Us Customs Dog Attacks Child

[poodlefan]

:rolleyes: Sounds pretty serious.

Airport Customs dog mauls four-year-old

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl has been attacked by a US Customs and Border Control dog at Dulles airport, WUSA reported.

The station reported that the young girl was with her mother and younger sibling when she was bitten several times by the dog.

The girl was later taken to Washington Hospital Center in serious condition where she received 30 stitches to her mid-section as a result of the attack.

She was later released.

It was unclear why the dog attacked the child.

The grandmother of the attacked child told WUSA that the dog bit the girl around her mid-section and shook her like a rag doll.

When the mother tried to intervene, the dog attacked her also, biting her hand numerous times.

[Guest Willow]

Wow....that does sound weird....I wonder what the circumstances were? Aren't those dogs usually on a lead with their handler????

[poodlefan]

Wow....that does sound weird....I wonder what the circumstances were? Aren't those dogs usually on a lead with their handler????

I'd say it was onlead.. hard to deal with rescuing the child if you're hanging on a lead for grim death.

[poodlefan]

More news:

Dulles International Airport (web | news) - A 4-year-old girl was attacked Thursday by a K-9 with Customs and Border Protection in the domestic baggage claim area of Dulles International Airport.

A spokesperson says the dog was still in training at a Front Royal facility and was brought to the airport for some real world experience.

The Airports Authority says they transported to girl to an area hospital.

The Customs and Border Protection spokesperson says the dog has been taken out of service and they are conducting an investigation.

The child was there with her mother and a younger sibling picking up a friend coming from Argentina. Officials have not yet confirmed why the dog attacked the child, but she was bitten several times and received a cut that was a half inch deep and two inches wide.

The grandmother of the attacked child tells 9NEWS NOW the dog bit the girl just under her pelvis and refuse to let her go. The dog would not release her even as the handler gave the command to release.

Her mother tried to intervene when the dog attacked the child, and she received numerous bites to her hand.

The dog was eventually subdued by its handler, and the girl was transported to Reston Hospital in serious condition.

9NEWS NOW has learned that she has received over 20 stitches to her mid section as a result of the attack.

The younger child was not involved in the attack.

The girl has been released from the hospital into the care of her family.

Edited February 19, 2010 by poodlefan

[sandgrubber]

Would be interesting to know more about the dog . . . like how it was trained and cared for or whether it had a veterinary problem.

Given the increasing demand for scent-detection dogs, it could be that there are some shonky operators training them. It should be possible to screen for dogs with extremely low potential for aggression.

Reminded of the Monterey case where a police dog (trained in Europe) got loose and killed a dog.

Such things just shouldn't happen.

[poodlefan]

Dog was a Malinois. My guess is that its handler has a lot of explaining to do.

Dog's behaviour sounds predatory to me.. the shaking in particular. My guess is that US Customs will be having a good hard look at its socialisation programs for pups.

Edited February 19, 2010 by poodlefan

[Fit for a King]

If indeed they gopt the dog as a pup - may well have been a rescue or poundie or donation as an older dog.....

[poochmad]

How frightening for the poor little girl! I can't begin to imagine the horror of it all for everyone involved.

[Nekhbet]

Read the girl was frightened of the dog, squealed and dog attacked her

thats one shoddy Malinois. Or it has no bite inhibition at all, either way something I would be sending to the vet

[sandgrubber]

Read the girl was frightened of the dog, squealed and dog attacked her

thats one shoddy Malinois. Or it has no bite inhibition at all, either way something I would be sending to the vet

AND investigating the system that let such a dog go to work in airport security. Guarding a junk yard is one thing. But serious temperament screening should be used to keep such dogs from working in places where people of all ages, cultures and states of fatigue are walking around. I thought shephard-types were generally restricted to law enforcement jobs where a 'shutz' type training was appropriate. Surprised to hear they're in airports.

[poodlefan]

Read the girl was frightened of the dog, squealed and dog attacked her

thats one shoddy Malinois. Or it has no bite inhibition at all, either way something I would be sending to the vet

AND investigating the system that let such a dog go to work in airport security. Guarding a junk yard is one thing. But serious temperament screening should be used to keep such dogs from working in places where people of all ages, cultures and states of fatigue are walking around. I thought shephard-types were generally restricted to law enforcement jobs where a 'shutz' type training was appropriate. Surprised to hear they're in airports.

Mals do a lot of scent detection work in the USA. Military and DEA have them, lots of police, some prisons do and Customs/Border patrol too.

I've seen them (on TV) used to detect cadavers, explosives and drugs. They don't seem to use Labs as extensively as we do.

In the UK, working English Springers do a lot of this work.

Edited February 20, 2010 by poodlefan

[Nekhbet]

poodlefans right Mals are used a lot more extensively in sniffer work. They are a multi purpose dog with a great nose (my bitch is a bit manic about finding things and smells )

either way that dog should not be anywhere out in public if it attacks like that and is not controlled.

[poodlefan]

poodlefans right Mals are used a lot more extensively in sniffer work. They are a multi purpose dog with a great nose (my bitch is a bit manic about finding things and smells )

either way that dog should not be anywhere out in public if it attacks like that and is not controlled.

I doubt very much if it's still alive.

[whippets]

Do they have breeding programs for custom, police and sniffer type dogs over there now? They use to train dogs from the pound.

[poodlefan]

Do they have breeding programs for custom, police and sniffer type dogs over there now? They use to train dogs from the pound.

Yes, some agencies (including Customs) have whole complexes devoted to breeding, raising and training dogs.

I think they've had higher success rates with pups selectively bred for the work. I know some Labs used in Australia come from US working detection dog lines.

They use scent dogs for all kinds of work in the US including accelerant detection work in arson investigations. And of course search and rescue.

Edited February 20, 2010 by poodlefan

[bulldogz4eva]

Very sad indeed.A young child scarred for life.Why is it they use malinois anyway.There are plenty of dogs that can scent as well or better.

Was the dog a dual purpose dog?Was it also trained in protection.The way things are in the US i suspect there are more and more dual purpose dogs used.

If it was my child they would have had to pry me off the dog as I choked the life out of it with its own collar.

I recently returned from overseas.I was in an airport in South East Asia when I went to the toilet there was a guard with a very large dog drinking from the basin in the toilet.I asked if the dog was a malinois or a dutch shepherd.He said it was a malinois and it was huge and not all to freindly.He said it was a drug detection dog.