Get Ready for the Backlash

[TJordan]

A two week old baby in Arizona was killed by the family pet. A Chow. Now there is going to be a lot of talk about the vicious chows now. Personally I can't imagine why you would leave a 2 week old baby in reach of any animal.

[Auddymay]

No No No! I can hear it all now. Good Lord. I need details. Let me see if I can't find an article with details to quote.

[salty dog]

boy are you correct about that! then they will start about the pit bulls,rottweilers. but why would anyone leave any small childalone with a dog of any kind. i love my chow mix but i would never leave him alone with a small child.

[Auddymay]

Family dog attacks, kills 2-week-old baby girl

More Mesa and Phoenix Local News

08:53 AM Mountain Standard Time on Thursday, March 5, 2009

3TV and azfamily.com Staff

MESA -- A family dog attacked and killed a Mesa 2-week-old baby girl when her mother stepped away for just a moment.


According to police, the mother, who is a police officer with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, stepped away from the baby for a moment to use the bathroom. She left the baby in a low-lying bassinet or crib.

When she returned, she discovered the dog, a Chow, had severely bitten the infant.

The frantic mother called 911.

The first officers to arrive at the home said the baby girl had obvious bite wounds to her head. When Mesa paramedics got there, she was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Det. Steve Berry of the Mesa Police Department said this story hits especially close to home because the baby's father is a Mesa police officer. He was on duty at the time of the attack.

It's not known how long the family had had the dog, which has been quarantined at the county facility until the investigation is complete and it can be determined what should be done with it.

A neighbor of the family said she had a similar situation with her own dog, a Pit Bull-Chow mix, and her daughter.

"He did bite her," Amy Axtell said. "He put his jaws around the top of her head and pulled her out the back door. When she started crying, the dog almost got killed, so we took it to the pound."

Mesa police say they will treat last night's incident as they would any other case, but they say at this time, it does not look like there was any wrongdoing.

"All indications are that this is just one of those very unfortunate tragic accidents that we deal with in this job sometimes," Berry said.

[Jeff&Peks]

"He did bite her," Amy Axtell said. "He put his jaws around the top of her head and pulled her out the back door. When she started crying, the dog almost got killed, so we took it to the pound."

If i'm reading that right for a Chow to pull a baby out of its crib then out the back door sounds like more then stepping away for a minute to me. I'm sure there is more to the story and i would like to see a picture of the supposed Chow.

My take on the story, the mom was in the bedroom having an affair, the baby was crying from neglect so the chow was trying to help the baby but may have crasp the baby's head a little to hard while the Chow was trying to attend to it.

[TJordan]

Jeff, I think the part about the baby being pulled out the door was from the neighbor. They say they had the same experience.

[Auddymay]

You are correct Tammy. Sounds like the owners found him with the baby and beat him. The woman in the main part of the story went into the can, and came out to find the baby mauled. I can assure you, a woman who gave birth 2 weeks ago is not having an affair. At least not the dirty deed part of it.

[TJordan]

It does sound like the entire neighborhood may need some parenting classes.

[CoraP.]

They always step away for, "Just a moment."

[Jeff&Peks]

wrong thread, what happened to being able to delete a post?

[Auddymay]

You are in the right thread. The first part was the mauled 2 week old, and then a helpful neighbor gave an account of the same thing happening to their baby. Now that story sounded suspect. What are you doing, that a baby can be grabbed, then dragged out the door? It's all too disturbing.

[Jeff&Peks]

No I meant to put the post in the Chow ban thread but i couldn't delete it so i moved it and put wrong thread there.

[Desi]

The same kind of people will leave their toddler old alone long enough for him to wander onto a highway.
I've had dogs and kids for the last 27 years.Never left them alone together ,not even if the dog was a Maltese,not even for a second.
Baby is on the floor,baby cries,Chow wants to move the baby ,grabs it' s head.Chow doesn't understand that human puppies are so brittle.

I.Q tests should be mandatory before people are allowed to reproduce or even get a dog!!!

[Dogdad]

I got this from a friend in AZ. It doesn't say much

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/282961.php

[Jeff&Peks]

http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13329

[Judy Fox]

Oh dear - poor family.

[vicster605]

Ain't that the truth!!!
Yep, a test a nice LONG test!!!
We know a guy with a Mastive and his mother has a Maltese guess which one bit the baby in the face???? You guessed it, the Maltese.....and although not very big is face level to a baby
There has got to be more to this story

[bellabear27]

Sounds to me like there is something in the water causing some serious bad decision making on the parents parts. You would think someone would know better to leave the baby in a low area when they werent around. Also it said they don't know how long they have had the dog, there is a good chance they didn't know much about it's behavior. Also I would like to see a picture of the dog... just one more mistake on the human side of our world that creates a troubled life for our chows.

[bellabear27]

I found a thing here that tells a section of the story and has a picture of the house and a vehicle with an "I love my chow chow" ribbon magnet on it. there is also a picture of a chow not sure if it's THE chow but it's deffinately a chow.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/do ... ath_030509

[Jeff&Peks]

Did you see the video below the one you just posted, The press is going to jump all over that story. Human thinking is going to condem the whole family and the Chow becouse she has a we love a chow sticker on her car thats why they took a picture of it.

10 Most Dangerous Dogs
Last Edited: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 7:29 AM MST
Created On: Thursday, 05 Mar 2009, 7:25 AM MST

- Some are more vicious than others, but the dog in the case of a baby girl killed in Mesa is a Chow - which according to the CDC, is on the list of 10 most dangerous dogs. Take a look at the video.

For more information on the CDC's report, check out: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/dogbreeds.pdf

[Laura]

That is just awful. It was their first child so I wonder if the Chow had ever been around babies..I wonder what exactly happened...was he scared of the baby or what...??
Backlash is right. I'm sure it will make the news rounds and make things even worse then they already are for Chows in shelters and for those of us who own them.

[chris]

know what I'm thinking.... the chow was either jelouse of the new baby and tried to take it out of what ever it was laying in. Not that it ment to hurt the baby but was myabe trying to move it or get it to play???? I just have never seen a chow or any dog just come out and "attack" without reason. Steel bit the boy down the road this last summer... but the boy just walked into my house un anounced and is aware that he shouldn't do that. We have told him that before. You guys are right... there is more to this story.

[Jeff&Peks]

What I think is like Desi said the Chow was trying to help out and dosn't know its bite, theres no way the Chow attacked or tried to kill the kid or there would be alot more to the story of what they found. Plus with the Chow sticker on the car that tells me the Chows was most likely treated as a family member and well treated. The Chow was trying to help but the press will turn the Chow into a vicouse killer and all Chow should be distroyed. People are tired of the mokey story so now they have the Chow story.

They need people that know breeds and animal behavior to investgate animal bites and attacks so we can get the whole picture, If it were me doing the investigation there's no way this Chow would be dieing becouse I know it wasn't an attack. It would be written as an unfortunate situation and the Chow would be rehomed.

[CoraP.]

I don't feel the chow "attacked". The baby probably wiggled or made some funny sounds, like babies do, and the chow, not being real used to all this yet, either tried to take it out of the bassinet for some reason or...it might have set off a little of the prey drive and that was it. A newborn baby like that can make all kinds of weird sounds and movements. Who knows...but I don't think the chow just "attacked".

[bama]

I think there should be an investigation. What person would leave a 2 week baby in the reach of any kind of dog?
I'm sorry for this family, however how stupid can one be?
Only two weeks old, possibly the first baby this chow has ever seen? There has to be more to this story!
All of you guys know, if the chow was trying to kill the baby, he/she would have gripped the baby and shook
the crap out of it! From what I understand, it was a, "bite". That sounds to me, as though the chow was trying
to move the baby, possibly to care for it! My take, the baby made sounds of distress, being away from mommy,
the chow, most likely was trying to care for it.

And another thing...
supposedly, there were other dogs in the house, how does the mom know it was the chow who bit the baby?
Was the chow the only large dog?