2 Family Dogs Kill Newborn Baby At Home In California


Two family dogs killed a newborn baby in Fresno, California, on Monday. Police say the dogs mauled a 3-day-old baby after her mother left her on the couch and “walked away for a few seconds,” according to ABC News. The baby was died at the hospital later that day.

Fresno Police Sgt. Dan Macias tells the Fresno Bee that the baby girl’s mother had left the door open because it was hot and she thought the two dogs were tied up in the back yard. Macias says both dogs were male, and owned by the woman’s brother. One of the canines is a Shar-pei mix, and the other is a Pit Bull. The owner surrendered the dogs to the Central California Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SPCA spokesman Walter Salvari says the dogs will be euthanized.

The newborn, the woman, and her brother were the only ones inside the home at the time the two dogs killed the baby.

Authorities are investigating the tragedy and Macias says charges haven’t been ruled out.

In April, 2016, another 3-day-old baby was viciously attacked and killed by a family dog in Mira Mesa, California. The newborn’s parents were in bed watching television when their Great Dane-terrier mix reacted to the mother’s cough. According to CBS 8, the mother’s cough startled the dog and caused it to fatally bite the baby. The baby was pronounced dead at the hospital.

An investigation by detectives led them to believe it was a “just a tragic accident.”

The 2-year-old neutered male dog was taken into custody by the county’s Department of Animal Services. The animal had to undergo a 10-day quarantine to make sure he wasn’t rabid. DAS spokesman Dan DeSousa said the dog would’ve been euthanized unless his owners decided to reclaim him. DeSousa said the dog had no known prior history of dangerous aggressiveness.

A dog behavior expert, Angie Woods, weighed in on why family dogs attack. In an interview with Atlanta’s WGCL-TV, Woods helped to decode why family dogs attack or kill babies and children. She said certain dogs don’t like or know how to respond to certain situations, things, or children.

“It’s almost always a nervous situation. When a dog retreats, backs up, puts their ears back, shows you fear or hesitation to a child, that should be a red flag,” Woods said. “They are communicating to you they’re not comfortable.”

Woods wasn’t shocked to hear that a family’s pet of eight years in Fulton County attacked and killed their 2-year-old child.

“One question for me, was he socialized with children early on? Was he acclimated to them or was he nervous about them?” Woods said. “This is not a breed-specific problem, so I don’t want people to think anti-Pit Bull dog sentiments.”

When family dogs kill a baby, many wonder why or how this could happen at home. Woods says under no circumstances would she leave a child alone with one of her dogs.

“All dogs have teeth, any dog can bite. A child could just fall on a dog and an accidental bite could occur,” Woods said. “We must never leave our children alone with a dog, no matter how much we trust them.”

Victoria Stilwell is a dog behavior consultant whose show, It’s Me or the Dog, has aired on Animal Planet for eight years. She said many things could trigger a family dog to attack. In the event of a 2-year-old being killed, she highlighted the behavior of children and how it can alarm a dog.

“Why now with just a 2-year old kid? Two-year old kids aren’t really in control of themselves. You don’t know if that kid fell over the dog, the dog was asleep, startled woke up and bit,” Stilwell said.

In the case of family dogs killing a baby while the parent stepped out for a few moments, it’s unclear what may have set the animals off. As Woods pointed out, it might have been due to the dogs’ discomfort over a new situation they hadn’t yet adjusted to.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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