Loving Family Dog Kills Baby: Could It Have Been An Accident?
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By Steve Dale, April 24, 2012 at 10:31 amSpotThis is as tragic as it gets - a two day old baby killed by the family's seemingly friendly Husky -

According to one media report, a friend of the Alberta, Canada couple says the dog was probably trying to comfort the crying boy when it delivered one fatal bite to the child's head.

Rob and Rhonda Fradette, and they seem to have done everything they were supposed to do when they brought their new baby home from the hospital last week, and they're experienced dog owners.

They had locked the dog in its kennel in the basement and put their sleeping baby in his crib, Donald said. But somehow the dog escaped and went to investigate when the baby woke up crying. It was not a vicious attack, she said, and the same bite wouldn't have killed an older child.

The 9-year-old female dog, a Siberian husky, Spot, had previously delivered four litters of its own puppies.

The RCMP will only say that their investigation revealed there was no negligence and there will be no criminal charges.

The baby was born on the night of Feb. 13 and was attacked on the morning of Feb. 15 at the couple's house in Airdrie, a bedroom community just north of Calgary. He died 12 hours later at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary.

The animal remains in quarantine. The Fradettes said they have been too busy mourning the loss of their child to discuss whether the dog should be destroyed. The animal had never been aggressive before and went through training and obedience classes.

The Fradette's said they had even attended seminars by the Calgary Humane Society, including one on how to bring a new baby into a home with pets. Of course, though it was an unforeseen accident, the dog was able to be alone with the baby. And dogs (or any pet) should never be kept alone with a baby.

Darryl Poburan, manager of municipal enforcement in Airdrie, said the husky is being assessed by an animal behavior specialist.

If the family decides it doesn't want the dog destroyed, the matter will be heard by a provincial court judge on March 15, he said.

For the Fradettes, dogs are their family and also their business. They run a home-based company called Urban Mushers that sells dog-sledding supplies. According to their website, they own four Siberian huskies named Spot, Siku, Ikkuma and Celine.

Rob Fradette is a competitive dog-sled racer. Neighbors said they often saw the family hook their dogs to a sled in front of the house to go for a ride. The couple also has a 2 1/2-year-old son. They have set up a memorial fund in the name of Baby Fradette. Donations will go to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

"It is with broken hearts and many tears that this memorial fund has been created," the family wrote on the hospital's website.

I've not met the dog, so of course, I have no way to know...but I believe this dog was friendly, and didn't mean to kill the baby. In a sense, this makes the entire story even more tragic.






CHILD KILLED ON BIRTHDAY BY FAMILY PET


A baby's first birthday party turned tragic when he was killed by the family's dogduring the celebration.

WARNING -- Graphic Description Below:

The Las Vegas Sun reports that the 120-pound Mastiff/Rhodesian mix had never displayed any previous signs of aggression toward people, according to the family who lives in Henderson, Nev.

The baby crawled over to the dog to pet him, the police reported. The Daily Mailwrites that Chris Shahan, the baby's father, believes his son tried to grab the dog’s fur to stand up when the dog reacted.

From the Sun:


The dog ... latched his jaws around the boy's head and began shaking him, police said. The grandmother attempted to pull the boy from the dog while other family members rushed to help, police said.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Shahan said, "I got the dog off the baby ... I tried to save my baby."

According to the reporter in the My News 3 KSNV video below, Shahan "wants to be clear that this was an accident, not some kind of vicious attack."

According to KLAS-TV, the dog will be observed for rabies, and will then be euthanized.

News of the baby's tragic death comes just a few days after the Associated Press reported on a two-month old who was killed and dismembered by a dog in South Carolina.












RESCUE DOG KILLS TWO-MONTH-OLD BABY

Horror as rescue dog kills and dismembers two-month-old baby while his father sleptAiden McGrew was two months old when his family's recently rescued golden retriever mauled him to death and dismembered him[/*]Father was sleeping in house with three-year-old child[/*]Mother discovered Aiden when she returned from doctor's office; Aiden died at hospital[/*][/list]By BETH STEBNER

PUBLISHED: 15:58 EST, 20 April 2012
UPDATED: 16:57 EST, 20 April 2012
Comments (169)[/*]Share[/*][/*][/*][/*][/list][/*][/list]A two-month-old child was killed and dismembered by a dog in his family's South Carolina home as his father slept, authorities said Friday.

Aiden McGrew's mother Chantel called 911 when she got home around 11am from a doctor's appointment and discovered the boy's leg was severed.

The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was attacked and dismembered by a recently rescued retriever.



Tragic life: Two-month-old Aiden McGrew was attacked and dismembered by the family's dog as his father slept




Rescue: The dog that killed Aiden, seen at the local law enforcement centre, was recently adopted by the family




Parents: Chantel and Quintin McGrew welcomed their son Aiden into the world on Valentine's Day


The dog, who looks to be a golden retriever or some sort of mix, was new to the home, WBTV reported.

Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet said the boy was bitten and dismembered, but he refused to answer additional questions about the infant's injuries.

He said he hopes an autopsy scheduled for Saturday will determine if the boy was dead before the dog dismembered him, the Associated Press reported.






The attack happened in rural Dorchester County, about 30 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina.


Deputies said earlier in the day the boy's leg had been severed by the retriever.

Aiden died at the hospital shortly after he arrived.



On lockdown: Deputies shut down Sandpit Drive Friday, on the street where the infant boy lived with his parents




Tragic: Aiden was killed while his father slept in their modest home




'Today is one of the saddest days in my 20-plus years of being in the Dorchester County Coroner's Office as I report to all of you one of the worst deaths I have ever handled,' Mr Nisbet wrote in his email to the media.


The email had the subject line 'Today's Nightmare.'

Two other children in the home were not hurt, Mr Nisbet said.


A woman answering a number listed for the home refused to talk about what happened and told a reporter to not call her back.

Chantel and Quintin's two other children, aged three and seven, have been taken into child protective services for the time being, WBTV reported.




Read more:Newborn dies after attack by recently-rescued dog[/*][/list]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2132912/Horror-family-dog-kills-dismembers-month-old-baby-father-slept.html#ixzz28fdCHu4a
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