Infant Mauled To Death By Family Pit Bull

An infant in Mount Vernon, Ohio, was mauled and killed by one of the family’s two pit bulls. The 1-month-old infant died after suffering severe injuries, including puncture wounds on his head. Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said on Friday that no charges would be filed against the infant’s 25-year-old father, who was looking after the boy when the incident took place. McConville said that preliminary investigations showed that the father had no intention of letting harm come to his child.

The incident took place on September 20, when the boy’s mother was out, Time reports. The father was reportedly taking a nap, and he woke up to discover that his son had been mauled in his bassinet. He immediately called 911. Both of the family dogs were reportedly removed from the house following the incident and have since been euthanized.

This isn’t an isolated incident involving aggressive pit bulls. Pit bulls were created by breeding bulldogs and terriers together. They were meant to be fighting dogs for blood sport, and as such were selectively bred to be aggressive and vicious. Today, a few hundred years later, such games are illegal, but the breed lives on and with a bad reputation.

Many people argue that pit bulls are not vicious breeds by birth, and it is the owners of these dogs that lead them into becoming vicious. While it is true with any large/working breed of dogs that an inexperienced owner can lead it to become aggressive and vicious, incidents of aggression from pit bulls are more commonly reported than with other breeds, possibly owing to the bad reputation.

The United Kennel Club, the second oldest Kennel Club in the United States and possibly the world’s largest performance dog registry, describes the characteristics of the American pit bull terrier as strong, confident, and having a zest for life. They are also said to make good family dogs and are good with children.

While many pit bulls are gentle and happy family dogs, incidents such as these have led several countries around the world and some states in the U.S. to impose restrictions and in some cases outright bans on the ownership of the breed.

[Featured Image by Sanit Fuangnakhon/Shutterstock]