2 Year Old Toddler Killed In Deniliquin

[Loving my Oldies]

How does anyone ever move on from this.

That has been in my head all day. The horror of being in the centre of a dog attack resulting in the death of a tiny child. In space of a few minutes, so many lives changed and damaged forever.

[trinabean]

1375688500[/url]' post='6270316']

Omg, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. That poor little child. The horror that mum and grandma will carry with them. How does anyone ever move on from this.

It makes me feel sick too. I don't think this is something that families ever get over. From the descriptions given of the dog being normally 'kept on a chain' it sounds more like a 'resident dog' than a well- socialised family pet. 'Resident dogs' and those kept on a chain feature highly in fatal bite statistics in the US.

What a horrific tragedy.

[flame ryder]

They were saying on the channel 7 news that the dog weighed 57kgs and was used for pigging. They also mentioned that it was usually kept on a chain.

That poor little boy stood no chance.

The news I just watched said it was a 'family pet' who was usually kept tied up on a chain hmmm

[*kirty*]

A very sensible article here. So tragic.

http://www.savingpets.com.au/2013/08/dog-attack-fatality-nsw/

[Little Gifts]

I think we can speculate on this case all we want but the end result is that this extended family are all living a nightmare that could not necessarily have been predicted based on the child and dog's previous interactions. In aviation there is a swiss cheese theory relating to fatal airplane accidents. They say there are so many safety measures in place that all the holes in a block of swiss cheese would basically need to line up (ie all the safety measures would need to fully break down at the same time) for a fatal accident to occur. This situation reminds me of that - if the dog had not been there that day, if the dog had not been off it's chain and if the dog had not followed the child into the house then maybe this would never have happened. If, if, if. We are not always able to control every small aspect of day to day life and I am terribly sad for this family because killing that dog wont change their memories of the event. How do you even recover from such an experience?

Sometimes really horrible things happen to good people. All we can do is not take our own, or other people's dogs for granted when they are around high risk humans like babies, kids, the disabled, frail and elderly because we will never be able to get inside a dog's head to find out what makes them snap and kill like this. As humanised as they are they are still canines with the instincts that go with their species. Big or small doesn't matter either - a dog attack is still a traumatic event for everyone involved that could see the death of both a human and the dog in question. We should never be complacent.

[Pjrt]

I think we can speculate on this case all we want but the end result is that this extended family are all living a nightmare that could not necessarily have been predicted based on the child and dog's previous interactions. In aviation there is a swiss cheese theory relating to fatal airplane accidents. They say there are so many safety measures in place that all the holes in a block of swiss cheese would basically need to line up (ie all the safety measures would need to fully break down at the same time) for a fatal accident to occur. This situation reminds me of that - if the dog had not been there that day, if the dog had not been off it's chain and if the dog had not followed the child into the house then maybe this would never have happened. If, if, if. We are not always able to control every small aspect of day to day life and I am terribly sad for this family because killing that dog wont change their memories of the event. How do you even recover from such an experience?

Sometimes really horrible things happen to good people. All we can do is not take our own, or other people's dogs for granted when they are around high risk humans like babies, kids, the disabled, frail and elderly because we will never be able to get inside a dog's head to find out what makes them snap and kill like this. As humanised as they are they are still canines with the instincts that go with their species. Big or small doesn't matter either - a dog attack is still a traumatic event for everyone involved that could see the death of both a human and the dog in question. We should never be complacent.

Absolutely! I think sometimes people forget that every dog is a free thinking individual with teeth & the free will to use them. No matter the size, breed, training or whatever.

[BC Crazy]

This horror story & death of an innocent toddler makes me feel sick to my heart On our nightly news the tragedy went on for 15 mins & the dog weighted in at a hefty 57 kg. The little boy nor poor 70 year old nan wouldn't of stood a chance The little boy & the dog in question grew up together according to his aunty.

By all accounts the American Pitbull was a trained pig dog & he had the temp. of a very gentle giant.

Until now. ....

Edited August 5, 2013 by BC Crazy

[megan_]

No one is blaming? We do need to look at factors that decrease these tragedies from happening. Clearly people don't understand that "yard" dogs pose a much greater risk than family dogs. For the safety of our children , that needs to be common knowledge.

[JimmyTheHuman]

A dog of a certain size and strength always has the potential to kill a small child...whether the owner or a parent is present or not. Previous history, behaviour, training etc is all secondary. The owner and the parent have made a tragic mistake, one that will be repeated again and again and again.

We have had situations where people with big dogs brought them near my young kids,

If those factors were 'secondary', then every big dog would 'kill' or seriously attack. The evidence is that most don't.

Go look at the scientific studies.

Studies looking into aggressive behaviours in dogs of all sizes & breeds & mixed breeds at the University of Cordoba found that human factors in what people did or did not do, in managing and training their dogs, was the key factor. Their conclusion was that people need to socialize & train their dogs. But they acknowledged some could have issues like neurological problems.

Science doesn't replace logic. the dog of a certain size and strength has the capacity to kill a child of a certain size. Your upbringing of the dog will change the likelihood. The capacity remains unchanged (in terms strength). While your upbringing and training will change the likelihood the dog will always have the same capacity. What you are arguing is that even though the risk of occurrence is greatly reduced by your training and treatment of the dog, and the potential for it to kill the child still exists, but it's worth the risk?

I strongly disagree and I don't think the risk is worth it with small children... other people do...some get away with it some don't. Fairly big stakes to gamble with IMO.

One factor that came out as more linked with development of aggression... was small size. Yes, small size. Because owners didn't see the necessity to train them & also because they are more likely to be pampered & spoiled. Yet small size dogs can do serious harm to the statistically most vulnerable age bracket.... babies, toddlers & young children. Because the child's face is on a level with the dog & their finer skin is very easily injured.

Anyone watching Bondi Vet last Saturday, saw a small chihuahua do over Dr Chris & draw blood. Everyone in the segment thought it was funny. But it wasn't. If that'd been a toddler's face... rather than a male adult hand....

I get that. But in terms of risk...it's clearly not an apples for apples comparison. My son has been bitten twice this year and 3 times in his life, twice on the face, so I do take risks and I have gotten it wrong. 1 time was his fault and I was standing there, so were the owners. He was backing his hand up to one as he has been shown and the dog just snapped and bit him while he owners was giving me lecture on how kid friendly it was. The next one he did the wrong thing and grabbed the dog by the face and tried to snuggle it and it nipped him on the nose. Ad another one walked into a friends place and bit him on the face while he was playing video games. I has also tried to bite me.

If you have young children in that vulnerable age bracket, then you're rightly cautious in taking care when unleashed dogs are around

Except it should be all dogs.

Especially if there's no history of their being well socialised with children. The latest report seems to say that was the case with this dog. It was not used to being free around a child. It had always been contained on a chain. So what's possible when left off the chain around a child?

I think that having an equality policy when comes to animals is silly when they are not equal. Some are more dangerous than others. If they weren't then you would see people hunting pigs with westies instead I mastifs?

[mita]

They were saying on the channel 7 news that the dog weighed 57kgs and was used for pigging. They also mentioned that it was usually kept on a chain.

That poor little boy stood no chance.

Would anyone wonder that a dog trained to assist in killing pigs...& always kept separate from a small child ... would treat a child just like a small animal ... when left free off the chain?

Small children smell differently from adults, make noises that are different from adults. So, even if that dog were safe around adults....small children could be confused with small animals.

Yes, the tiny boy stood no chance. When will people learn.

The emotional trauma to the mother & grandmother who witnessed this awful thing, is also just dreadful.

Edited August 5, 2013 by mita

[mita]

I think that having an equality policy when comes to animals is silly when they are not equal. Some are more dangerous than others. If they weren't then you would see people hunting pigs with westies instead I mastifs?

I'm wasting my breath answering you. I pointed out that the danger from dogs was situational. And that small dogs, who are on a level with small children's & babies' heads/faces, can inflict serious injury given their finer skin & softer tissues. So it behoves people with small children to exercise caution in situations around all dogs... & that includes small dogs.

Of course, the extent to inflict injury or death is increased with size. Like the difference between being run over by a Mazda3 or a Mack truck. Where on earth does 'equality policy' come from? It's a case of caution in situations with babies/small children & dogs. Just like caution re all traffic when crossing the road.

Edited August 5, 2013 by mita

[BlackJaq]

This horror story & death of an innocent toddler makes me feel sick to my heart On our nightly news the tragedy went on for 15 mins & the dog weighted in at a hefty 57 kg. The little boy nor poor 70 year old nan wouldn't of stood a chance The little boy & the dog in question grew up together according to his aunty.

By all accounts the American Pitbull was a trained pig dog & he had the temp. of a very gentle giant.

Until now. Not that IMHO breed has anything to do with this.

I'm sorry, did you just call this dog, reportedly a 57 kg Mastiff x an American Pitbull? Where did that come from?

Edited August 5, 2013 by BlackJaq

[BC Crazy]

Thats what our local news reported him as ...

Their exact words. Not mine. So if you have an issue please take it up with them BJ.

[Dame Aussie]

The report I saw said mastiff cross and showed a picture of the dog. It couldn't be mistaken for a pit bull.

I hope they don't keep calling it one

[BlackJaq]

Wow what paper is it? I think they need some letters to the editor to remind them to check the accuracy of their information....

[BC Crazy]

It was our local channel 7 tv news reported him as an American pitbull x Mastiff at 57 kilo. Please don't shoot the messenger. Being totally unexperienced with either breed.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BC Crazy

[kelpiecuddles]

Could be a mastiff X pit bull. It would be pretty typical though of the media to decide to latch on to the pit bull X half of his breeding rather than calling him a mastiff X like everyone else had been.

[Salukifan]

All this discussion and debate about dog aggression and all I can think of is that poor family and how horrific it must have been.

I'm officially getting old

[korbin13]

The news.com.au article has a photo of the dear little boy and also the dog. I won't link, it doesn't feel quite right.

[BC Crazy]

Yes Haredown W... I must be getting too old as well. Heart breaking as I have previously said, just tragic poor little toddler.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BC Crazy