Weekend dog bite fatality in Henderson, NV

Over the weekend, tragedy struck a Henderson, NV family.

On their child's 1st Birthday, the family gathered together and opened presents while the family dog was around. 

However, later in the evening, as the child's grandother got ready to put young Jeremiah Shanahan to bed, but as she went for the child, the child grabbed the dog on the sides to pull himself up (he is just learning to walk). When the child grabbed the dog, the dog spun around and attacked the child.h

By the time the boy's father broke up the rukus, the boy's injuries were severe and the boy later died at the hospital.

The family says the dog, described as a "Mastiff-Rhodesian Ridgeback mix" as always friendly, well socialized with the child, and even upon leaving he home, seemed oblivous to the damage he had done.

This is a horrible tragedy for the family. It continues to reinforce that children and dogs need to be supervised together at all times, being cautious of things a child might do to injure a dog.  It is also important to have a strong knowledge of dog behavior that allows you to recognize warning signs when the dog is with the child. This is why I have for years pushed for organizations like Family Paws that focus on dog owner education to help people understand how to keep children and dogs safe together. It's not that hard -- with a bit of education and a lot of diligence. They even have a toll-free hotline for people to call for help and advice.

I also think it further highlights why the clowns out there who insist that dog bites are a breed-specific issue are further causing more ignorance and getting us further from the eduation we need to prevent tragedies like this and are causing a lot of harm vs actually helping solve the problem.

My heart goes out to the family in this case.

The story has been picked up by 3 different news outlets.

Comments

[Laura G]

Well said, as always, Brent.

I think it's worth pointing out that dogs don't always intend for their bites to be as severe as they are. The same bite administered from one dog to another might cause little or no damage because dogs have protective coats and thicker skin than a toddler.

My heart goes out to this family as well.

[Brent]

Thanks Laura - and agree. But have to note that from the sounds of this, the dog did not intend this to be a warning bite that went wrong...it intended to inflict some damage.

[Jenn]

It so very sad all the way around. That baby was very loved, as was the dog. I just think that people can't read dog behavior well at all (as evidenced by all the freaky videos they post of their babies with their dogs on youtube labeled "dog LOVES baby" while the dog's body language is actually anything but and we can see a bite waiting to happen). It's good to push programs like Family Paws - they are so necessary. I wish that more hospitals would bring presenters in for pregnant moms. This baby was not left unsupervised with the dog, but we don't how comfortable the dog truly was with him. We also don't know the dog's health. Bad hips and hands, no matter how tiny, don't mix. So many unknowns when these tragedies happen - all we know is that they leave heartbreak in their midst.

[Laura Cheng]

Is the family going to do something with the dog?

[Brent]

While I haven't seen anything official, it does seem as if they plan to euthanize the dog.

[Lis C]

This might be an artifact of my being the relatively late-in life child of two parents who were, respectively, the last and next-to-last children of large families, but Grandma with 1yo and large, powerful dog does not, in my mind, automatically equal "supervision." Not effective supervision, anyway.

Granted, my mother when my niece was a year old was much more effective and confident in handling my sister's dog. But, OTOH, when she was alone with baby and dog, the baby wasn't on the floor with the dog. Either the baby was in a playpen, or the dog was in the kitchen behind the baby gate.

I cannot imagine what that family is going through, now. And I cannot imagine either that they would be comfortable with the dog in the house now, especially if they plan to have additional children, OR that there will be any realistic options for rehoming the dog.

If the dog had bad hips or any other source of pain, it may not really be the dog's fault in any meaningful sense. Not every situation can be fixed, though, and if Brent is right that this wasn't a correction bite gone wrong but a real intention to cause damage, it would be tough to find the right person to take on the rehab of the dog. :(