# Death of Alberta baby boy 'unthinkable, tragic accident,' say parents



## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Tragic story from Alberta this month, where a Husky killed an infant. Reading below I wonder if we can ever be certain that a dog is safe with children? Or is it just large dogs? It seems the family did all they could, barring always being present with dog and child. 




Death of Alberta baby boy 'unthinkable, tragic accident,' say parents

Death of Alberta baby boy 'unthinkable, tragic accident,' say parents


By Stephane Massinon, Postmedia News February 23, 2012

The parents of a two-day-old baby boy who was killed by a husky in Airdrie, Alta. say they will never know why their pet attacked and said it was an "unthinkable, tragic accident."

The Fradette family issued a statement through the RCMP on Thursday morning addressing last week's tragedy.

"We will never know what our family pet was thinking nor will we ever know why she did what she did. We now have to accept what has happened and move forward in our grieving and healing," said the family.

"Both of us are very experienced regarding the husky breed and canines in general. Over the years we have been to numerous educational seminars including the Calgary Humane Society's 'Old Pet, New Baby' seminar. All the dogs currently in our family have gone through numerous training classes including obedience classes in multiple levels, rally, tricks, agility and of course have been trained in pulling sports," they said.

They also thanked emergency workers and their family, friends, mushers, dog trainers and even strangers who have helped them during a difficult time.

The family has not started discussions on the fate of the husky and said a court date has been set for March 15 to decide what to do with the dog.

"We hope that this message will answer some of the questions the media has asked, and now simply hope for peace to remember our infant son, and to grieve his loss. At this time, we respectfully request privacy, so that we can grieve, heal and come to terms with our loss at this most tragic time. Thank-you for your support," they said.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

That is horrible. So sad for everyone.

I left my dogs with my kid. In fact, I had one that babysat outside while i stayed inside or sat there working crossword puzzles. I don't know what to say. 

I guess in the end dogs are not people. Maybe something like this happens one in ten million times but if the right situation occurs a tragedy could happen.


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## greyshadows (Jan 30, 2012)

It is hard to imagine but dogs are animals. Plus you never really know either the history of the dog or the true way the owners have trained it.


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

Duke has never, ever bitten or snapped at a person, not even slightly. He has only snapped at a dog ONCE, and that was when ozzy tried to steal his dinner. That being said, I can safely say when we have kids that they will NEVER be left alone with him (or Nala) until they are big enough to handle it. You may have the worlds friendlist, loveliest, most placid dog, but at the end of the day it is still an animal with the ability to end a babies life if it, for any unknown reason, decides to snap...

A friend of mine always left her husky alone with her baby, even once walked into her bedroom to find the husky leaning heavily on the basinet, watching the baby. She says he was protecting the baby... I say she's lucky he behaved!

I'm not saying its the parents fault, but dogs are powerful, experienced dog owners should've considered the risks... It's just not a risk worth taking in my eyes!


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

I don't think any pet is safe with a baby period. pets could play or react in a way we can't fanthom. Unsupervised anythingg can happen, purposly or accidental. We do not know whats in that animal brain. I think pets and babies can grow up well together supervised. 

I had 9 cats and a 60lbb dog when I had my baby. (also a roomate with another 6 cats) All was fine I never left baby unattended with them. I did take a picture of them all in bed with us. It was cute becuase we were sleepingin bed and I woke up and all the cats and the dog had us surrounded. It was like a gaurd rail of pets to keep us safe. lol. 

It's not the size either. A doxi killed an infant as well a while back. 
It's just circumstances. Take away the chance for it to happen. 

Prayerrs fo r the family.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

You can never be certian on how the dog was raised or treated. 

There was a story a few years ago of a 3 month old baby boy being eaten by a 4mnth old black lab puppy. The parents were in the other room doing their drugs, let the baby and the puppy in the living room apparently long enough for the puppy to deiced to kill and eat the baby. In this situation I feel it was 110% the human parents fault. Yet the puppy got put to sleep. 

Only they will truely ever know what was goin on.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

IMO, the parents are IDIOTS, ANYONE who does this is. I wouldnt leave ANY animal with my kid, hell I dont leave my dogs alone with each other!!:wacko:

You NEVER know what a dog might think that the baby(kid what ever) is doing and how they will react. I was NOTORIOUS for trying to get into my Dad's dog when I was a baby(I ADORED that Springer) and my Mum and Dad had to make sure that their bedroom door was locked(where Babe's whelping box was) or that we where on different levels of the house. That dog was AMAZING with me and my brother, she was one of the "would never hurt ANYONE" and "loves the babies" kind of dog....but they would never have allowed me to be alone with her!

GAA...I HATE how this all gets turned around(in the media and say, on facebook) to blame the dog!!


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

That was in the paper here, too. A 10 minute drive from me.

Yeah. Dogs (especially larger dogs, just because they are stronger) should never be in a position where they could do such damage, especially to a two day old baby.

I hope the dog would be able to be rehomed, to people without children, but it probably will be put down.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Infants that young are probably not even recognized as humans by dogs, I think that's why when an infant gets killed it's usually a dog with a high prey drive. Infants don't move like people and they make super strange, animal like noises. They smell different from other humans. I think it's absolutely idiotic for someone to think their dog is safe with an infant all alone, even for a minute. An infant seems a lot like a small animal or even a toy. Not to mention a dog without a high prey drive could kill an infant without even putting his teeth on it, big dog jumps on baby and that's that. It's absolutely terrible that this happened but I really wish parents would just stop leaving their kids alone with the dogs, if it's infants you have to worry if the dog even knows it's human, if it's an older child you have to worry about what the child might do to cause the dog to bite. Children step on, grab and won't let go, run at them screaming at the top of their lungs, take things away from them, poke or hit them with things, lie on or sit on them, etc. If no one is there to stop the child the dog's going to have to try and take care of it himself, and that's not good for anyone, a dog shouldn't HAVE to deal with those behaviors from children and it's the parents job to make sure they don't. I see so many videos on youtube of dogs with children and want to reach my hand through the screen and slap the parents in the face for not telling the child to stop. They're lucky they have tolerant dogs, hopefully the dog doesn't have a bad day and hopefully the child never meets a not so tolerant dog because how is the kid supposed to know the neighbor's dog doesn't like big hugs and kisses on the face?


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

I was probabbly around 5 when I was bit by the family dog for putting my face into his food bowl. I thought it was 'intresting' I guess to see him growl at me when I stuck my finger close to his food while eating. I remember very clearly doing it. I didn't know what a growl meant. I just saw it was differnt. The dog got a pretty big spank and tossed outside according to my sister she was so pissed at me... with every right. But I was 5 and left to my own with the dog. the dog never had bitten before and never bit again. He was my best friend and slept with me aftrer that. My sister pulled me out of school to help make the descion of pts when he was ill. this was 1983 some 10+ yers after the bite thing. He taught me alot. 

My duaghter who is 6 now is going to get bit. I just know it. I can not get her to mind around the dog. I have tried everything. I am constintily on her not to hang ont hem not to hug them so tight not to mess with their bones and not to mess when they are wrsetling. Everyday. I have tried spankings, time outs, grounding. UGH... Naw she is the type who willhave to get bit probably so damn hard headed. But I am trying to teach her their behavior and why they do it and what it measn when they do it... now I am having a little more acceptance from her. sigh... we shall see. She does much better thankfully with other peoples dogs. 

She had to explain the cat scratch on her to the doc at her annual physical. She stuck herr darn face into the kitten and the kitten pushed her back with his claw. . she will elarn eventually.... I think...


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

If you can't get your child to behave around the dog right now then keep them separated until she will. Tell her she can't interact with the dog until she learns to treat him better. Yes a bite might teach her a lesson but if you let it get to that point she might be scared of dogs, the dog might be scared of her, and one well placed bite could mean a dead daughter. I remember the story of the dog who killed a 2 year old named Liam Perk (they have a foundation now, dedicated to preventing dog bites on children, you might want to look it up). It wasn't a mauling, the dog bit the child once...and got him in the jugular. Also, you might be able to find classes your daughter can go to, shelters sometimes have them, on how to behave around dogs. If someone other than you is teaching her how to behave around dogs, and she can come home and tell YOU how she's supposed to behave, then maybe she'll do it. I remember when my dog (who is fear aggressive) was barking at my little cousin who is 6, he proudly informed me that when a dog barks at you it means he's scared and you should leave him alone. His twin sister then listed off a few more things that mean a dog is scared and I was quite impressed (they don't even have a dog, they just read a book about it).


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

Obedience has nothing to do with pack structure. although alot of people dont like to hear it dogs ARE a pack species they have a pack structure. 

When i babysit babies i can set them on the floor to lie down or crawl around and NOBODY can sniff them NOBODY can get closer then 5 feet from them if the baby is awake crawling around they are not even allowed in the living room if they are getting excited watching the baby or listening to the baby they get sent to lie down somewhere else and not come back untill i allow them to.

people see there dogs leaning on the baby or lieing on the babys blanket on the floor or sniffing/licking the face of the baby and grab the camera and think "omg! how cute! the dog is so sweet to the baby!" 
when in fact the dog is being ALLOWED to do as it pleases toward the baby which is like telling the dog "sure go ahead its your to do with as you please!" 
it begins by the dog lieing on the empty baby blanket well no baby is on it who cares right? well then suddenly you cant get the dog OFF the blanket the baby is lieing on the blanket and your dog comes up and lies so close to the baby is squishes it or pushes it off the blanket you laugh at your "silly" dog suddenly that dog learns "i can control this thing with my body" which is dangerous thing for a dog to learn. it escalates from there suddenly the dog is sniffing the babies face after it eats or while its drinking a bottle you allow it becuase "its cute and roxi is being so gentle" the dog has learned "if that thing has food i can take it right away from it" your baby is now a toddlar drinking from a sippy cup or eatign a cookie the dog comes over and sniffs the babies face the baby flails its hands to make the dog move away the dog who has always been allowed to control the baby snaps as its way of saying "stop that i want that food" although toward another dog no harm would have been done after all teh dog is only asserting the dominance its had all along over the baby that you allowed but for this childs face he will end up with horrendous scars and maybe even need plastic surgery to look normal again. 

is it the dogs fault? not at all youve only been reinforcing for the first year that the dog has control over the baby she was only asserting herself in the way a dog knows how.
but then suddenly people cannot understnad "what was going thru her head" "why did she suddenly snap" "hes always been so gentle with the baby it doesnt make any sense"


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Maxy24 said:


> If you can't get your child to behave around the dog right now then keep them separated until she will. Tell her she can't interact with the dog until she learns to treat him better. Yes a bite might teach her a lesson but if you let it get to that point she might be scared of dogs, the dog might be scared of her, and one well placed bite could mean a dead daughter. I remember the story of the dog who killed a 2 year old named Liam Perk (they have a foundation now, dedicated to preventing dog bites on children, you might want to look it up). It wasn't a mauling, the dog bit the child once...and got him in the jugular. Also, you might be able to find classes your daughter can go to, shelters sometimes have them, on how to behave around dogs. If someone other than you is teaching her how to behave around dogs, and she can come home and tell YOU how she's supposed to behave, then maybe she'll do it. I remember when my dog (who is fear aggressive) was barking at my little cousin who is 6, he proudly informed me that when a dog barks at you it means he's scared and you should leave him alone. His twin sister then listed off a few more things that mean a dog is scared and I was quite impressed (they don't even have a dog, they just read a book about it).


Good for them. i know when I was small if we didn't act correctly around our dogs my parents banished the dogs outside. Not only did we not get the company of the dog, but we had to watch them be lonesome in the back yard and we couldn't go out there to play with them. i don't know if that was a great solution, but it worked. It was awful looking at our lonely dog through the back window.


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## cupybear (Apr 11, 2009)

WOW,this is really shocking.We have a husky and she is really great and at the same time she can be very protective of my wife and i while we are in our home,but outside the front door she is a sweetheart to everyone,so when we even have company which are mostly other adults,i dont even leave her alone with them, just to be safe.


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

Maxy24 said:


> If you can't get your child to behave around the dog right now then keep them separated until she will. Tell her she can't interact with the dog until she learns to treat him better. Yes a bite might teach her a lesson but if you let it get to that point she might be scared of dogs, the dog might be scared of her, and one well placed bite could mean a dead daughter. I remember the story of the dog who killed a 2 year old named Liam Perk (they have a foundation now, dedicated to preventing dog bites on children, you might want to look it up). It wasn't a mauling, the dog bit the child once...and got him in the jugular. Also, you might be able to find classes your daughter can go to, shelters sometimes have them, on how to behave around dogs. If someone other than you is teaching her how to behave around dogs, and she can come home and tell YOU how she's supposed to behave, then maybe she'll do it. I remember when my dog (who is fear aggressive) was barking at my little cousin who is 6, he proudly informed me that when a dog barks at you it means he's scared and you should leave him alone. His twin sister then listed off a few more things that mean a dog is scared and I was quite impressed (they don't even have a dog, they just read a book about it).


Yea that is what I do pretty much what I end up doing. She gets time out from the animals.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't know how this happened. People are blaming the people and not the dog for leaving the baby alone with with the dog. That's fine but I didn't read that in the source. I can't make any judgement with such limited information. Was mom holding the baby and the dog thought the baby was food so it jumped up and knocked it out of her hand suddenly? It could probably take less than a second to kill a 2 day old baby. It is a tragedy and I feel bad for the people and the dog. A little more info on what happened will help others avoid a similar fate.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Caty M said:


> That was in the paper here, too. A 10 minute drive from me.
> 
> Yeah. Dogs (especially larger dogs, just because they are stronger) should never be in a position where they could do such damage, especially to a two day old baby.
> 
> I hope the dog would be able to be rehomed, to people without children, but it probably will be put down.


I think if I was the owner I would have to put the dog down, just because I couldn't bear to live with the dog that killed my baby. Awful I know but that's just my opinion.


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## greyshadows (Jan 30, 2012)

Neighbors of my parents rescued a 6 month old puppy from a shelter and it was the most loving adorable dog. They told everyone it "wouldn't hurt a fly." Then one day the mom pulled out a broom to sweep the back porch and the dog attacked her. She ended up having plastic surgery and 55 stitches. The dog was put down at a year and a half old.. Apparently they found out the dog had been beaten with a broom from his previous owners and freaked out. You never know, don't take chances with an animal.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

greyshadows said:


> Neighbors of my parents rescued a 6 month old puppy from a shelter and it was the most loving adorable dog. They told everyone it "wouldn't hurt a fly." Then one day the mom pulled out a broom to sweep the back porch and the dog attacked her. She ended up having plastic surgery and 55 stitches. The dog was put down at a year and a half old.. Apparently they found out the dog had been beaten with a broom from his previous owners and freaked out. You never know, don't take chances with an animal.


I would recommend taking everything slowly. Being able to read your dog helps out a lot. The people from the OP story sounds like they were seem knowledgeable and I'm betting they did everything right and something still went wrong. I'd be really worried about having a dog in my house that I couldn't take down if I had to. If it happens in the case of greyshadows parents neighbors what could you do in that situation? Staying clam is hard when it is so sudden like it probably was. 

I don't believe that dogs are by no means bad. I think like humans they have reactions to things they don't know about. I'll be watching Bridget very closely around the time the baby arrives. I'll be doing it not only for the sake of the baby but also for the safety of the dog. I want them both to live together in a safe environment. I want mom to take training the dog a lot more seriously. I'd be afraid if something happened that Bridget didn't like when I wasn't at home. Bridget is a snapper if she gets upset. Knowing how to read her and getting a good idea of the causes of this goes far in preventing it. But using words and body language she doesn't understand to get her to stop isn't going to make anything better. I wish she would practice it until it became second nature. Communication with the dog isn't easy but is very important. Bridget doesn't mind being told no but she wants to understand it and she wants the people to understand her side too. Or at the very least to try to understand her. 

Bridget is communicating with me more and more lately. Today the TV was on and Bridget was watching it. I was in the kitchen cooking. The dog walks into the kitchen with a worried look on her face. So I follow her back into the living room and she yelps at the TV. The bad guy had captured someone and I think Bridget wanted me to free them. Every time it showed the bad guy Bridget would growl and bark. The good guys saved the day and I swear it sounded like she was cheering.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

it really makes me sad to hear so many people label dogs as "unpredictable"
or "unsafe" especielly the members on here. :frown:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

sozzle said:


> I think if I was the owner I would have to put the dog down, just because I couldn't bear to live with the dog that killed my baby. Awful I know but that's just my opinion.


I have to say I agree. And how could you rehome a dog that killed a child? Even if it wasn't his fault, poor dog, it's him that will pay.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

xchairity_casex said:


> it really makes me sad to hear so many people label dogs as "unpredictable"
> or "unsafe" especielly the members on here. :frown:


 The problem is not that people think they are unpredictable, it's that so many think they are humans and don't treat them like dogs.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

xchairity_casex said:


> it really makes me sad to hear so many people label dogs as "unpredictable"
> or "unsafe" especielly the members on here. :frown:


Life is unpredictable. We all have different reactions to things we don't know about. I'd be just as worried when bringing a baby around another toddler or a stranger even. A dog is could react to something new. It may not be a negative reaction but I doubt you could predict every reaction your dog might have just as you probably could not predict the reaction of every human you've met. 

Any safe situation could quickly became unsafe if those within get confused. That is what I'm personally warning against.



xellil said:


> I have to say I agree. And how could you rehome a dog that killed a child? Even if it wasn't his fault, poor dog, it's him that will pay.


I don't think it has anything at all to deal treating a dog like they are human. How do we treat a dog? I personally treat mines with respect and she gives it back to me. Leaves the things I want her to leave. Lets me know when she wants to go out. I make sure to set aside time to play with her. I'll make time to speak to her. She doesn't care what I'm saying but she loves that I'm speaking to her. Maybe that is treating her like a human? *Shrugs*


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

Stupid stupid. What was accidental about leaving your newborn around a large predator? I hate these stories because the humans at fault never place the blame where it should be. It's no different than people not watching their kids at a pool or letting them play in the street, your dog is not a babysitter and he's not a human and he's not predictable. I don't care how long you've had the dog or how much he loves kids, if you can't watch them interact, one needs to be put up or taken with you, it's not hard, an ounce of prevention and all that.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

In another rendition of the story I heard that the dog was contained in a kennel and got out. If that is the case, and the dog really was kenneled, then I can't blame the owners/parents either. It was nobody's fault. I do not think the dog deserves to die as I don't think he's a danger to most people (based on this story alone) because I honestly don't think the dog recognized the infant as a person and to me all this proves is that the dog is dangerous around small animals and infants. However I also wouldn't blame someone for not being able to live with the dog that killed their child.



> it really makes me sad to hear so many people label dogs as "unpredictable"
> or "unsafe" especielly the members on here.


Dogs aren't "unpredictable" but they can't tell you they are uncomfortable using words, they use body language. Children can't read dog body language, adults choose not to learn a damn thing about it, and so dogs do become unsafe because parents won't step in until the dog is reaching his limit and starts growling because the parents don't have a clue that what the child is doing is scaring or irritating the dog. Then the dog gets reamed for growling, next time the kids lying on top of him and examining his ears the dog will hold back his growl to avoid getting smacked around and will just wait until he completely boils over and bites the kid. And of course if the parents leave them alone together the child won't even know enough to back off when the dog growls. Kids don't view dogs as anything more than a big toy until they get a bit older, maybe once they are no longer egocentric things are safer and the kid can understand that the dog has his own feelings and might not like something just because he thinks they should. Dogs are safe if the parents can keep the children from making them explode and can keep the dog from walking on and jumping all over the child. I honestly don't think super young children and dogs mix well, I obviously think it'll work out fine in the end and don't think it's dangerous to have the two, but the parents have to work to keep everyone safe for a while. They can become great friends and the child can eventually learn a lot from having a dog, but a lot of things children do is inherently scary or even painful (or just overstimulating) and they don't know enough yet not to do it, they can't understand the dog's feelings and thoughts.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes, so much could be avoided if we could only understand our dogs as well as they understand us.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

GoingPostal said:


> Stupid stupid. What was accidental about leaving your newborn around a large predator? I hate these stories because the humans at fault never place the blame where it should be. It's no different than people not watching their kids at a pool or letting them play in the street, your dog is not a babysitter and he's not a human and he's not predictable. I don't care how long you've had the dog or how much he loves kids, if you can't watch them interact, one needs to be put up or taken with you, it's not hard, an ounce of prevention and all that.


We don't really know what happened. If it is the case of them leaving their 2 day old child alone with a dog then I'm sure they will be charged in court. But I doubt this family would have done that. It seemed to me like they were prepared for this and did extra preparation to make sure they were ready. It might have been a freak accident. We can all rest a little easier in knowing that these events are not the norm if the correct steps are taking. But no amount steps will prevent this sort of thing from ever happening. I really hope that they decide to publish their story so we can at least learn of what exactly went down. The fact that they didn't do that already almost makes me question what actually went down that day. A new baby can add a lot stress to the household that can and will affect the entire house, include the dog. I'm not really sure if any amount of training could prepare them for that. Who knows, maybe their training made them overconfident. I don't know. I'm just sorry to hear of it happening.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Better article:

Pet husky that killed newborn baby was trained | CTV News

Sorry, but these people sound like very knowledgeable people. I do NOT blame the parents.

I mean, come on, if you have a family dog who has never shown aggression EVER before AND has also already been raised around your current 2 1/2 year old... one would never expect something like this to happen. Besides the fact that, it wasn't like they left the baby alone on the floor somewhere, with a dog running loose in the house.

Sounds to me like the baby was taking a nap in the crib, dog was kenneled up, got out of kennel and an accident happened. I feel horrible for the parents and they are not being charged with anything. So obviously there was nothing suspicious going on or any kind of abuse or whatever. They went above and BEYOND what most people would do when bringing a newborn into a house with dogs. They even went to a class at the humane society about how to introduce your dog to a new baby, the dog had been in obedience classes and training, they owned a company that sold sled-dog stuff, I think it also said they had bred before. They went well above and beyond what probably 95% of parents in this country do when bringing home a new baby.

I will usually stand up for dogs in these types of situations... but in this case, it sounds like everything was done right and it was a horrible horrible tragic accident. I am sure the parents are going through enough right now than for people to be judging and saying it's their fault. Accidents are called accidents for a reason. And it's a shame this happened. I really really hate the immediate blame game of parents when something happens to a kid - it's not always so cut and dry.

And, if this were me, I think I would have the dog put down. Not sure I could ever look at it with any kind of love, or even tolerate it, knowing my baby is dead because of it. JMO. And I'm not generally so harsh.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Jacksons Mom said:


> Better article:
> 
> Pet husky that killed newborn baby was trained | CTV News
> 
> Sorry, but these people sound like very knowledgeable people. I do NOT blame the parents.


The thing is, a million times nothing will happen. I was not careful with my child around my dogs. At times i had several intact males, and looking back I realize I was a horrible accident just waiting to happen. I did alot of things that put my child in danger - I mean lots. he should have never made it to toddler age, much less adulthood. His only serious accident was getting kicked in the head by a horse when he was about a year old, because he wandered into a corral where there were young unbroken horses. 

I pretty much had the corner on being a bad mother. We can ONLY do what we can - do we never have dogs in the house because there is a billion to one chance they might kill our children?

I agree with you - maybe there were signs they should have seen. Maybe they could have done things differently. But are they to be labelled as horrible parents or charged with anything? Absolutely not. This was just a horrible, horrible accident and it is just gutwrenching to think what they must be going through.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

GoingPostal said:


> Stupid stupid. What was accidental about leaving your newborn around a large predator? I hate these stories because the humans at fault never place the blame where it should be. It's no different than people not watching their kids at a pool or letting them play in the street, your dog is not a babysitter and he's not a human and he's not predictable. I don't care how long you've had the dog or how much he loves kids, if you can't watch them interact, one needs to be put up or taken with you, it's not hard, an ounce of prevention and all that.


This kid was in a CRIB - dog was thought to have been kenneled. I don't know about you, but when a kid goes down for a nap, I don't sit there and stare at them. Same goes for when a dog is in a crate.

By the way, don't ever judge a situation unless you've lost a child yourself and know what a parent goes through who feels guilty over an ACCIDENT. Like I said, an accident is an accident for a reason.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

xellil said:


> The thing is, a million times nothing will happen. I was not careful with my child around my dogs. At times i had several intact males, and looking back I realize I was a horrible accident just waiting to happen. I did alot of things that put my child in danger - I mean lots. he should have never made it to toddler age, much less adulthood. His only serious accident was getting kicked in the head by a horse when he was about a year old, because he wandered into a corral where there were young unbroken horses.
> 
> I pretty much had the corner on being a bad mother. We can ONLY do what we can - do we never have dogs in the house because there is a billion to one chance they might kill our children?
> 
> I agree with you - maybe there were signs they should have seen. Maybe they could have done things differently. But are they to be labelled as horrible parents or charged with anything? Absolutely not. This was just a horrible, horrible accident and it is just gutwrenching to think what they must be going through.


Exactly! 

Omg, as a kid, I was always out on my street playing all day long. Were my parents eyes on me 24/7? Nope. Could something have happened? Probably. Does that make my parents horrible parents? No. Thankfully, I'm okay. And I, too, grew up with a dog who I was often left alone with. It probably wasn't the smartest move, but it happens every single day, and millions of kids are fine and dandy. This just happened to be a freak accident where it seemed everything was done correctly beforehand.


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

It sounds like a tragic accident no doubt. 

I did keep the door to the babies room closed with a monitor but I did check often also. As a fiorst time mom I did all the first time mom things. 

I didn't allow the pets n her room as well although I invted Brandy my dog in a few times when she wasn't in. 

It wasn't that I didn't trust my pets. I did But I didn't trust the things that can happen out of the blue. I had Bones who was a lap cat al loved to lay on your chest, and love my baby. And Brandy was just a big 60lb mutt that had the strenght of a 200b dog. 

Prayers for the family.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Jacksons Mom said:


> This kid was in a CRIB - dog was thought to have been kenneled. I don't know about you, but when a kid goes down for a nap, I don't sit there and stare at them. Same goes for when a dog is in a crate.
> 
> By the way, don't ever judge a situation unless you've lost a child yourself and know what a parent goes through who feels guilty over an ACCIDENT. Like I said, an accident is an accident for a reason.


That really sucks. I only have one question though. Has the dog broken out of the kennel before? 

I already laid out rules with the baby and dog and my baby will not be here for a few months. I want the baby to be sleeping in the crab only with a block in place to keep the dog out when we are not around. Sit the door and set up a baby monitor if need be. I just want to be extra prepared and I don't want my dog to suffer either. So I want to take the route that has the fewest risk and doesn't cut the freedom of anyone.

Edit: Bridget has escaped her crate before. Strange as it may seem she did it to let me know she wanted to go out. That is when I started to review rather or not I wanted to keep her crated when I'm not home or sleeping.


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## Puddlypoo (Jan 29, 2012)

Makovach said:


> You can never be certian on how the dog was raised or treated.
> 
> There was a story a few years ago of a 3 month old baby boy being eaten by a 4mnth old black lab puppy. The parents were in the other room doing their drugs, let the baby and the puppy in the living room apparently long enough for the puppy to deiced to kill and eat the baby. In this situation *I feel it was 110% the human parents fault. Yet the puppy got put to sleep.
> *
> Only they will truely ever know what was goin on.


I was just thinking the same thing. I've read a few stories of infants who were killed my dogs and yet the parents are either in another room or outside. These people need to be held responsible for leaving a small infant alone. Just my opinion.


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## Puddlypoo (Jan 29, 2012)

Killed *by* dogs, haha, not *my* dogs.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Puddlypoo said:


> I was just thinking the same thing. I've read a few stories of infants who were killed my dogs and yet the parents are either in another room or outside. These people need to be held responsible for leaving a small infant alone. Just my opinion.


i remember that case where the puppy killed the baby. the parents were crackheads and didn't even know or care they had a kid in the house. Like the mom in Indianapolis who got so stoned she passed out and her two year old ended up on the interstate. both those are cases of druggy parents and whether the child gets killed by a car or a dog is incidental to the horrible, horrible parents they had the misfortune to be born to.

This one is different. These appear to be good parents. The fact they owned a dog doesn't make them negligent.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Puddlypoo said:


> I was just thinking the same thing. I've read a few stories of infants who were killed my dogs and yet the parents are either in another room or outside. These people need to be held responsible for leaving a small infant alone. Just my opinion.


The parents have been held responsible. They've paid a horrible price. Accidents happen and there is nothing we can do to totally avoid them. I certainly don't think the parents shouild be charged with anything.


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## Puddlypoo (Jan 29, 2012)

I wasn't referring to this particular case, I simply said, "I've read 'a few stories' of infants *who were killed by dogs and yet the parents are either in another room or outside".* My comment was in response to another post made about a different story.


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## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

There was a case in Quebec where the mom went outside to have a smoke and left the baby in one of those seats on the floor.... when the dog did pick it up and throw it. 

In this case, the dogs are owned and trained as a dog team...they have been to dog meets baby classes many obedience classes and have had alot of work around the baby.

This dog did not act out violently with the baby, it looks like she just tried to pick baby up like she would do a pup. I do not believe the dog should be put down. A sad loss.


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