One Year Old Child Attacked By Dog

"Unfortunately, we were made aware, while we were here on scene, that this is not the first time something like this has happened. My understanding is that...there has been a dog attack episode at this residence here before. My understanding is that the owner was cited at that time, and...the dogs have actually been deemed dangerous animals," Salazar said.

 

We don’t have the full story in this article. I can’t re-create the scenario, so this is a developing story. But, here are my initial reactions.

 

First, a 1-year-old isn’t going to do too well if attacked by a dog. Horrible. The indications to me from reading other articles makes me think that the situation is grave.

 

I wonder why the dogs targeted the infant. More information is needed to draw any educated guesses. I don’t recommend people piling on here and making the situation worse. The situation is already about as bad as it can get. I don’t know what advice I would have given to these folks before, during, or after this incident. This post is about what you can do if you own a dog. 

 

Second, there is reportedly some kind of history here with the owner of the dogs allegedly being cited for having “dangerous” dogs and being aware of some kind of previous attack. Oh, boy. The law isn’t going to be very forgiving if this is a second incident, and especially with a child involved and if any negligence is discovered. 

 

The article says the dogs were some kind of pit bull mixes. I don’t think that is as relevant as to how the dogs were being managed. 

 

Sometimes the best option when you have dogs that are deemed to be dangerous, is to at least rehome the dogs. Sometimes the best option is euthanasia before something worse happens. 

 

But be aware: Just like parents are starting to be charged with crimes if their kid gets their gun and they know the kid is troubled, the law seems to be going that way with respect to dogs and kids. Hopefully that trend decreases the risk of these types of tragedies and increases the demand for properly bred dogs, more education about socialization by veterinarians, and people accepting that their dogs need more training and supervision. In my opinion, most people don't train their dogs sufficiently, regardless of breed or situation. The demands of life with a dog are greater today than ever before. We are making a lot of demands on dogs these days, and more attention needs to be paid to everything, from birth to old age. More laws aren't the primary solution here. 

 

My rule is always: People safety first, dog safety second. I don’t care how much you love your dog; the priority needs to be for the people first. I don’t know the thinking of this owner. I can’t read minds. I’m just saying that it is important for dog owners to have that sorted out in their heads before ever even getting a dog.