[Illusion]

Boy, 8 months old, is killed by family dog in Maryland

By Justin Wm. Moyer
March 24 at 12:59 PM

An 8-month-old boy was killed Thursday in Calvert County when the family’s pit bull attacked him, authorities said.

Officers responded about 1 p.m. to Prancer Court in Lusby, Md., for the report of a dog attack, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The deputies, who arrived within a minute of the call, saw the family’s pit bull attacking the boy — who was in the care of a family friend — and shot the animal to stop the attack. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

At a news conference Friday, Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans said that the pit bull was 6 to 8 years old and that the family had had it since it was a puppy. The dog attacked the baby “out of the blue,” he said.

“Our hearts are heavy after this tragic event,” Evans said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and everyone involved. No one should have to endure this type of traumatic event.”

The dog, which weighed about 65 pounds, had no history of being aggressive and would be tested for rabies, the sheriff said. The family friend, a female neighbor who unsuccessfully tried to stop the attack, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the sheriff said.


Evans said that no charges would be filed and that the victim’s name would not be released at the family’s request.


At the news conference, Tom Hejl, president of Calvert County’s Board of County Commissioners, said he favors pit bull restrictions in the county. The dogs have been outlawed in neighboring Prince George’s County for more than two decades.

“I would hope that it would actually spur some conversation,” he said.

Evans said the last fatal dog attack in Calvert County was in 2006 when a group of pit bulls killed their owner.

https://www.washingtonpost.com

[Desensitisation]

6-8 years old is sadly the age I see most pit bull and Staffordshire terriers suffering from early-onset canine geriatric cognitive dysfunction, or dementia. The condition is over-represented in the breed, among a few others. Bad news when it does happen, though in this case the dog was in the care of a friend, so I wonder what else triggered the attack. Anything that squeals around these dogs usually ends up dead when the prey-drive kicks in, hence why I don't recommend having any large-breed dogs around little kids at all.

Poor kid.

[Oswald2001]

"Oh, they're good around children. They love little kids!"

[lkduke3]

The article claimed the dog was in the care of someone other than the owner. Does this mean that the 8-month old baby was not part of the dog's "pack" or "family"? That too would explain the dog's behavior.

[CrunchyCripple]

Sadly, a lot of people think nothing of letting babies and kids crawl all over and get in the faces of family pets.

While a "Good Dog" will allow this to happen, many dogs have their limit.

People ignore/don't know the warning signs - and bad things happen.

Isn't ere a video on this site of a mother video taping her baby crawling on the dog and it grabs the baby by the face?

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by ianmd3000 ↗

Yes...

We're obviously referring to a clan of imbeciles here.

Of course, I would never claim they 'had it coming' or anything of the sort.

I would absolutely blame the imbecile family and note that they definitely had it coming.


The poor baby was totally innocent and did not have it coming, of course.

RIP little angel.

[U2Addict]

Originally Posted by Oswald2001 ↗

"Oh, they're good around children. They love little kids!"

For dinner, unfortunately.

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by U2Addict ↗

For dinner, unfortunately.

Yes.

And often as Chew Toys.

[Desensitisation]

Originally Posted by CrunchyCripple ↗

Sadly, a lot of people think nothing of letting babies and kids crawl all over and get in the faces of family pets.

While a "Good Dog" will allow this to happen, many dogs have their limit.

People ignore/don't know the warning signs - and bad things happen.

Isn't ere a video on this site of a mother video taping her baby crawling on the dog and it grabs the baby by the face?

I see far too many parents letting their kids do this, and it makes me cringe every time. I love dogs, a hell of a lot more than I like kids, but there's no way I want to see a kid get their face ripped off because the parents are fuckwits when it comes to handling dogs.

[Djurplagare]

When you prefer loving your dog more rather than to keep your kid safe..?
I hope people will understand that we need a dogs licence already to buy a dog, and it must be from a kennel, not the parking space.