****

[OSoSwift]

So I wonder what it was, was the child scratched possibly badly, or has the child got serioud head and neck wounds??

Not that really, at then end of the day, it matters, idiot dog owner allowing the dog to roam and now the dog will die and another nail is belted into the coffin of the dog world.

well it does matter to the child and family what happened but basically I agree, another dog dead cause it was owned by a moron, that allowed it to wander, another blow against the dog world in general and bull breeds in particular

I agree it does matter to a very traumatised family, the bit about it not really mattering was more to do with the fact another dog issues was caused by an idiot. I also get annoyed at crap reporting.

[ncarter]

Back on the topic of the thread.. good to see the new laws are working out so well for Victoria. Who'd have thought a registration tag wouldn't stop a dog from biting, though..

Yeah great to see how the new laws have reduced dog attacks in Victoria ;) What a waste of money!

I didnt realize how anti-bullbreed those Victorians have become. Who would want to live in Victoria and own a non-papered Amstaff or similar dog now?

[sandgrubber]

I'm still confused about whether this was a dog attack: or an ultra boisterous dog who bounced into some people who are terrified of dogs.

[stone]

I'm still confused about whether this was a dog attack: or an ultra boisterous dog who bounced into some people who are terrified of dogs.

The story certainly dropped from view unusually quickly & that's a fact

[Roova]

I'm still confused about whether this was a dog attack: or an ultra boisterous dog who bounced into some people who are terrified of dogs.

The brave father of a 15-month old child tackled the dog after seeing the animal mauling the one-year old boy in his pram. Authorities have confirmed the dog is a pit bull terrier cross. The boy remains at Sunshine Hospital with horrific facial injuries.

You'd have to imagine horrific facial injuries to a one year old in a pram isn't caused by a dog being boisterous.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Roova

[Keira&Phoenix]

I'm still confused about whether this was a dog attack: or an ultra boisterous dog who bounced into some people who are terrified of dogs.

The brave father of a 15-month old child tackled the dog after seeing the animal mauling the one-year old boy in his pram. Authorities have confirmed the dog is a pit bull terrier cross. The boy remains at Sunshine Hospital with horrific facial injuries.

You'd have to imagine horrific facial injuries to a one year old in a pram isn't caused by a dog being boisterous.

That is true Roova but other news sites have reported the incident differently and reported that the toddler only had scratches to the face, some also reported that the toddler was walking not in a pram.

So how do we know what actually happened? We don't and we probably never will because as someone else has mentioned the story dropped off pretty quick. I think the originally story that had Pitbull in it was exaggerated for effect, reporters are well known for those sort of tactics.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Keira&Phoenix

[Maddy]

I'm still confused about whether this was a dog attack: or an ultra boisterous dog who bounced into some people who are terrified of dogs.

The brave father of a 15-month old child tackled the dog after seeing the animal mauling the one-year old boy in his pram. Authorities have confirmed the dog is a pit bull terrier cross. The boy remains at Sunshine Hospital with horrific facial injuries.

You'd have to imagine horrific facial injuries to a one year old in a pram isn't caused by a dog being boisterous.

I don't know about that.

Children have delicate skin that damages very easily and even playful mouthing/pawing could cause bruising and considerable damage.

Add to that someone handling the dog roughly (which some dogs see as part of a game) and yes, I can see how a playful dog could cause some nasty injuries, with absolutely no malice involved.

[Roova]

You'd have to think most friendly dogs wouldn't be mouthing or pawing at a baby in a pram though. A friendly encounter with a dog wouldn't have made the news or needed a wrench to get the dog away surely?

[Maddy]

You'd have to think most friendly dogs wouldn't be mouthing or pawing at a baby in a pram though. A friendly encounter with a dog wouldn't have made the news or needed a wrench to get the dog away surely?

Why wouldn't an excited (but friendly) dog not paw or mouth at a child if it hadn't been trained otherwise?

I have a lovely little greyhound pup at the moment (incredibly sweet dog) but if you saw the bruises on my legs, you'd think I owned some kind of blood-thirsty, man-eating hellhound. Inappropriate behaviour =/= aggressive dog.

As for the rest.. no one said the outcome was nice- sometimes animals causes injuries to people, intended or not. Personally, I'm loath to cast stones until the facts are available (and let's face it, a news article that didn't even initially have the correct breed is nothing to be basing judgement on).

[stone]

You'd have to think most friendly dogs wouldn't be mouthing or pawing at a baby in a pram though. A friendly encounter with a dog wouldn't have made the news or needed a wrench to get the dog away surely?

You wouldn't think a "hero" would be swinging a huge stillson pipe wrench at a the dog in close contact with a baby in a pram either.

First it's a pitbull, then it's a bully cross, one report has the child in a pram, another has him/her walking.

One report has horrific injuries to face & neck, another, superficial scratches.

The story flashed acrossed the media & disappeared without trace.

Strange.

[Roova]

A GOOD Samaritan has described rescuing a one-year-old child as it was being attacked by a vicious dog.

A father of a 15-month old himself, the man leapt from his car to tackle the dog after seeing the animal mauling the boy in his pram. Damian Hall said he was driving along a Burnside street in Melbourne's western suburbs when he saw the dog head-first in the pram and an elderly woman desperately trying to fight the animal, the Herald Sun reported.

He told the Herald Sun he first tried to battle the dog with a wrench from his vehicle before "taking it on" himself.

"The wrench had no effect. This thing was just possessed," Mr Hall said.

"When I first spotted it, it was half inside the pram with the child ... I stopped just short of where it was happening to give me enough time to get something solid and heavy out. "It just flat out wanted the baby." The child was eventually freed after a second man, Michael, came to Mr Hall's aid but the animal continued to lunge at the injured baby as the group drove away. "It was distracted enough that I just scooped the baby out of the pram and handed him off," Mr Hall said.

"I asked the child's grandmother to drive, she was probably in shock, and it tried to come into the car and I used my shoe to fight it back," Michael said.

Another neighbour was attacked while she tried to call police. "The poor lady came out on the phone and she tripped and it went her," Mr Hall said. "It took a good chunk from her back."

I read the original posted article and it certainly seems it wasn't a friendly approach by the dog (whatever breed it was). Either way it sounds like the child was hurt by the dog and it must have been a very frightening experience. Whether it flashed across the news or not doesn't change the fact some type of incident happened.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Roova

[aussielover]

I read the original posted article and it certainly seems it wasn't a friendly approach by the dog (whatever breed it was). Either way it sounds like the child was hurt by the dog and it must have been a very frightening experience. Whether it flashed across the news or not doesn't change the fact some type of incident happened.

Well, sure...

but an overexcited dog scratching a toddler isn't exactly a newsworthy item imo.

Considering none of us were there, I don't really think we can judge whether it was a savage mauling or over enthusiastic dog, however, I personally wouldn't be relying on the media to give an accurate representation of the events.

Obviously the whole thing could have been avoided if the dog was adequately contained or controlled.