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Mother: Ferret, not pit bull, gnawed off baby's toes (I am speechless)
The Dallas Morning News / The Associated Press ^ | 12/20/06 | Associated Press

Posted on 12/20/2006 8:54:01 PM PST by paulat

Mother: Ferret, not pit bull, gnawed off baby's toes

BENTON, La. – The parents of a month-old girl whose toes were gnawed off while they slept apparently disagree about whether the culprit was their ferret or their 6-week-old pit bull.

Mary Hansche, 22, told KTBS-TV on Tuesday that she thinks it was the ferret. "The way the bite marks were on her foot. The ferret being out of its cage. I knew it wasn't the dog," she said.

[snip]

"We were told that the puppy had blood on its fur. But when the officers arrived there, the animal did not have blood on its mouth," he said.

Natale said which animal did it won't affect charges against the Hansches, who were booked Dec. 10 on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence and remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bond each.

[snip]

Their daughter has been released from the hospital and is in state custody.

The Hansches were asleep on a mattress on the floor and the baby in a carrier next to the mattress when her cries woke them, police have said. They were not tested for alcohol or drugs, since such tests would not be needed to prove the charges, Natale said Wednesday.

Defense attorney Pam Smart said she is waiting for results of a hair analysis to back up the couple's statement that they were not using drugs.

[snip]

She also said their bonds are too high for misdemeanors. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled next month.

Both pets were released from quarantine but will remain in the Bossier City animal shelter until the court case is over, Natale said. Either the court or the city may decide their fate, he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: child; dogs; ferrets; idiots; pitbull; rdo; stupid
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To: Trust but Verify

Your cats look beautiful on your furniture. Did you pick the furniture to complement your cats or do they just look gorgeous on anything they sit on??


221 posted on 12/21/2006 8:41:27 PM PST by GOPPachyderm
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To: paulat

I'm going to guess it was the toddler/preschooler aged boy.

I would guess the ferret if the baby was missing one toe, not four. Ferrets typically attack and run. They are bred with wiesels and that is how they keep from being bit by snakes. They go in, bite and leap back.

I can easily see this baby crying, and crying, and crying, the mother and father sleeping and the boy scared and wanting the baby to stop. My thoughts are the boy kept biting his sister to stop the noise.


222 posted on 12/21/2006 8:57:37 PM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: TNdandelion

I won't tell, but I saw hime first!


223 posted on 12/21/2006 9:15:43 PM PST by ShandaLear (Perfect People Need Support, too.)
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To: Calpernia

OMG...that is sick! But not beyond comprehension. We will hear more about this case in days to come.


224 posted on 12/21/2006 9:16:36 PM PST by paulat
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To: Calpernia
I wonder where he was when this happened.

Don't have the link at hand but I read the 2 year old was with the Grandmother at the time.

225 posted on 12/21/2006 9:28:07 PM PST by kanawa (Don't go where you're looking, look where you're going.)
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To: paulat; kanawa

Scratch my thought on it being the toddler. He may not have been in the house.

How about one of the 'adults'? I use that term loosely since they don't seem to act like ones.


226 posted on 12/21/2006 9:31:46 PM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Eclectica
It looks like the parents changed their story to save the puppy (and "lose" the ferret).

There is another alternative.
They left the puppy and the ferret out.
Awaking from a drunken stupor
and while concerned for the baby
they are also panicking about the trouble they are in.
Do they admit they left the ferret out, a clearly irresponsible thing to do?
Or do they blame it on the 6 week old puppy which could be argued was an unforeseen danger?

227 posted on 12/21/2006 10:04:24 PM PST by kanawa (Don't go where you're looking, look where you're going.)
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To: Calpernia

From what I read they are doing hair tests on the mother, not sure about the father.

They should never have custody of that child again nor ever own any animals.

I am in total agreement with you. No children and no animals ever. ~~Pandora~~


228 posted on 12/21/2006 10:13:32 PM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: paulat
From what I know from ferrets attacking both my dobies and akitas that ferret would have ripped that little puppy up. My dog had his ear really ripped up by a ferret, to the tune of a few hundred dollars. My dogs were scared of the ferrets but I had 5 I was watching for a friend. Another one got my akita by the back of her neck and I had to whack it with a broom to get it off her. I hate the nasty little stinkers. I think I used the broom a few times on them. They were constantly escaping from the cage and I never figured out how. I also lost a couch and a rug. They love to shred and rip up stuff.
229 posted on 12/21/2006 10:19:13 PM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: KJC1
"Great story though for pit haters to decide it was the pit..."

I haven't read to many stories about cocker spaniels attacking and killing people.

230 posted on 12/21/2006 10:24:07 PM PST by TheLion (How about "Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement," for a change)
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To: mamelukesabre
I think you meant to say;

"I bet it was the pit. Those things are mean. And if there's a live 6-week-old pup in the house, the ferret aint all that mean now is he!?!

:)

231 posted on 12/21/2006 10:40:05 PM PST by Jonx6
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To: John Robertson

Vizslas rock!


232 posted on 12/22/2006 3:24:30 AM PST by Eaker (You were given the choice between war & dishonor. You chose dishonor & you will have war. -Churchill)
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To: kanawa

Good grief-the comments from the dog alarmists are even more nasty than usual-talk about your Christmas spirit-

The parents of that poor baby are either meth heads or mentally retarded-people like that are what jokes that make fun of that state are about.

That said, when I was a kid my brother and I, along with assorted cousins used to visit my grandparents for a couple of weeks in the summer. There was an 8 foot high stucco wall between the next door neighbor's property and my grandparents', and the neighbor had a big bulldog named General. It was NOT a nice dog, and we were all terrified of him, but one of our favorite games to play was to walk along the top of the wall in a line, trying to push the kid in front of you off into the yard where General was barking and snarling and lunging at the wall. One of my cousins eventually fell/was pushed into the yard and was immediately set upon by the bulldog and badly bitten. Did my grandparents demand that the neighbors shoot their dog? No, but they certainly did not spare the scoldings and spankings for kids that play stupid, dangerous games involving other peoples' property...


233 posted on 12/22/2006 5:20:07 AM PST by Texan5 (You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line...)
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Comment #234 Removed by Moderator

To: Eaker

Vizslas rock!

Oh, yeah.


235 posted on 12/22/2006 6:24:18 AM PST by John Robertson (Even if we disagree now, we may agree later. Or vice versa.)
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To: KJC1

So many things wrong here, but a 6 week old puppy shouldn't even be away from the litter yet. And what kind of idiots leave a ferret or puppy loose where they have unsupervised access to a helpless tiny baby?
susie


236 posted on 12/22/2006 7:39:09 AM PST by brytlea (amnesty--an act of clemency by an authority by which pardon is granted esp. to a group of individual)
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To: kinoxi

For the record, I've known many dog aggressive dogs who were NOT in the least aggressive toward humans. In the dog's mind, for some reason, they can see the difference between the two. BTW the dog aggressive dogs I'm talking about are golden retrievers, not pits. The few pits I've been around have mostly been marshmallows. Clearly you've had a different experience and I'm sorry that you are so terrified of the breed. Maybe you could seek counseling?
susie


237 posted on 12/22/2006 7:43:16 AM PST by brytlea (amnesty--an act of clemency by an authority by which pardon is granted esp. to a group of individual)
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To: paulat

My daughter has two ferrets. They do nibble, and can draw blood, and are by nature carnivors. But, they did not harm my granddaughter.

We have two Amstaff/pits. We have adopted our third after our first rescue dog died of old age. None of mine have ever injured my grandaughter, of course I never let a 75 dog of any kind to be around my granddaughter when she was a new born...the dog gets under your feet and can trip you while carrying a baby.


238 posted on 12/22/2006 8:11:36 AM PST by Sensei Ern (http://www.myspace.com/reconcomedy - Time's 2006 Person of the Year)
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To: brytlea
Morons. People who don't have a clue about babies or animals. How they slept through the baby's crys I can't imagine. That baby had to have been screaming her head off. I hope that these two go to jail and never get that child back. They shouldn't have animals either. As for the pup being 6 wks old, some breeders will let a puppy go that young if it can eat on its own. Its too bad as 8 weeks is much better as they learn to socialize etc with their litter mates. Sometimes the mother can't feed them anymore and the breeder needs to get them away from the mother and will let them go then. It depends on the breeder, I know some who keep pups until 12 weeks. A 6 wk old puppy should never be allowed to wander around a house anyway. I always said it was the ferret, they are known to go after toes. They have nasty sharp teeth too. I just hope that poor child will be ok and be with a family who will give her the love and care she deserves.
239 posted on 12/22/2006 8:16:34 AM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: paulat

I have a hard time reconciling these two statements:

"booked Dec. 10 on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence"

"The Hansches were asleep on a mattress on the floor and the baby in a carrier next to the mattress when her cries woke them."

If the only problem was that a ferret was not caged, that is hardly criminal negligence. And a baby sleeping next to your mattress where you are sleeping is certainly not desertion.

I don't get it.


240 posted on 12/22/2006 8:18:40 AM PST by RobRoy
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