Baby's first birthday party turns to tragedy when he is killed by family's mastiff dog

Daily Mail ^ | 4-29-2012 | Laura Pullman

[Hot Tabasco]

One of my co-workers had a stallion that killed a neighbor child

I had a co-worker who was transferred to KY where he bought a home out in the country next to a neighbor who had some cattle. I guess my friend the dumbass used to allow his two huskys to roam because one day they killed one of the neighbor's cows.......

[Mr Rogers]

It is certain that there ARE dogs who cannot be trusted. And I would honestly put the number at well above 10%. Maybe 25%, given the number of idiots with dogs. That is why all my kids learned at a very early age not to trust other people's dogs.

I had one dog who I decided couldn't be trusted around kids...put her down. I have no tolerance for dogs that are mean or just not trustworthy.

Every other dog I've owned over my 50 years has been wonderful with kids. Such dogs exist - by the millions. And because they have been raised around dogs, my kids can read their body language.

I would hate to see kids robbed of the love and emotional support dogs can provide. When my grandkids are feeling sad, they do what I did at that age - seek out the dogs. The unquestioning love a good dog gives a kid can do wonders on days when life is beating you down.

And with your statistics on injuries, you need to look at the protection dogs can give. My elderly aunt had a strange person come up her drive at 10 PM on a winter night. She turned the girl away. Moments later, her little dog went nuts. Realizing something had to be very wrong, she grabbed her gun - and met a guy with a ski mask over his face reaching for the door. Facing an armed woman, he turned and fled - but without the little dog's warning, my aunt would have been unarmed.

The large dog pictured below got me out of bed at 2AM once. He was frantic. Some investigation revealed a neighbor's house (empty at the time) was on fire - and the people right next to them didn't know. Our call to the fire department was the only notice they got - and it was based on a dog.

He is now owned by my daughter, and keeps watch on their place at night. He may bark once a year, but when he is upset, you DO need to find out why. There is a reason!

[Mr Rogers]

“I’ve seen morons turn Labs and Collies into psychos.”

I was kicked off a Border Collie forum after a bunch of posters told a new member that someone with kids shouldn’t be allowed to own a Border Collie. After some give & take, and multiple picture postings of our Border Collie, I got fed up and told them they were a bunch of menopausal spinsters warping their dogs with their own neurotic personality.

Guess that wasn’t considered nice. My current BC adores kids and will cheerfully let them sleep on top of him.

I once met a Golden Retriever who was mean as could be. As I’m sure you know, it was NOT the dog’s fault...

[Salamander]

Hopefully it’ll turn on the owner, the evil, dog beating bastard.

[Salamander]

You sure don’t need to tell me.

I’d bore you to death with all the times my dogs have alerted me to great peril or literally saved my life.

[backed up wood stove, house full of smoke...dog barked and literally jumped on my chest to bring me back into consciousness...I’d be dead if it weren’t for her]

I’ve got a thousand stories but no time to tell them right now.

Have to leave for a while.

[MD Expat in PA]

“I have to ask, Why is it so important to have a dog? You apparently are an intelligent person, and are well aware that dogs are dangerous and can hurt your children. To me one child is worth a million dogs. Why put any child at risk? Dogs killing children is not common, but dogs injuring children severely enough to require the services of a plastic surgeos is a very common event.”

Along that same vein, one might also ask “Why is it so important to have a pool (many children die every year in backyard pools); why is it so important to have a 4–wheel drive SUV (especially if you don’t live in a rural area that gets a lot of snow); why is it so important to have a gun (if you’re not a hunter, don’t live in a high crime area, how many stories are there about kids getting a hold of improperly secured guns)? According to the CDC the leading causes of accidental childhood death are car crashes, poisoning and suffocation.

The leading causes of childhood injury are falls, bicycles, drowning, airway obstruction (in infants), and 45% of all unintentional injury deaths occurred in and around the home being the result of fire and burns, suffocation, drowning, firearms, falls, choking and poisoning.

Am I saying that dogs cannot be potential dangerous? No. Am I saying that some dogs in particular cannot be dangerously aggressive? No. Am I saying that young children should be left with a dog unsupervised? No. In fact interestingly a number of dogs (I don’t have the # handy) are injured every year by children, most through falls or playing too rough with a small or elderly dog.

There are millions of dogs of all sizes and breeds living in homes with children and the vast majority of these children and adults will never be bitten or injured by their dogs. And where aggressive dogs do attack and injure or kill children; sorry to be blunt here, but when you look closely at a lot of these “families”, they are irresponsible and neglectful to both their dogs and their children; can you say Holder’s people – I knew you could; or for that matter, just to be fair and honest, lighter skinned trailer trash, meth lab types. Kids in these homes are also just as likely to be poisoned by picking up some leftover crack from last night’s party or pick up a loaded gun carelessly left out.

[who knows what evil?]

I couldn’t possibly agree more...

[MD Expat in PA]

The most common “issue” that Dobermann owners have, when a new baby arrives in the family is that the formerly loyal-to-the-parents dog will abandon them and station itself in the nursery to ‘guard’ the new baby.

When I was a kid we got a Boxer who was about 1 year old at the time. My mother’s cousin was a breeder and showed them and later got an absolutely beautiful Doberman who went to Westminster. The boxer came to us because he was returned by the guy who bought him and had to give him up because IIRC, he had to move because a new job and couldn’t take him with him. Boomer was an amazing dog; very bright and loving and playful but very serious and intense when it came to protecting his “family”, but he loved kids.

One time a friend of my father’s came to dinner at our house with his wife and their infant daughter. Boomer was fascinated by the baby but was very gentle and wouldn’t even get too close to her as if he knew he might scare her. But when her mom laid her down on my parent’s bed for a nap, Boomer stood guard, wouldn’t leave her side. When my mom and the baby’s mom when to check on the baby she had managed to roll past one of the pillows and had started to roll toward the edge of the bed, and there was Boomer, gently nuzzling her back toward the middle of the bed. When my mom and the baby’s mother came into the room, Boomer was wagging his little stumpy tail as if to say “I did good – right?”

[Salamander]

Screen’s all blurry

Blasted glasses must dirty

*sniffle*

[savedbygrace]

That’s pretty rare, but I suppose . . .

[goat granny]

I think your mistaking prey for predator...a dog is a predator animal. Prey is what they kill and eat. Wolf= predator, deer=prey....

[buffaloguy]

I did the same. Learned to watch very carefully for signs of rebellion or fear.

It paid off.

[from occupied ga]

“Why is it so important to have a pool (many children die every year in backyard pools); why is it so important to have a 4–wheel drive SUV (especially if you don’t live in a rural area that gets a lot of snow); why is it so important to have a gun (if you’re not a hunter, don’t live in a high crime area, how many storie

I have yet to see a pool, a SUV a gun, etc. get up and injure anyone on its own. Dogs are capable of independent action they are self aware and self motivated animals. They are NOT inanimate objects. Your analogy is totally false - akin to the arguments put out by the Luddites in the democratic party that want to do away with guns, SUVs, etc.

45% of all unintentional injury deaths occurred

So what? This discussion is not about deaths, but injuries. We are discussing injuries, not deaths, so quoting death statistics is irrelevant at best and more likely disingenuous, but definitely irrelevant.

There are millions of dogs of all sizes and breeds living in homes with children and the vast majority of these children and adults will never be bitten or injured by their dogs.

The actualy numbers from the CDC make this statement out to be false. 800,000 bitten severely enough to require medical attention yearly. 300 million people in the USA. Average lifespan 75 years. do the math. .8/300 = annual odds = .002667. Multiply by 75 year life span = 20% that a person will be bitten severely enough during their life to require medical treatment. Now if you just confine the pool to those who own dogs (Not necessarily true I know - only truing to simplify the math) then this becomes 300/75*.2 = 80%. Use the 4.6 million bitten (all bites not just severe ones) and the odds go up to virtual certainty.

[Altariel]

No, prey instinct is to either run from a predator OR (if circumstances warrant) fight the predator.

Predator instinct is to go for the throat and kill the prey.

[Altariel]

Are you saying Odhinn is very mild mannered and genteel in comparison?

:-)

On topic, it’s absolutely tragic that the dog and one-year-old were not both better supervised.