10 day old child killed in Kalamazoo

A 10 day old infant was killed earlier this week after being fatally bitten by a dog. 

The mother laid the infant down for a nap and then, herself, went into a separate room and laid down for a nap.  While everyone was asleep, the dog, described as a 'pit bull', pushed open a door (clearly the door wasn't latched closed) and went into the infant's room and fatally bit the infant.

While some have used the incident to promote anti-pit bull agendas, since January 2008, there have been 14 newborn infants that have been killed by dogs in the US -- with 9 different breeds of dogs responsible for these attacks (including attacks by a Jack Russel Terrier and Labrador Retriever).  Efforts to educate new parents on how to a) separate dogs from infants and never leave them alone unsupervised and b) how to integrate dog and baby into a household together safely.  There are great resources for this type of information, and one of my favorites is Dogs and Storks.  While these incidents are very rare,  they are preventable with a little education...and focusing on breed is not the appropriate approach.

Comments

[Julie Muhlly]

Again it is the person not the dog. Who in their right mind would leave a 10 day old infant unattended with a dog, any dog. I certainly hope there are criminal charges coming.

[YesBiscuit!]

So sad. One of the things Dogs & Storks talks about is setting boundaries. This seems to be something we have lost touch with as a society, and not just with regard to dogs.

[Dori Thomas]

Thank you for writing about this and providing a great source! Tragedy that can be prevented is the worst.

[mary]

it doesn't sound like the mother did anything, wrong. She closed the door. To suggest that she should have "latched" the door is incredibly stupid. You should not have to lock up your baby to keep it safe from the family pet. I'm sorry, it is trajic and I love pit bulls but lets be real here. You do nothing to promote the breed by being defensive.

[Brent]

Mary, the door may have been closed, but it wasn't latched. It's not as if the dog turned the door knob to gain access to the room...so, at best, the door was pulled mostly closed and nudged open by the dog...but if the door had been completely closed, it is unlikely that the dog could have had access. I'm not trying to defend anything here...only noting that if you have a newborn infant, and a dog (regardless of breed), allowing the dog to have access to the room where the baby is sleeping while you sleep is not a good practice.

[Joanne Dixon]

Mary, I have read a number of articles regarding this death since I live in Michigan the state that this tragic event happened in. I do not believe anyone is to "blame" here, it was a tragic accident. I think what people are pointing out is that there may have been steps the mother should have thought about when having a dog in the home with an infant. I do know that the baby was in a bassinet not a crib. Bassinets tend to set lower to the ground which makes the baby more reachable to an animal. Bassinets are also usually portable. I used them for my new babies when born. However, I took the bassinet into the room I was sleeping in (however not all mothers would do this). Dog don't know what a baby is. They may even look at the baby as some sort of animal, especially with some of the noises they make. The dog could have looked at the baby more as a squirrel or possum for all we know. I don't think anyone wants to point a finger and say it is all Mom's fault. People are point out that it is not the dogs fault either because more precaution is need when you mix and newborn and animals with teeth.

[EmilyS]

the scenario makes no sense.
the dog pushed open a door, and then went into the room to kill a baby???

what was the motivator?

[Lisa in OH]

Baby could have been fussing and dog had not been socialized to child. Or dog had not been socialized with child, dog investigating new smells, thinks baby is a toy. It could have been any number of things. They are dogs.