Pet ferret in Missouri chews off seven of sleeping infant's fingers after crawling onto baby seat

The Daily News ^ | January 20th 2011 | RICH SCHAPIRO

[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."

[thefactor]

Missouri: Meth capital of the world.

[Responsibility2nd]

I know this is going to sound cold, but how stoned were the parents that they didn't hear the kid crying?

 

Maybe as stoned as this (bleep)

 

 

 Local Mom Wakes Up To Burned Baby (Burned to death by baseboard heater)
WKRC ^ | 1/19/2010 | WKRC

Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 2:27:28 PM by TSgt

A Covington woman faces charges after telling police she awoke from a night of drug and alcohol use to discover her infant daughter severely burned.

26-year-old Megin Gray is currently charged with second degree criminal abuse.

Prosecutors say that charge may be upgraded depending on the results of an autopsy on the little girl. This happened in her John Street home where she lives with her three children and another couple.

According to the police report, Gray told officers she went to bed after taking xanax, percocet and drinking alcohol late Monday night.

She says she woke about 12-hours later to find the baby next to a baseboard heater with severe burns.

Police and prosecutors hope the autopsy will be able to tell them if the baby was alive when suffering the burns or already dead.

Megin Gray is due back in court on her current charge later this month.

[kelly4c]

This is absolutely disgusting. There is no way that baby would not have woken up and wailed. It would take some time for a small animal to chew off several freaking fingers I would think. Poor baby!

[BerryDingle]

I know this is going to sound cold, but how stoned were the parents that they didn't hear the kid crying?

The father heard the wife's screams, but neither heard the baby's? The baby was strapped in a seat at 2:30 AM. I thinking the baby was completely unattended for a while.

[RingerSIX]

Now see, if they had a pet monkey things like this wouldn’t happen.

[antiRepublicrat]

I’ve heard about this before, when dad was drunk and passed out. Incidents of parental irresponsibility such as this have been used to try to ban ferrets, or keep current bans in force.

[Bitsy]

You are absolutely right. Something is not right - it smells. I hope there is an investigation. Poor little thing must have been in great pain - I don’t care what they say - that baby DID NOT sleep through 7 gnawed off fingers!

[utahagen]

Let’s start with, “What kind of mother would have a ferret for a pet when there’s a baby in the house?”

Jackasses.

[kennedy]

When my oldest daughter was an infant, she screamed her head off during most waking hours. My wife and I took shifts, walking her, rocking her, singing to her, and doing everything else we could think of to get her to sleep. As a survival instinct, we each eventually learned to block out her crying during the other's shift. That or we were each just so tired that we slept through it.

The article says that Mom was sleeping with the baby in the living room. It is possible that the baby was already crying and Mom took him into the living room so Dad could sleep. When the baby started crying again, neither parent would have necessarily reacted very quickly. Anyone who has had a collicy baby knows what several days of total sleep deprivation can do to Mom's and Dad's reaction times.

So I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the issue of how long it took them to react. However, anyone who would keep a ferret in the house with an infant is just stupid.

[RichInOC]

I SOWWY. UR BEBEH HAD A FLAVR.

[Leisler]

Ferret Attack!( YouTube )

[SeeSharp]

If only there had been a pit bull in the house.

[al_c]

So I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on the issue of how long it took them to react.

Seriously?! Cries from colic and cries from long, drawnout pain are different cries. And it would've taken some time for the ferret to eat that many fingers.

My opinion .... the baby was home alone. There's no way the parents were in that house during the ordeal. Unless they were passed out drunk/stoned.

[Secret Agent Man]

SOmething’s not right here.

There is no way in hell a kid sleeps through, doesn’t scream, at having seven fingers chewed off.

Think the ferret maybe got a raw deal here.

[stevio]

Poor kid, idiot parents. God be with that kid.

[Shelayne]

It doesn’t say that the baby wasn’t crying, just that the father heard the mother screaming. It is possible that her screams were louder than the crying of the baby. And it is quite probable that the baby crying IS what woke the mother.

Then again, they have a ferret in the same house with a baby, so already they aren’t parents of the year.

So sorry for that precious baby boy. :^(

[Above My Pay Grade]

Actually, from what I understand ferrets are domesticated and don’t exist outside of captivity.

That doesn’t mean they are necessarily safe as pets, especially around children, of course.

Dogs (while without a doubt the greatest pets ever) are far more dangerous than most turtles, exotic birds and rabbits and probably ferrets.

Children need to be supervised around all uncaged animals.

Domesticated does not necessarily mean “safe”. I’d rather have my child in a yard with a wild rabbit than a domesticated bull.

[Mamzelle]

re: A ferret is a wild animal, even when raised in captivity. They are never really domesticated.)))

As time goes on, I have less and less patience for sentimentality towards wild animals. It seems to be a national demenia.

I wouldn't make owning these critters illegal, but I'm all for encouraging insurance companies not to cover this kind of risky behavior.

[Dem Guard]

Yes, good points. It sure is a sad story.

[Secret Agent Man]

Pet rabbits are domesticated, they aren’t wild. They have lost most of their survival instincts and have no idea what is a threat to them or what plants are poison. And as a prey species they are not animals that offensively attack people or other animals. They will put up a defense but generally that’s the last ditch effort.