragedy waiting to happen.

[deport]

Related Article

• Luling 2-year-old killed in suspected dog attack

Luling Police received a 911 call Thursday afternoon about a pit bull biting a child. When they arrived at 963 North Hackberry Street, they found the two year old boy dead.

Authorities tell CBS 42 Reporter Katherine Stolp the child had bite marks covering his body. The two year old was already dead, when police found him lying in the back yard behind a mobile home. Also, in the back, police found a female pit bull chained to the ground.

As investigators tried to figure out exactly how the boy died Thursday afternoon, stunned neighbors told CBS they saw the fatal attack with their own eyes.

“It was pretty bad, the dog, the pit bull mauled the baby and kept going for its head until he killed him,” said neighbor Carol Green.

Police said the chained pit bull attacked the boy in a wooded area, where two other dogs still remained Thursday night.

“There were some adults present (during the attack), but who and their relationship with the kid, I have no idea,” Luling Police Chief, John Cochran said.

“The dogs, they’ve never given anyone a problem, I don’t know what happened,” family friend Jenevee Escovedo said. “It’s crazy.”

Friends of the family walked in and out of the mobile home hours after the attack, only a few, would stop to briefly talk with us.

“It was somebody else’s dog,” an unidentified man told the swarm of media.

“The dog was pregnant so they thought it would be fine,” Escovedo said.

The friends also told us about the deceased two year old boy, who they called Tyson.

“He was a real good kid, real quiet and playful,” the unidentified family friend said.

Police took family members and other adults present during the attack in for questioning, but have not yet pressed any charges.

“I’m still stunned and shocked because a little two year old, you would think, where were the parents, you know,” Green asked? “It’s just sad.”

The pit bull is at the Luling pound. Police say they will release more information in this ongoing fatal investigation on Friday.

An autopsy is planned for later this week to determine the exact cause of the child’s death.

[Leisler]

"I’ve have expected any dog to attack" Yeah right. What other pearls of wisdom do you have, blacks and watermelon, Jews and money, Irish and booze? You know everything being the same and all.

[Wicket]

Sad story.

Yeah, my sheltie would have ripped his leg off. And my neighbor’s Golden Retriever would have savaged him unmercifully. Right. . .

The caregivers were negligent - getting up just after noon - I would guess druggies.

But the dog was and is dangerous - more so than many breeds, which are more likely to be protective than attack a child that young. Many dogs recognize youngsters across species lines - toddler, kitten, puppy. Herding breeds in particular, but many others share the characteristic.

[ReagansShinyHair]

No kidding, my son’s almost two and there’s no way he’ll let me sleep past about two seconds after he wakes up. All I hear is “Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Who could sleep through that? And wouldn’t she have heard the dog barking and stuff? Or did the pit attack a small “prey animal” looking child without barking or carrying on?

Plus, after my son got too big for the crib, we put a child gate on the door to his room so that he would be safe until we can get to him. I feel sorry for the mom that such a horrible thing happened to her baby, but she could have taken some precautions and cared for him better and avoided the whole tragedy. She could have started with not allowing a pit to be near her baby.

[null and void]

“The dog was pregnant so they thought it would be fine,” Escovedo said.

Um. no.

[kanawa]

"“The dog was pregnant so they thought it would be fine,” Escovedo said."

I can't recall any discussion that a pregnant female would be more likely to bite/attack.

"It is difficult to determine the reproductive status of many dogs involved in fatal dog bites over the past 37 years. With bitches, it was rarely noted whether she was intact, in estrus or pregnant at the time of the attack"¹

In estrus and in the presence of a male there are numerous cases of fatalities
resulting when a child came between the dog and the bitch.

¹Fatal Dog Attacks, pg14, Karen Delise

[kanawa]

If you don’t have anything constructive to contribute
why don’t you PO and let the grownups talk.

[mkjessup]

Kid’s dead, save your sarcasm.

Hey, what's this? Leisler gets five words with extra syllables, and all I got this morning was a mere 'grow up'?!?

I'm insulted.

[mkjessup]

If you don’t have anything constructive to contribute why don’t you PO and let the grownups talk.

Well who are YOU going to talk to?

[kanawa]

Many dogs recognize youngsters across species lines

Nor worth taking a chance.

Children between the age of 1 day old and 12 years old are the victims in 79% of all fatal dog attacks. Children are particularly vulnerable to canine aggression for a number of reasons, the most obvious being their small size and inability to fend off a dog attack.

Toddlers and young children are usually at or just below eye-level with a large-sized dog. It stands to reason that the first bite a dog delivers to a toddler will be in the face or head region. A child's screaming or flailing would more than likely incite an aggressive dog even more, with the child unable to escape the dog.

Another serious vulnerability children have is the inability to recognize or comprehend the significance of an aggressive display by a dog. The vast majority of children(besides infants) killed by dogs are males, aged 2 and 4 respectively (see Chart B). A probable scenario is; upon approaching a dog, particularly a chained dog, the child is given a warning, displayed as either a stiffened position, raised hackles, and/or growl. The toddler, not realizing the implications, continues his approach, and the dog may consider this a challenge or a threat. Chained dogs, having no option to retreat, may lash out at this perceived threat or encroachment.²

²ibid. pg14-15