I'm going to start with noting that all dog bite fatalities are tragic. But they are exceedingly rare -- with only about 25-30 happening each year in spite of there being over 78 million owned dogs in this country. However, they can and do happen, andwhen they do, it is usually a tragic set of circumstances that led up to the incident.
This case is no different.
In Beaverdam, OH, a 3 day old infant, Makayla Darnell, was tragically bitten by the family dog. The child was left in a swing while the parents were in another room. The dog was left alone with the infant, and apparently bit the child in the head. The child died of injuries 5 hours later. The dog is said to "look like a pit bull mix".
While some are taking this as some type of vicious attack, it certainly doesn't seem like one. A 3 day old toddler would be very fragile and the fact that the child lived for several hours sure sounds more like a tragic "bite" than an "attack" -- and such a bite could have even come with the dog trying to pick the toddler up. There would be no wonder that the dog would be interested in the infant as the child had only been in the home for less than 2 days -- and this new smelling, living thing would be of interest to any dog. Unfortunately, this dog's interest ended up causing a fatal wound on the young child.
All of this is why it is imperative for new parents with young children to a) get some support even before birth for them and their dog prior to the child being born to help learn easy tips to acclimate the dog with the child -- I always recommend Family Paws as an outstanding resource for this and b) to always, ALWAYS supervise a dog and child's interactions for the first 5-6 years of life to have adult supervision to be sure nothing bad happens. If a parent cannot be there to watch the child and dog, then they should use baby gates, crates and doors to separate the two. I always wish the news media, and commenters, would focus more on this type of education when reporting stories instead of acting as if the dog's breed had anything to do with it.
It's a tragic incident -- but easily preventable and one that was done by a dog that likely wasn't even really aggressive.
My heart goes out to this family as they deal with this horrible time.
This story was picked up by over 250 media outlets from across the nation.
What kind of moron leaves a 3-day-old infant unattended with an animal of any kind for any reason?
Posted by: kate | May 19, 2012 at 12:30 PM
i would like to know why the autopsy says "blunt force trauma" it says nothing about bite marks on the infant. perhaps this should be looked into a little deeper. then again , people are so quick to blame a "pit bull type" dog for everything. it is tragic for sure, a life was lost and that is awful. but in my opinion if a dog bit a small infant there would be signs of that attack. from what i have read, that doesnt seem to be the case.
Posted by: jonathan provencher | May 20, 2012 at 11:28 AM
I think the word you keep using "toddler doesnt apply to a 3 day old baby. A toddler is a child of walking age. I only point this out so people who may not have children will know what ur talking about.
Posted by: Sally | May 20, 2012 at 04:41 PM
Can someone who has raised children sort this out for me? I am surprised to see that a 3-day-old child would be in a swing. Don't those depend on the child being old enough to hold his/her head up? Or is there something like a cradle that swings where that's not necessary?
Posted by: pitbull friend | May 20, 2012 at 11:38 PM
Okay, likw "pirvull friend" I'm confused by this story as well. I realize a three-day old infant is not a "toddler" (that's okay, Brent, you have a lot on your plate) but what in the world was a three day old infant doing in a swing? I had no children myself but I do watch my sister's children on occasion,and unless swings have changed dramatically you don't put three day old babies in swings! Perhaps someone young with an infant can weigh in on this one.
Posted by: kmk | May 21, 2012 at 09:55 AM
My children had the baby swing, and years later they did have one come out with a cradle you could hook to it. My daughter especially loved the swing... but not as an infant... to use a swing on an infant, especially that small, you have to use MAJOR padding all around it. both sides of head AND in front so it didn't flop forward. basically you would have to papoose it in place. If this were the case, the dog probably couldn't even SEE the babies face. If it made noises, the dog could have been trying to "find it". Dogs are very protective. Who knows what this dog was trying to do, but like mentioned in other posts, an attack is biting many times over, shaking, ripping. A bite is totally different. However this happened, if the baby was too much for the parents to handle at 3 days old, DON'T HAVE KIDS! Now the poor baby is dead, and I'm sure the dog will be too, if it isn't already.
Posted by: Cricket10182000 | May 21, 2012 at 01:17 PM
Infant swings are more like a cradle than like the seat-like swings. They are made for newborns and infants and the baby lays completely back in them. It seems to me that the dog must have somehow gotten underneath the swing and dumped the kid out of it or something, based on the "head trauma" diagnosis.
My question - if the parents were out of the room and didn't see it, how do they know it only lasted "a few seconds"?
Posted by: Becca | May 21, 2012 at 06:15 PM