Posted on 01/20/2011 1:54:09 PM PST by Leisler
A pet ferret chewed off seven of a Missouri infant's fingers, leaving the boy with two thumbs and a pinky.
The ferret feasted on the sleeping 4-month-old's hands after it crawled onto his baby seat about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, authorities said.
The boy's father rushed into the living room when he heard the screams of his wife, who was sleeping near the baby. The dad grabbed the ferret and hurled it against a dishwasher, killing it instantly.
The boy was treated at a local hospital and released four days later, cops said.
"He's definitely going to have challenges," Grain Valley Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said. "Several of his fingers were chewed down past the second knuckle at least."
Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics.
“The animals seem attracted to babies, perhaps due to odors resembling those of suckling rabbits,” writes Dr. Edward Marcuse in a 1987 edition of Pediatrics. “Typically, attacks are made when parents are absent or asleep; the ferret escapes its cage and jumps into the baby’s crib. One infant died; others nearly bled to death. One lost her nose, another half of both ears. Up to hundreds of bites were rapidly inflicted on all parts of the face, the result resembling ground beef according to some observers, although all exposed parts of the body are attacked as well. Older children and adults were bitten on the face and extremities, the animal often holding on tenaciously until killed or pried loose.”
A story out of Wisconsin in 2000 told a similar story when two ferrets attacked a baby, who was saved when the family dog jumped into the melee and rescued the infant.
FEROCIOUS FERRETS
Edgar K. Marcuse MD
Some 33 infants and young children have been reported in California as having been attacked by pet European ferrets (descendants of the European polecat, Mustela putorius, not to be confused with the endangered black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes, of the Great Plains). The animals seem attracted to babies, perhaps due to odors resembling those of suckling rabbits. Typically, attacks are made when parents are absent or asleep; the ferret escapes its cage and jumps into the baby’s crib. One infant died; others nearly bled to death. One lost her nose, another half of both ears. Up to hundreds of bites were rapidly inflicted on all parts of the face, the result resembling ground beef according to some observers, although all exposed parts of the body are attacked as well. Older children and adults were bitten on the face and extremities, the animal often holding on tenaciously until killed or pried loose.
Bites may be unreported to avoid loss of illegal ferrets. Sometimes ferrets are confused with weasels due to inability to differentiate them. Fer
And the baby wouldn’t be crying it’s head off during this??
Wow, that kid’s a good sleeper.
shoot that damn thing
Waiting patiently for the “Weasels Rip my Flesh” cover....
Now wait just a minute. A kid getting his fingers eaten off didn’t make a sound? I’m not buying that for a minute. Smells like mama did something and her husband is covering for her.
The same goes for anyone who has reptiles, snakes, raccoons, exotic birds, rabbits, skunks, turtles, and any other species that aren't dogs or cats.
You’ld get Zapped for that.
Yeah but in the Disney movies they are so cute.
WORST.
PET.
EVER.
Prayers for the baby. Child Protective Services investigation for the pot head (?) parents.
From what I understand, there’s nothing more painful than losing a finger. No crying? Something else happened here.
My kids too. I could sneak in there to peek at them and I swear they could sense my presence or smell me and I’d hit the floor and have to crawl out of the room. My friends, heck they could vacuum in the same room with a sleeping baby . . . but not my babies.
Poor, poor child. There is no way that baby didn’t cry and scream his head off.
Where is the mother instinct, except for screaming? Do we also educate out what reasonable people would have done?
I assume a young woman/mother involved. Pity for the baby’s father, he’s getting his work cut out for him.
“The same goes for anyone who has reptiles, snakes, raccoons, exotic birds, rabbits, skunks, turtles, and any other species that aren’t dogs or cats.”
Woman hospitalized from house cat attack
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/03/10/woman_hospitalized_from_house_cat_attack/?p1=MEWell_Pos1
Pet pit bulls maul NLV 4-month-old to death
http://www.lvrj.com/news/28344539.html
Gezzzz...
I know this is going to sound cold, but how stoned were the parents that they didn’t hear the kid crying?
My thoughts exactly. No child should be so isolated and not to be able to hear their screams. At 4 months a baby’s lungs can wail when warrented. Something is wrong here. Just the first pite should have had that baby screaming. Poor little thing.
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