14 month old boy mauled.

[samsaccount]

As some of us on here suspected rottweilers are once again back in the papers, as another child has been mauled. I just hope that even with these bad incidents that the whole breed does not get slated again. I read about this in the metro today.

"A toddler was savages by his grandparents' rottweiler yesteday - the second such attack in less than a week. The 14 month old boy, identified only as Harvey, was saved by a neighbour who beat the dog with a hammer. Mike Pepper, 66, was doing DIY outside his house when he heard screams. He said: 'I ran down the street and Harvey was lying on his back in the drivway, covered in blood. His grandmother was kneeling, trying to shield Harvey. There were bite marks all over his body.' The dog, called Tyler, was tied up on a lead in the garden. He then turned on Mr Pepper, so the retired consultant smashed him on the head with the hammer. 'He was stunned and taken aback but he carried on barking' he added. Yesterday's attack - in the villiage of Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex - came just three days after five-month old Cadey-Lee Deacon was mauled to death by ger grandparents' Rottweiller in Leicester. Harvey was in a serious but stable condition in hospital. Tyler was later destroyed. Another neighbour, Rachel Frye, said the dog had a reputation for barking and howling. Se added: 'I saw little Harvey carried to an ambulance. It was terrible.'

My thoughts go out to poor Harvey and his family, hope he recovers soon. I hope this makes parents or adults with childern in their care to be weary of mixing both dogs and children together for...just in case.

 

[WishfulThinker]

This is going to give rottweilers a bad name! But personally i would say its not exactly bright ot leave young children and dogs unattended!
When I was 1 and a bit my mum and i were at a zoo and she turned round to see an alsatian with my Face in its mouth (I still have small scars). It was NOT attacking me though, it simply went for the ice cream I had on my face.
A lot of dogs cant distinguish between a child being a human and a toy - especially if its the size of a doll - especially a doll they might have played with - a bit like you NEVER give a dog one of those fake shoe toys to chew as it WILL chew your real shoes.

But the 1st two were vicious, and trained to be as they were guard dogs. Why that baby was anywhere near them I cant imagine!"

 

[tw1nn1ejo]

ooo that sounds awful! i hope the poor boy will get better soon!

 

[prose]

I obviously hope the poor child makes a full recovery but how idiotic are those parents, leaving a dog (not even their own) and a child unattended.

Things must be slow in the world, that's all I can say, if newspaper editors are out to punish certain dog breeds once again.

And yes, I have been bitten several times by Jack Russells scampering around farmland but that doesn't mean I have a thing against all terriers -- only negligent owners.

 

[patchandloopy]

have to agree with you there-why leave a child with a rotty-its bound to end up in trouble.

IF there was an accident and the dog escaped into the room with a child, then fair enough its a tragic accident, but when you get children walking up to a dog they or the dog doesnt know, and it bites the child surely its the childs fault for walking up and trying to stroke a dog?? I know that hasnt happned in these cases but they do happen and will be highlighted even more now becuase of recently.

I hope the child makes a full recovery and my thoughts are with those that have lost.

 

[Onyxia]

Both atacks are tragic and devastating for the familys- but how many dogs are there in the UK? Around 6 million isnt it?And roughly 500 cases a year are brought for dangerous behaviour- IMHO thats not bad at all.
Its so sad rotties are going to get slated over this(again).A few years back a lab ripped ope the stomach of a toddler no-one was calling for labs to be banned.

We all know that a dog has the potential to be a danger, its us (the parents and owners) who need to make sure that dogs are not left unsupervised with our children-just in case.

ETS
Acording to news reports this rottie was known to be a liability, so why was the child allowed near him to begin with?

 

[GinaB]

No child should <u>ever</u> be allowed unsupervised with <u>any</u> kind of dog. No matter how good natured it is. Rotties do not deserve this bad name they are getting. As it was shown in the first case, they were both used and trained as guard dogs so of course there is going to be a visciousness about them. As for this little boy, I havent heard much about it.

I know a guy owns two rotties, Sasha and Eli and people keep giving him really dirty looks and some woman had a go at him about the pair of them. And yet they have the most caring affectionate nature. Blame the owners, not the breed. Unless they becoming that inbred but selfish breeders that this is happening

 

[Nic]

Did anyone see the news last night, footage of Rotties with scary barking that was clearly not coming from the dog on film, then there was the horror flic type music in the background. Talk about deamonising an animal

 

[k9h]

No child however young should be left unattended with a dog. I do hope they make a good recover &amp; that they are not physically or emotionally scarred for life 'cus one of the best loves in life is what you can get from a dog.Rotties should not get a bad name again for this as it is how they are brought up not the breed as to their manners. I had a friend up the road who over the years has had 4 Rotties &amp; all of them have been soft as. My Uncle years ago lost his Corgie when our Farm house burnt down. My Mum bought him a replacement but after a while the dog started having fits. My Brother was only a baby at the time &amp; although the Corgie loved him my Uncle wouldn't take the risk of it having a fit whilst in the room with my Bro &amp; then her doing harm to him by accident so he had her PTS. Just so that there wasn't the slightest risk of an accident happening.

 

[Gingernags]

I have to say I'd trust a rottie far more than a terrier! Especially those little yorkies! We used to have one next door years ago and it was downright evil, they used to leave it out and it would go for you when you walked past the house - it would run out onto the pavement and bite you.

I guess the difference is due to its sheer size, a rottie can kill.

I think the whole welfare law situation needs a good looking at and the police should be ablew to take animals away from irresponsible owners - so when you get footage of those idiots training the dog to attack - they should be banned for life from keeping them and the dog impounded.

Plus we need to get puppy farms totally removed as lets face it, you don't get well balanced animals from those horror places - and really start making owners take responsibility for their pets.

I know we are careful with the whippets, I know they are little dogs really, but if a toddler ran away from them - they would chase - its their nature, so they would never be loose near anything like that.

 

[EllieBeast]

this really makes me sad, we have had rotties for over 20 years, all have been total softies. our current bitch is 20 months old, and THE soppiest dog you could ever meet. people in our village have known her since a pup, and we have never had a problem with people being scared of her - until now. people who would previously approach us to make a fuss of her cross the street to avoid us - now that is ignorance. tighter laws need to be put in place about the breeding and training of these dogs. my pup had already reached gold level in the kennel clubs 'good citizen' awards sheme before she was 18 months old. these are highly trainable dogs, but unfortuanately, people seem to be attracted to their 'hard-man' image.
Sarah xXx

 

[Nic]

I'll second that CT i am not a yorkie fan, my Dad was bit on the leg by one of his customers yorkies (1 of 5!).

 

[EllieBeast]

i was attacked by a yorkie aged 4. i find them a lot less tolerant.
Sarah

 

[kbt2661]

They are calling for Rotti's and other dangerous dogs to be muzzled when in public places but both these attacks took place in the dogs homes, are they therefore to be muzzled at all times then????

 

[Gingernags]

That would just be inhumane though, having them muzzled at all times.

Personally I think its a shame you can't insist you have to have some common sense to own a dog...

Actually I'm a big believer in the idea of not being able to own a pet of any kind unless you can look after it and have done some basic course or been assessed - saying that you could apply that to having kids

Can't see really what more they can do. These were tragic accidents but not really the dogs fault, it was an accident by the sounds of it that the first two got in with the baby.

 

[kbt2661]

I have GSD's and all though they are the soppiest things ever I am very cautious when we have visitors with young children, at the end of the day they are animals and cannot control their natural instincts. Would you leave a small child in a stable with a horse for example - it may not actually attack the child but could certainly do some serious damage.

 

[galaxy]

Please don't immediately blame the parents!!

I know this child and his Mum very well, and I would like to say that she is one the the best, most loving, caring mothers I have ever met and would never "just leave a child unattended with a dog" as some have accused her of. Can every parent on here say that they watch their child 24 hours a day? I don't think so, it's not physically possible. I know that this was just a freak accident, and that they would never let Harvey just go and say hello to a strange dog. I know what his Mum was like when he met my horse!! He wouldn't have been out of their sight for more than a few seconds when this happened - trust me!

It is unfortunate that it has had tragic consequences, and I hope that certain breeds don't get too bad a reputation. But please realised that this little boy's mother is a truly excellent mother, and to me the message that this shows is that this can happen to anybody and you can never be conplacent.

 

[PapaFrita]

[ QUOTE ]
No child should <u>ever</u> be allowed unsupervised with <u>any</u> kind of dog. No matter how good natured it is.

[/ QUOTE ]
Quite right!!

[ QUOTE ]
Blame the owners, not the breed. Unless they becoming that inbred but selfish breeders that this is
happening

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, quite right again. We've got Dobes and they're sweethearts. i would never, EVER leave them with a child unattended though!

 

[Sooty]

This would never have made the news if it hadn't been for the death of the baby at the weekend. Sad, but these things happen all the time.

 

[samsaccount]

Quote:
This would never have made the news if it hadn't been for the death of the baby at the weekend. Sad, but these things happen all the time.


I totally agree with that!! Once again there was another story about a child been bitten by a dog in todays Metro. I do not have the artical for this one so I do appologise, as far as I remember a small child of I think four years of age was bitten by a pit bull (if i reemember correctly). This was the second time the dog had attacked him with the past few months, the owner of the dog may be facing a prison sentance. Although it is a very horrible thing to happen under any circumstance, more so if it happens to a child but I agree that these things happen all the time unfortunatly and never make it into the papers until the baby was killed (r.i.p).

 

[joshesmum]

I agree children shouldnt be left alone with dogs but how would we feel if it had happened to one of our kids? Animals are unpredictable and you cant always blame the owners.

 

[TrecPeter]

This is all tragic.
See also http://etat.geneve.ch/dt/site/agricultur...d_actualites=13