Infant Mauled By Dog Faces ‘Long Recovery’
Published: February 5, 2009
Updated: February 6, 2009
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—A 7-month-old boy mauled by a pit bull terrier will live but “has a long recovery ahead of him,“ a city police spokesman said.
The infant, whose name police withheld, was bitten by the dog Monday in the home of his baby sitter, Newport News police officer Lou Thurston said yesterday. The baby sitter, who was with the baby at the time, managed to pry the dog off him with the help of her teenage son, Thurston said.
The baby suffered “significant injuries to the face and neck” and remains in critical condition at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, where he was airlifted by emergency helicopter.
The dog, a 1 1/2-year-old neutered male pit bull, was euthanized at the local SPCA facility at the request of the baby sitter, said city spokeswoman Kim Lee.
Police would not identify the baby sitter and said they were trying to decide whether to charge her with child neglect.
The dog attacked around 7:30 a.m. Monday as the baby lay on his stomach on the floor of the baby-sitter’s home, police said. It’s not clear what set the dog off, Thurston said, but the baby sitter, with her son’s help, stopped the dog before it could shake the baby.
Lee said the dog had no record of violent behavior. The baby sitter, who also owns two Rottweilers and a Chow, readily gave up the pit bull to be euthanized, Lee said.
The baby was rushed to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News and quickly flown by helicopter to the trauma center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He later was transferred to the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters.
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Reader Reactions
To fwooperkeeper I want to thank you for pointing out all breeds are dangerous. Weather it be a poodle or a pit every dog is unpredcitable. So Thank You for that now maybe other who are so closed minded to Pits and Rotts alone with get a clue or maybe some simple common sense.
Duh… when are we going to have classes in public schools to educate future parents… things like ‘don’t shake the baby’ ...and ‘all animals are unpredictable’... and ‘don’t leave small children alone with animals’?
Oh, my 200lb chimp was such a ‘good boy’. My chihuahua didn’t mean to chew the baby’s fingers off. And don’t make the excuses for one breed, now this breed, etc. Animals are unpredictable. Strong animals are dangerous. Don’t leave helpless kids alone. Esp. with animals. DUH. Babysitter with a pit bull… there’s an oxymoron… or just plain moron.
I am a property appraiser and have been in 100s of homes. I have never met a mean pit and I’ve met dozens. I have however, been attacked by two dogs. The chihuahua was particularly vicious, ripping into my jeans and requiring the owner to pry its jaws off. Thankfully, I do not wear shorts when appraising or I would have been bitten severely. This past month a chow killed a two-week old baby who’d been on the floor with him.
Pits have a bad rep now. Ten years ago it was the Doberman with the bad rep. In another ten years it will be a different breed. It’s not the breed of the dog; it’s the genetic line, the inbreeding; the way it was raised and socialized; and the factors that caused the dog to bite. When I was ten years old I was bitten by a poodle who had been raised by a senior lady and had no patience with kids. Don’t blame every dog in a breed for being vicious. A bite from a Pit seems to automatically make the news now; but how many other people have been bitten by a mutt or a small poodle and it’s not reported on because it’s not newsworthy?
It seems as if a lot of people are unaware that small infants and children
may be viewed by dogs as “wounded prey”
This means that if you have an infant or small child, you need to protect that child by insuring that they are never in close proximity to dogs. I strongly believe that if this was the norm, there would be much fewer of these reports. I also pray for the recovery of the child in this story.
If your neighbors own a pit that you don’t know, keep a gun. My neighbors know & love my pit. She has gotten loose twice in 8 yrs. Both times my neighbors brought her back. Be more afraid of the neighbors than the dogs!!!!
If your neighbor owns a pit bull, Keep loaded shotgun in hand’s reach.. Yes that’s right..
I can remember when I was about 3 years old geting bit in the face by a “cute” little doggie. It was Halloween and the owner had their dog dressed up for the occassion. As I reached down to pet the dog someone stepped on its tail and in an instant I was the recipient of the bite—not the person who stepped on his tail causing his pain and reaction. This was an accident. Now as far as a Pit goes—they have extremely strong jaw muscles and may I add, so does a Great Dane—ever hear of a Great Dane attack? How about a fox terrier? When we brought my daughter home from the hospital in 87, we had a terrier that would protect her from visitors—you could not get near the crib without myself or daddy present. A couple years later, the same protective dog went after my daughter—the only thing that saved her was the fact that she was climbing up onto the couch to go behind my legs—the dog got my legs instead of my daughter. The dog was subsequently euthanized-yes not Killed or destroyed—because this dog had never had a problem before—something just set him off. and of course there is never a history of anything until it happens.
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Home > News> State Regional—- Infant Mauled By Dog Faces ‘Long Recovery’
Bill Geroux/Media General News Service (Newport News VA)
Published: February 5, 2009
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—A 7-month-old boy mauled by a pit bull terrier will live but .....
....
The dog ... was euthanized ....
COMMENT: The word is killed or destroyed—euthanized is a word for killing a seriously injured or seriously ill animal.
Lee said the dog had no record of violent behavior. ....
COMMENT: ... until now.
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January 06 Feb 09 at 7:33 am
Why do we never hear of injuries to people from other dogs?
COMMENT: Other dogs do bite: beagle, lab, scotty, st bernard, german police, and even eensy “cute” dogs. Most others do not have the strong jaw muscles of a pit.
.... Animals are just that, animals. .... It probably thought the baby was a toy.
COMMENT: And as animals, they should be secured in an environment where they can not attack people. No innocent person should suffer injury because any animal thinks or acts that it is o.k. to attack.
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critz33 05 Feb 09 at 7:00 pm
.... ... this dog for instance maybe got jealous, after all, all dogs not just these 2 breeds are very possesive and maybe this one felt threatend.
COMMENT: This dog should have been in an environment making it impossible to attack.
People need to handle each situation accordingly and stop automatically blaming the Pitt or the Rott for every little thing there is when it comes to dogs.
COMMENT:The attack in this case was hardly a “little thing,“ albeit limb and face transplants are medically possible.
Present law does not permit destroying or “euthanizing” obtuse owners. Perhaps mandating that a prospective owner be required to have an associate or comparable certificate in veterinary medicine before acquiring a dog with a propensity to go into an attack mode, would be a good idea.
I am so tired of people defending these pit bull attacks. Anyone who has children and owns a pit bull is an idiot!
The reason you never hear about other dogs biting people is because most dogs don’t leave their victims in critical condition or dead.
I’ve heard that old and over used comment that “well, my kids used to ride that dog like a horse,“ and when I heard it was right after my daughter was bit by a dog in the face which bit clear through her lips and caused permanet scarring.
Stop defending vicious dogs! Let’s get back to common sense!
She NEVER should’ve left that baby lying on the floor with the dog in the first place. Doesn’t matter what kind of dog it was, It still attacked that baby.
You never know when A GOOD PIT is going to attack. My friend had 4 pits, very loveable, but I would never leave my 7 year old unattended with the pits…
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