Perth baby dies after dog attack
Email Print Normal font Large font August 28, 2007 - 12:24PM

Advertisement
AdvertisementA two-week old baby girl has been fatally attacked in her cot by the family dog as her parents watched television nearby.

The dog, a Siberian husky, had returned to the family's Perth home only hours before, after being kept at a relative's house during the child's first week at home.

On Tuesday night the girl's parents were "devastated" and under sedation, police said.

Their daughter died in Princess Margaret Hospital for Children early on Tuesday from serious head injuries inflicted by the pet at about 10pm on Monday night, as she lay in a bedroom of their home in south suburban Willeton.

Police said the couple were watching television when the dog attacked.

"They heard a noise coming from the bedroom, they went to investigate ... and saw that their pet dog had hold of the two-week old baby and basically pulled the baby out of the cot," said Detective Sergeant Jason Beesley.

"They didn't believe the dog was inside, it was meant to be outside and it was just an unfortunate, tragic accident, basically," he said.

The baby was the only daughter in a family of four or five children, he said.

The dog, believed to be about five years old, was on Tuesday at a veterinary hospital and a decision was to be made by the parents about its future.

RSPCA WA spokeswoman Marianne Ellis said the attack highlighted the importance of dog training and supervising pets and children.

"No matter how well you think you know your pet, you can never predict how they will react in different situations ...," Ms Ellis said.

Canine Association of WA president Phil Thompson said Siberian huskies were generally agreeable companions.

"It just seems to be a one-off freak accident," Mr Thompson said.

"Dogs can show possessive natures.

"Siberian huskies are not that sort of dog."

Oh my God

Oh how awful!!

Seriously I am not at ALL an animal lover and this is the reason why. Pet owners always want to chalk this shit up to being a "freak accident" or "isolated occurance". Whatever. Animals and young children do not mix.
Damnit this makes me so damned mad.
Horrific way for a newborn to die. Or anyone for that matter. That poor baby. This just makes me enraged.

I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like for the parents...

Growing up, my father never let us have any pets. I always thought it was cruel of him, but this was one of his phobias.

alwayslate said:

this is horrible and very sad, but you have to remember that not all animals do this. i had 4 different dogs growing up, and none of them even growled at me.

omg. so so sad.

I got light headed reading that. Just horrible

my sister has a husky, and a baby

her dog has killed a sheep before

That animal should be put down for the sake of their other children and possible future children.

luv4u said:

if it was my baby I would've killed that dog with my bare hands

there was a case like this I read about long ago. It is not uncommon for huskies to kill babies. It is also not uncommon for dogs to attack babies in swings.

There was a case in Tenneesee I think, where a dog attacked a 3 year old and the dad killed the dog with a bat, he was brought up on charges of cruel and inhuman punishment. I saw a clip of his testimony and he said the dog, who was his before his son was born, had his baby by the head and he just grabbed the bat and beat him until he let go. then they showed pictures of the boy. I will never forget that sight as long as I live.

the child survived
the dad was aquitted

I love my dog and I trust my dog..but I am vigilant. When small children come to my home I send him to his crate. It's better for all of us.

How terribly sad...

This part jumped out at me, though:

"The baby was the only daughter in a family of four or five children, he said."

Four OR five children?...Don't these parents know how many kids they have?

I have a co worker that is pregnant. She and her husband have a boxer/pit bull mix.

They have trained her. She is a precious dog. Very well behaved. Well socialized and loving.

Then I see stories like this and just get sick in the pit of my heart. How unbelievably sad.

I would not want ANY dog around a newborn, there is a case where a woman is claiming that a puppy absent mindedly the chewed off the feet of her newborn.

ufoclub said:

omg