Pit bull puppy chews off baby's toes!

[sweetbassets]

I noticed that he did emphasized Pit Bull too, but looking at that poor little puppy I just don't see how that small of a pup can do it even in an hour. Let alone, like everyone is saying, without the parents hearing their baby screaming. I feel sorry for both the child and the puppy. Those parent should rott in jail! Sorry, but I have a 3 year old, and I couldn't imagin leaving her alone with any dogs while I sleep, and when she was a baby, every little noise she would make woke me up. She didn't even have to be crying.

 

[mamasobuco]

Attacked is a very strong word and is very unfair. If the puppy did chew the babies toes, it had to have been trying to nurse at that age. My guess is that the puppy broke the skin looking to nurse and the baby's blood made him want more. I'm NOT saying that the pup was 'blood hungry'. I'm saying that he was probably hungry and thirsty.

 

[Missasmee]

I think the thing to remember here is the baby lost toes....whatever the reason you can track it to the parents being negligent. The pup shouldn't be put to sleep as it isn't fair to blame something so young who doesn't know any better. I mean even if it was the dog you can't blame a baby who didn't know any better. Another thing I live in the Shreveport, Bossier area and there are some serious issues with people coming from an alien culture of laziness, apathy, stupidity, etc. Things have become even worse after the New Orleans wipe out as many people from there settled around here. We have increased problems with people robbing places, increased rapes, general petty crimes in general and it really depresses me and after I'm done with some personal issues I may have to relocate. But getting back to the topic, there are some sick people around here so i wouldnt be surprised if there were other things going on there.

 

[Miakoda]

1. The place they were staying was the equivalent to a slum.
2. After the initial vet spoke, more vets stepped up & stated that it would've taken at least 2 hours for that puppy to accomplish the task.
3. Those vets believe that the damage was possibly done by rats.
4. It is believed that the owners were not even home at the time as it is unbelievable that someone could sleep through 2 hours of a screaming & crying infant.

With all that said, there has been a case like this before where a child's foot had to be amputated because a Jack Russell mix chewed it nearly off.
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/OtherBreedBites/2005/August2005/GAIncident0805.pdf

 

[DryCreek]

It's a horrible thing that this child experienced such a traumatic incident. It is so unnecessary if proper care is provided. The parents should pay for their negligence.

I would have posted the same things as I did earlier, NO matter which BREED it was. I've read cases of rat damage done to infants so it was a logical reason to suspect this case was the same. On one website I visited it said there were over 14 000 cases of rat bites yearly. And people lie to save their butt, so how can we believe the parents? I try to see the whole picture and think things through to possible conclusions. I NEVER trust what is written in the papers as they are always written for sale value, not for truth.

Is this is a common trait among APBT owners? Maybe so, as we live with trying to separate the truth from the sensationalism in all situations involving our breed, so we end up with an extremely realistic view of things.

All in all, the baby suffered needlessly, the parents should pay, and hopefully, the full truth will come out in the wash.

 

[Amstaffer]

1. The place they were staying was the equivalent to a slum.
2. After the initial vet spoke, more vets stepped up & stated that it would've taken at least 2 hours for that puppy to accomplish the task.
3. Those vets believe that the damage was possibly done by rats.
4. It is believed that the owners were not even home at the time as it is unbelievable that someone could sleep through 2 hours of a screaming & crying infant.

With all that said, there has been a case like this before where a child's foot had to be amputated because a Jack Russell mix chewed it nearly off.
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/OtherBreedBites/2005/August2005/GAIncident0805.pdf

But you have to admit the word "pit bull" made for some great headlines

 

[smkie]

i usually avoid these threads. I wish i had avoided this one. I wish i hadn't seen a baby green eyed puppy, still in his toddler stage shivering, that pup was cold...he should be with his mama and asleep in a big pile of his siblings. He should never be cold and alone. THat was bad.
I wish i didn't know about a baby that must have screamed to exhaustion.

In my heart, knowing puppy teeth so well, i don't believe that puppy could have ground off even tiny tender newborn toes. Punctured repeatedly, but that just isn't the way a 6 week old puppy eats. Their food is soft, if natural, it is regurgitated at that stage, if being human fed, the kibble is soaked, softened, not only that, i beleive that a 6 week old pup would be so terrified by the shrieks (not whales, not boohoos, the shriek of a hurt baby sends most grownups into action..it curdles our blood..it makes us panic) can you imagine what it would have done to that poor pup? WAs he so desperately hungry? None of this makes since to me. RAts on the other hand, really hungry rats can be another story. Sewer rats would know defenseless when they smell it. THey would run in bite and run out, in droves. THis is why i avoid these threads. Now i am stuck with this in my head. TWo victims...TWO...will we ever know what happened to the puppy? I wish i could take it. I have the strongest urge to hold it tight and rock it in my arms. I pray to God that someone adopts that baby, that the baby never has to see what created her in this lifetime. The parents don't deserve the dirt to bury them in. O just can't stand it when the ones to suffer are the babies..it makes me crazy. I pray the baby passed out after the first. I have heard that babies do that, i pray so.

 

[adoptashelterpettoday]

I heard that the city doesnt adopt pit bulls out so it will be euthanized.

At least it wont be tortured or starved anymore.

I hope the parents get the book thrown at them & are never allowed to have any more animals & never allowed to breed themselves again, although I know it will never happen.

I too firmly believe weither it be rats or the pup, the parents wernt there when it happened, it would as every has said be impossible, even in a drug induced sleep to not hear a baby screaming for 2 HOURS!

 

[Miakoda]

But you have to admit the word "pit bull" made for some great headlines

Oh yes. The local nightly newscasters had to enunciate the words "pit bull" & say how maybe people should rethink owning them. I sent them a research paper (or so it felt like) & just like the last time I corrected them on something**, an editor wrote me back & told me "oh well, they can say what they want to say on the issue as it was his/her story".


**The previous issue I had written a local newsstation about was when a bullmastiff attacked & severely injured a child in Tennessee, an anchor man had to throw in the statement "That's like a brother breed to those pit bulls so maybe that explained the attack". I was sooooo pissed! I mean, the Bullmastiff is no more related to the "pit bull" than is the Yorkshire Terrier. I let them have it then but alas I was told that they had the right to throw in whatever they wanted to & no there wouldn't be a correction.

 

[Miakoda]

I heard that the city doesnt adopt pit bulls out so it will be euthanized.

At least it wont be tortured or starved anymore.

I hope the parents get the book thrown at them & are never allowed to have any more animals & never allowed to breed themselves again, although I know it will never happen.

I too firmly believe weither it be rats or the pup, the parents wernt there when it happened, it would as every has said be impossible, even in a drug induced sleep to not hear a baby screaming for 2 HOURS!

I wish the parents had their toes sawed off by a serated knife.....one by one by one............

 

[DryCreek]

Update on the story....hmmmmm, apparently it was NOT the puppy!

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5839156

BENTON, La. -- A woman jailed after four of her month-old daughter's toes were gnawed off says it was the family's pet ferret that did it, not their pit bull puppy.


"The way the bite marks were on her foot. The ferret being out of its cage. I knew it wasn't the dog," Mary Hansche told KTBS-TV on Tuesday.

Hansche, 22, and her husband, Christopher Wayne Hansche, 26, remained jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond each, booked with child desertion and criminal negligence. Their baby has been released from the hospital and is in state custody.

The Hansches were asleep on a mattress on the floor and the baby in a carrier next to the mattress when they woke Dec. 10 because she was crying, Bossier City police have said.

Attorney Pam Smart said she is waiting for results of a hair analysis to back up the couple's statement that they were not using drugs.

"This was an accident, very unfortunate accident. Hindsight is 20-20 and I'm sure the Hansches probably would say we would have done things differently looking back now," Smart said.

She also said their bonds are too high for misdemeanors. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled next month.

Both pets are in quarantine but show no sign of rabies, officials said.

The puppy will remain at the animal control shelter until the court process is completed.

 

[whatszmatter]

can't wait for the "death to Ferrets" chants, oh wait, they'll probably still want to put down all the pitbulls.

 

[Meggie]

Oh give me a break! Even a ferret would've taken more than a minute to chew off four of that poor little thing's toes. They weren't doing drugs, fine, that's been proven. They must not have even been there ("child desertion"?) because they obviously didn't even SEE it happen, didn't SEE the ferret near the baby. They identified it by bite marks.

There is absolutely no way they could have possibly slept through the pained screaming that baby must have been doing.

The first story drove me around the bend. Saying a puppy "attacked" a baby is like saying the baby should have fought it off. I hope both the puppy and the baby find good homes.

Still something very "off" about this story.

 

[sonny]

Update on the story....hmmmmm, apparently it was NOT the puppy!

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5839156

good ,now i can say i never thought that was true.6 week old puppy is a docile little creature more likely to lick the babys toes off!!! hope the little baby is going to be ok...dam that sucks

 

[Amstaffer]

can't wait for the "death to Ferrets" chants, oh wait, they'll probably still want to put down all the pitbulls.

You pit bull lovers never give up....I think from the story it is very clear that the puppy encouraged the ferret to attack. The pit bull apparently didn't actually touch the baby but everyone knows these bloodthirsty beasts have more than one way to kill.............

I wonder how many TV shows will run this story....not many I bet. The worst thing about that update, is it sounded like the people might get the puppy back :yikes:

 

[Miakoda]

You pit bull lovers never give up....I think from the story it is very clear that the puppy encouraged the ferret to attack. The pit bull apparently didn't actually touch the baby but everyone knows these bloodthirsty beasts have more than one way to kill.............

I wonder how many TV shows will run this story....not many I bet. The worst thing about that update, is it sounded like the people might get the puppy back :yikes:

I wrote both of our local news stations asking very firmly that they do a retraction on the story & at least make some comment to make ammends for one news anchor's comment of "this is just more proof that these dogs are born vicious & have no place in our homes...especially with children". I sent them the article. However, when the news comes on (10:00 pm here), I'll let y'all know the results. But I don't suggest holding your breath for a retraction.......

I don't think their is any chance of them getting either animal back. They are facing criminal charges & from what I hear through a rescue person is that both will go up for adoption. But we shall just have to wait & see I guess.

 

[mamasobuco]

My question is...Why wasn't the ferret mentioned in the original story? If the fact that they had a pet ferret were mentioned in the beginning, this would not have been about the puppy at all. It would have been clear that the puppy didn't do it.

 

[DryCreek]

The ferret was mentioned in a subsequent story.

http://www.ktbs.com/news/local/4877961.html

Police: Which animal attacked baby is secondary to behavior of parents
Video High

Whether it was a pit bull puppy or another animal that gnawed off a baby's toes is insignificant to proving the alleged negligence of the child's parents, a Bossier City police spokesman said Tuesday.

Mary Shannon Hansche, 22, and Christopher Wayne Hansche, 26, told Bossier City police they awoke Sunday morning to find their month-old daughter crying and her toes gnawed off.

Police believe the couple's six-week-old pit bull puppy did it -- although veterinarians have questioned whether a dog that small was capable. A ferret was also in the house but the couple said that animal was in a cage, police said.
The Hansches this afternoon were jailed under $50,000 bond each on misdemeanor charges of child desertion. They were scheduled to make their initial court appearances via closed-circuit Tuesday.

The child underwent surgery at Sutton Children's Hospital in Shreveport. Doctors could not reattach her toes, police said.

Officials at animal control said Tuesday they have received about 15 calls and half a dozen e-mails from people wanting to adopt the dog. Police Department spokesman Mark Natale said officials will meet after the 10-day quarantine period and decide whether the dog should be offered for adoption, euthanized or returned to its owners.

Police Department spokesman Mark Natale said police have concluded their investigation. He said they believe the puppy attacked the child, although the actions of the parents -- not the animal -- are the central part of the case.

Police said the Hansches have told several different stories about what happened. Natale said the couple is charged with child desertion for allegedly putting their baby in a dangerous situation.

Police said the couple told investigators they slept as the six-week-old puppy chewed off four of their month-old daughter's toes and did not wake up in time. The couple was asleep on a mattress on the living room floor and the baby was nearby in an child seat. They said they woke to the sound of their baby crying and took her to the hospital.

Police also seized a ferret in the house. The couple told investigators the ferret was in a cage, and police said they don't believe it attacked the child.

Natale said the negligence charges apply because the child was under the age of 10 and was exposed to a danger from which she could not protect herself.

Teresa Miller, who sold the puppy to the Hansches, was skeptical the dog did it.

"He didn't chew on anything while he was with me. Out of all of them (in the litter), he was the least chewy."

Local veterinarian Dr. Valri Brown said if the puppy chewed off the infant's toes, it would not have happened quickly.

"It would have to be a period of time -- maybe at least an hour," she said.

The child will be placed in a foster home when she is released from the hospital.

Story Created: Dec 10, 2006 at 9:14 PM EST

Story Updated: Dec 12, 2006 at 6:00 PM EST

Why does it matter that it wasn't mentioned in the first story? The media got the attention of the readers with the APBT pup, they didn't need the ferret until they wanted to sell more papers. And when the ferret was mentioned, it was caged not running free. And they again gained more sales with it now being the ferrets fault.

When it comes to the media, you MUST think outside of the box. Sensationalism runs rampant through their group. What sells is the most important to them, not the truth.

As I've said before, there are always three side to every story, your side, my side, and the absolute truth.

Now, an update on the poor baby's condition would be nice. I sincerely hope that she will not remember the trauma she experienced.

 

[mamasobuco]

I hear ya DryCreek. My question was slightly rhetorical.
I had a hard time believing it was the puppy and if it was the puppy he had to have been starved.
The bottom line here is that these people are not good parents or animal owners (obviously). It breaks my heart how many people don't care. I see it on a regular basis with the puppies that I foster. It's just so sad.

 

[Gempress]

The story I read said that the mom is now accusing the ferret, but the father still blames the puppy.

Either way, it's a sad situation.