Updated: According to the child's mother, she apparently brought one of the Rottweilers indoors in order to give the dog a bath, and during the process, put the washer/granite in front of the door. When she was bathing the dog, the other Rottweiler (allegedly) came in and attacked the infant. However, because the door was unsecured, Deputy Thomas Gilliland said that it may be impossible to tell which dog was responsible for mauling the child.
The dogs have been described as "rottweilers, Chows and large mixed breeds", "4 Rottweilers and 5 Rottweiler mixes" and a variation of Rottweiler/pit bull mixes -- the dogs in the picture associated with this article are large, black mixed breed dogs. So based on that, i'm going with a mix of Rottweilers and mixed breed dogs -- but can't help but find humor in breed ID issues when pit bull mixes and chow mixes are now interchangable in appearance.
The child has been identified as Janet Vaughn.
*********
A three month old baby boy is tragically dead today after being attacked by a dog, owned by the family, yesterday afternoon.
According to the most recent reports, the family owned 9 dogs that all live outdoors. At around 4:00 yesterday afternoon, the woman was in the bathroom while the infant was in a swing in the living room. One of the dogs owned by the family, got through the outside door and got into the living room and attacked the infant. The mother had thought she had secured the door by putting a washing machine and a marble slab behind the door, but the dogs managed to push the door open any way and got to the child. It does seem odd to me that there was apparently no latch on the door to the outside of the home.
The child was declared dead at the hospital shortly after arrival.
The two dogs involved in the incident were described as a Rottweiler weighing 'at least 150 lbs' and anohter one weighing an estimated '200 lbs'. These sound abnormally large for Rottweilers....and may be slightly exaggerated by authorities.
Police removed all of the animals from the family....the dogs are being listed as 4 Rottweilers and 5 mixed breeds, although only the two Rottweilers ever made it into the home. While so me of the reports are calling the dogs "family dogs", it is unlikely that at 3 months old, any of them had had much, if any, socialization with the young infant.
While there are a small number of people who are pushing for a statewide law in Texas that would target 'pit bull' type dogs, their hysteria-creation only continues to put the emphasis on dog breeds instead of circumstances when it comes to dog attacks....and the importance of properly socializing dogs with newborns in a household and to provide adequate separation between the dogs and the child if there is no supervision.
My heart goes out to the family in this horribly attack. I will post more details as they become available.
This story was covered by about 30 media outlets....all in the state of Texas.
Very tragic case for sure. My heart goes out to the family too.
I can not emphasize enough the importance of developing a bond through familiarity during the first months a baby is home. This decreases the novelty of the baby and allows the dogs to adjust to the changes and different stages. Hard to say what "really" took place. Sad all around. If the dog/s indeed lived outside and were not included in daily routines interacting with their people then I would refer to them as 'resident dogs" vs. family dogs.
http://www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/resident This is a setup that can go very wrong for all involved. Dogs must be safely included in the lives of people to be able to develop the tools to be successful in a variety of circumstances. Dogs that live in homes and observe the daily routines and behaviors of all the people in their home environment have a good chance of being successful and adjusting to new family members. This situation is so sad and preventable. Again, as always, NEVER leave a baby where a dog MAY possibly have access to them.
Posted by: Jennifer Shryock | December 20, 2010 at 06:41 PM