Puppy kills 2-month-old boy

The Associated Press reports:

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Police say a puppy has attacked and killed a 2-month-old boy who was left unattended in a swing.

Officer Jason Willingham said Monday the baby was mauled by the Labrador at the boy's home and died at the scene. He says the dog will most likely be destroyed.

Authorities have not yet released the infant's name. Willingham says the baby's mother and grandmother were home, but nobody was in the room at the time.

Police are unsure why the dog attacked.

The child's body was taken to the Medical Examiner's office. Willingham says police will forward their investigation to the district attorney to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Comments

[Millie]

Why is it that no one heard this baby cry? Even if no one was in the room someone should have been within hearing distance. This makes dog owners with children everywhere look bad. A lab puppy is extremely hyper and needs to be played with, it probably was trying to play with the baby. Where were the parents??? Why weren't they watching their child and their dog??

[Thumbelina]

Poor child! I ache for their loss.

Labs are extremely hyper as puppies. I doubt the puppy 'attacked' the baby. I agree, was most likely playing and as a pup their play can be very intense and their teeth are sharp.
I am a dog owner and a person who wants children, I'm disgusted to see such poor parenting for both child and animal.

[Katie]

The puppy should NOT be destroyed. The PARENTS should be held accountable for their actions (or rather, inaction in this case). Puppies play and they play by biting. They learn from littermates to not bite when playing (their littermate will yelp and stop playing when it hurts). A 2 month old child doesn't give off the right signals and no doubt he pup kept trying to play with him. I doubt this dog is aggressive or vicious. The dog should be rehomed with someone who will properly take care of him. The parents should have been in the room, watching things. Instead, they were off doing god knows what while their poor innocent puppy killed their poor innocent child.

What a shame an innocent animal may lose its life because it got bought by the wrong people.

[F]

I am impressed at the comments. I think people have done extremely well surviving dogs for hundreds even thousands of years. I am pretty sure children have been left alone with animals and not killed, maybe that's what the adults were thinking. I was attacked by my dad's dog when I was 5. I can't believe I am to blame my parents or the dog for the way I was treating the animal when it decided to bite my face repeatedly. My parents were around, in the next room, but had no time to stop me from messing with the dog. It did a number on my eyebrow in a split second. Needless to say the dog mysteriously vanished, as my dad put it. I guess I am saddened that people are so willing to accuse others of poor parenting from reading 10 sentences in a case they are certainly unfamiliar with.

[John Anthony Castro]

My only question is why did the Mother and Grandmother not hear the screams of a baby being mauled to death. This is clear neglection. The mother owed a duty of care and supervision to her 2-month old and failed to provide it. Who leaves a 2-month old, 60 days out of the womb, unattended in a room at such a distance not to hear the baby's dying screams? Criminal charges are definitely warranted.

[Joy]

I know of a young boy age 7 who was bit by a Labrador without provocation. The boy required stitches in his behind. THE DOG WAS PUT DOWN (EUTHANIZED). This is so sad about this poor 2 mo. old little boy. DON'T PARENTS REALIZE THAT AN ANIMAL SHOULD NOT BE LEFT ALONE WITH AN INFANT OR A CHILD????????

[Roland]

This puppy should NOT be put down. The mother and grandmother who were there should both face criminal charges. ALL puppies bite or chew things. And there is no way possible that this puppy did what it is being accused of doing. My own thoughts are that this baby may have been injured and or killed by one of the adaults present and to cover this crime up they allowed the puppy to play with this baby who was already dead. But I would also like to say that NO child MORE SO a baby should be left unattended. REGARDLESS if there is an animal present or not. PROUD owner of four dogs, and have owned many dogs over many years in life.

[Tracy]

What I don't understand is how did such a small baby get at the level of that small puppy? Left out on the couch or the floor for the dog to get to? I saw this dog, it was definately young. Animals are animals - it's sad, but he deserves the chance to be evaluated and saved - I don't believe he's vicious. I saw them carrying the dog out and the poor thing was wagging it's tail.

I am VERY sad for the parents, but I think that this is a possible neglect case too.

Tracy Morton
Texas

[Natasha]

Okay, it's not neglect or anything of the sort on the part of the grandmother or the mother. They probably thought the child was asleep and went to take care of something that needed to be done. It's the same concept as a mother leaving her child in a crib by itself and leaving the room to take care of something else. If you are a home owner then you know that there is always something that needs to be done around the house. And with a two month old child she probably didn't have that much time to do anything. Children are high maintenance especially in the beginning when they can't care for themselves in the simplest of ways. So don't fully blame the mother for leaving a room when her child was more than likely asleep to care for things around the house that needed to be done. Mother's across the world have been doing it for centuries. And if you are a mother reading this and claim that you have never left your child alone in a room before then you are lieing. As for the puppy, it is just that, a puppy, just another baby of sorts. It was just playing with the baby. The puppy probably saw the baby as a playmate. And with all playmates he did probably play rough, because that is was puppies do until taught otherwise. In the end partial blame goes to the mother and partial to the puppy. The puppy was probably old enough to realize that when the baby was crying it should have stopped. And the mother should have left a baby monitor in the room so that she would be able to telll when her child woke up. As for criminal charges I don't think those should be pressed. I'm sure the woman is going through enough suffering with the loss of her child, and the puppy should not be destroyed for given to a family who would love and care for it even with what has happened already in its young life. The whole incident is a sad tragedy, brought around by accident. So though there is some blame for what happened it wasn't anybodys fault; just an extremely sad accident.

[Concerned parent and dog owner]

OMG, I am a concerned parent, as well as a dog owner and lover. Personally I feel the dog was only tring to play, and of course any child 4 weeks old, will be subject to being mauled by any animal who might try to play with a newborn. I agree that if the mother and grandmother were not in the room, my bigest question is then why was the child not heard crying?? possibly a 4 week old doestn cry that loud?? if you were down stairs?? I think not, these adults must have been in a back yard, or somewhere far were they were unable to hear the childs crys for help, and then again 4 weeks old, their voices are soft and not loud like a 3 or 4 year old. Again the parents should be held liable, but again, this is a very very sad accident. And I am surely possitive that there family memebers never meant for such a tragic accident to happen.

[nicky]

The puppy should not be put down! When puppy's love to play. Biting is part of playing for them! This puppy didn't realize it was hurting the baby it just want someone to play with it! Shame on the parents for leaving the baby alone and getting a puppy when you have a baby around! It is not far to the puppy nor the baby!

[Katie]

I do not believe the puppy should be put down. The mother, despite her maybe wanting time to relax, should have not left a infant with a puppy. If she would have read up on puppies she would have realized that puppies are NOT to be left with small children. It was irresponsible for her to do so. Maybe if she would have kept the grandmother in there to watch the baby there would be no euthanasia and no death of a child. I was witnessed to the birth and growing up of my younger brother. I must say, besides when he was in his CRIB, which would not be accessible by a puppy, he was accompanied by an adult or myself. This is responsibility and must be taken into a full account with all mammal newborns.

This is a really sad case. I understand that I do not know the parents of this baby or puppy, but when you look at a puppy or dog and try and pair it with a baby, you cannot look at the cute side. You must understand that a dog is not your second child. It is a DOG. It is not suppose to be treated like a human. So this is a case where the mother might have thought of the puppy of a friendly 'child' to her baby, but this is were she messed up. My fingers are pointing to the parents' no knowledge in this situation.

Very bad parenting to both puppy and child. People need to think for both the puppy and child. If you already have a baby think, "Will I be home and able to watch the dog around my newborn?" If no, I advise you not to get a dog until the child in much older. Even then, you must be careful. Dogs are to be treated as wild animals as they are. They're instincts will kick in at any point if they are also too attached which may injure you or the baby if they try to protect it.

There are many things the parents needed to consider and they didn't consider anything. The puppy should not be killed for doing what believed to be ok because of no training. Of course I do not believe the parents should be charged for they learn from mistakes and I believe they wont be making it again, I hope.