Two month old killed by family lab

[Medea]

Truth or not, if I was confined to a nursing home I wouldn't want a Michael Vick pit bull or any other pit bull coming to visit me!!!!!:banghead:
That's not therapy, that's torture to the patients!

Apparently that's now how the patients feel, and I highly doubt anyone is being FORCED to get a visit from a therapy dog, pit bull or not.

As far as this not being true the woman was interviewed in the Washington Post and there is an entire photo spread on their site about the Vick dogs that have been adopted. But, god forbid, anyone let go of their stereotype of pit bulls.....

 

[laini]

I think, to prevent accidents, people need to better understand dogs and their behavior. They're not 'furry people', and don't think, feel and act like we do. It's upsetting how many miss the signs, and there are warning signs before a bite. Although, in this case, I feel it was rough play and not intended. Dogs have always been in my life (be it as a hobby and/or profession)....they're my love and life. I'm no expert, but I've learned a lot durning that time.

Right! We had two miniature schnauzers when our kids were babies. They are loving and have never bitten us. But, I always took them to another part of the house when my babies were playing on the floor or in the carrier, etc.... I was worried something might spook one of the dogs and they might do something like bite (or maul?) out of fear. I have heard of loving dogs doing this with fireworks or other things that spook them. It isn't the dogs fault.

 

[LinasK]

Apparently that's now how the patients feel, and I highly doubt anyone is being FORCED to get a visit from a therapy dog, pit bull or not.

As far as this not being true the woman was interviewed in the Washington Post and there is an entire photo spread on their site about the Vick dogs that have been adopted. But, god forbid, anyone let go of their stereotype of pit bulls.....

I worked for 13 years in nursing homes, I've been around therapy dogs, I've owned dogs all my life, and I am a dog lover, but a pit bull is NOT a therapy dog, it's a danger to patients, and if I were a patient confined to a nursing home, I'd have a heart attack if a pit bull came to visit!!!!!:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[Medea]

Right! We had two miniature schnauzers when our kids were babies. They are loving and have never bitten us. But, I always took them to another part of the house when my babies were playing on the floor or in the carrier, etc.... I was worried something might spook one of the dogs and they might do something like bite (or maul?) out of fear. I have heard of loving dogs doing this with fireworks or other things that spook them. It isn't the dogs fault.

A dog is a dog, its not a human. A dog can't tell the difference between a home invader and aunt Sally climbing through the window to get her keys or in some cases a baby and 'prey' or whether an action that appears threatening to them is meant to be threatening or not. I was bitten by a dauchtson I was trying to rescue but the dog was panicked...and I was surprised that the little dog bite on my adult hand swelled up and turned blue from bruising..

Leaving dogs of any size unattended around children is wrong. It is bad for the children and the dog...as we saw with this particular story which ended up with a dead baby and a dead puppy through no fault of either victim.

 

[Medea]

I worked for 13 years in nursing homes, I've been around therapy dogs, I've owned dogs all my life, and I am a dog lover, but a pit bull is NOT a therapy dog, it's a danger to patients, and if I were a patient confined to a nursing home, I'd have a heart attack if a pit bull came to visit!!!!!:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

Well, I guess you are WRONG since this pit bull IS a therapy dog and there ARE other therapy dogs and service dogs that are pit bulls as well.

Bang your head all you want to.

 

[LinasK]

Well, I guess you are WRONG since this pit bull IS a therapy dog and there ARE other therapy dogs and service dogs that are pit bulls as well.

Bang your head all you want to.

No, I'm not wrong. I would be pissed if that was my nursing home. Pit Bulls are mentally unstable and can snap at any time, they are a MENACE to society!!!!!

 

[Diamond]

No, not directed at you at all!! It was the whole getting into the pit bull debate I was addressing!! Your information was good info for people with any dog!! I will even add to what you said:

Ok, cool...because my goal isn't to torture people w/what they don't want to hear.:crazy: I know, I'm sometimes 'off topic' when it comes to what is actually being discussed at the moment, but it's difficult for me to stay caught up in a thread. So, I just try to relate to the story and give my thoughts/feelings/info. At any rate, I never mean to upset anyone.

Thank you to those who said they liked them and found them helpful.

As for the Pit debate (since it's being talked about), I must say...it really is bad breeders/bad owners. The scary thing is, they're not the only breed being ruined. In fact, many of my friends that work w/dogs have been saying for a few years how much Labs have changed. Bad breeders don't care about temperament, just making extra money. Bad owners think they will raise and train themselves...b/c they are Labs and they're smart & sweet and need no work.

 

[2luvmy]

I am not a pit bull fan at all, but I have to agree with Diamond.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the majority of these "pit bulls" that are killing and maiming are not pure bred and of the quality standard for the breed. It is years of inbreeding and mishandling that has led to their aggression. There is also the mislabeling of dogs that appear to be pits.

My neighbors have American bulldogs. The Ameren meter reader called animal control on my neighbor and had the dog removed from his enclosed back yard (another issue altogether) because he assumed it was pit and refused to enter. When said neighbor went to pick up his dog at the pound the dog was labeled as a pit.

I am sure this has been on here before, but can you find the pit?
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

The moral here is that ANY dog is capable of injury and while it is cute to see children and animals together, both are incapable of good judgement and need supervision.

Edited to change but to both

 

[heavenlydaze]

This is such a horrible tragedy, and yes, some breeds are known to be more aggressive than others, but I really don't see the point of a 'breed' discussion here (and if memory serves me correct, Tricia started a thread about this last year, but I don't know where it is). My Dad, who raised and trained German Shepherds for many, MANY years always told us that ANY dog could bite, and he was right.

Bottom line here is that no one was watching this baby. It was an awful mistake that this family is now paying for. May God rest his little soul.

There is an excellent book out there by Jan Fennell called 'The Dog Listener'. I've read it, and it's as close as any method has ever come to the way Dad raised his dogs. It's worth a look for anyone who owns or plans on owning a dog, regardless of breed.

Jan Fennell clip:
http://www.speakdog.co.uk/index.php?content=youtube

CBS news excerpt:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/05/earlyshow/living/petplanet/main598259.shtml

from K9 magazine:

http://www.k9magazine.com/viewarticle.php?sid=2&aid=765&vid=0&npage=

Where to get the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Listener-Jan-Fennell/dp/0753156296

 

[reportertype]

I am not a pit bull fan at all, but I have to agree with Diamond.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the majority of these "pit bulls" that are killing and maiming are not pure bred and of the quality standard for the breed. It is years of inbreeding and mishandling that has led to their aggression. There is also the mislabeling of dogs that appear to be pits.

My neighbors have American bulldogs. The Ameren meter reader called animal control on my neighbor and had the dog removed from his enclosed back yard (another issue altogether) because he assumed it was pit and refused to enter. When said neighbor went to pick up his dog at the pound the dog was labeled as a pit.

I am sure this has been on here before, but can you find the pit?
http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Findthebull/findpitbull_v3.html

The moral here is that ANY dog is capable of injury and while it is cute to see children and animals together, but are incapable of good judgement and need supervision.

My vet was telling me that years ago, every chow he saw was a wonderful dog, but now that breed has changed for the worse. Not all of them, of course. We had a chow that growled one time during its life, when my young cousin yanked on its tail.

As far as this incident, I don't blame the dog, I blame whoever should have been watching the baby. And I realize the mother could have fallen asleep because she was tired. I don't know. I'm like SCM, where were all the adults?

 

[Diamond]

Well, there's a diffference between protective and aggressive. There's nothing wrong with a protective breed, but there's everything wrong w/aggression. I'm not aware of any breed being bred for aggression...other than some breeders and owners who don't understand or care about temperament.

I agree, the family should have known better. No dog should be left alone around young children...especially, babies and toddlers. The risk of accidental or intentional injury to either one is too high. It's up to the adults to keep everyone safe.

 

[Medea]

Well, there's a diffference between protective and aggressive. There's nothing wrong with a protective breed, but there's everything wrong w/aggression. I'm not aware of any breed being bred for aggression...other than some breeders and owners who don't understand or care about temperament.

I agree, the family should have known better. No dog should be left alone around young children...especially, babies and toddlers. The risk of accidental or intentional injury to either one is too high. It's up to the adults to keep everyone safe.

I think a lot of dog breeds are really being ruined...the high end breeders focus ONLY on looks, rarely about any other capabilities, the puppy mills are churning them out regardless of temperment and then the lack of socialization increases instability...add in the ghetto trash/red necks who purposely make their dogs mean and aggressive....not good. I just personally get upset at all the ignorance about pit bulls specifically, esxpecially from those who don't know what the breeds traits actually are and yet are totally sure they're all dangerous and should be destroyed.

Its beyond my imagination to leave a baby alone with a dog, any dog of any size or breed, a toy poodle could probably kill a baby.

 

[Grainne Dhu]

Truth or not, if I was confined to a nursing home I wouldn't want a Michael Vick pit bull or any other pit bull coming to visit me!!!!!:banghead:
That's not therapy, that's torture to the patients!

The patients in the pictures that the owner has posted certainly don't look like they felt tortured. They had big smiles on their faces and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying petting him.

I know someone else who has a Pit Bull who makes twice weekly visits to an educational/rehab program for older teens and young adults with neurological impairments due to various causes (some of them were born with them, some acquired them).

He has taught his dog over 70 tricks; each trick has a verbal cue and a hand cue. During each visit, the patients get to have the dog do several tricks, sometimes just as a pure reward, sometimes as a goal in learning how to speak again or getting gross motor skills back.

This man started these visits with his old dog (who has since passed away of old age). When his old dog started to slow down due to age, he asked the program's speech rehab expert to help him pick out words to use as cues for the new dog, to optimise the sounds for patients working on issues with speech. That got the speech rehab expert interested in whether it was just fun for the patients or whether there were measurable benefits in additions to the intangibles like improved morale, etc.

Turns out that when the patient knew they were working on a word that would be used to cue a trick from the visiting Pit Bull, learning was increased by an average of 15%.

Part of it is that the dog doesn't lie or fill in for the patients the way friends and family tend to. Since dogs don't really speak English, the dog can't respond to a verbal cue that isn't very, very close in sound to the cue. The patients figure this out very quickly and it motivates them to work harder on words for the dog.

If those patients were afraid of the dog, why would they work significantly harder in connection with something they can do with the dog?

Me, I tend to think that the patients recognise love and respect, even when it comes wrapped in one of those dreaded Pit Bull outfits.

 

[lizzybeth]

Grainne Dhu,

Thanks for that story. It brough a smile to my face this morning.

I was in a hospital for a long time as a child and it would have brought so much happiness to us (I was in ward with about eight other kids) to have had an animal, a dog, yes, even a pit bull come to visit.

My neighbors have two pits and they are some of the most intelligent, gentle dogs I've seen. The mother dog scared me the first time I met her she ran across her yard showing her teeth. I found out that she "smiles" because she's so happy to have someone visit. Of course, I wouldn't be around her without her owners there and I definitely wouldn't leave a child alone with them. I wouldn't leave a child alone with the other neighbor's german shepherd or my friend's chihuahua (sp).

Dogs are animals. Animals can be unpredictable. Doesn't matter what breed they are.

 

[sandraladeda]

I have a really nice vet, and when I bring Beau in for his checkup and shots, this guy gets down on the floor and plays with Beau. Last time we went there, the vet told me he wished all the dogs he sees were as nice as Beau. He said he just doesn't understand why some people keep certain dogs as pets, that he finds them downright scary. He said the worst ones he sees are rotties (sorry rottie owners!) but that these are the ones with which, in his experience, he has to be most careful.

 

[gryphon]

I have a lab. He is 2 1/2 yrs old. I trust him completely. But, I would NEVER under any circumstance leave a 8 week old baby around him without supervision. Nor, would I let a 6 week, 8 week or 15 week old puppy to roam about my house. He would be crated if I was not able to supervise him.
The little swings have a notice on them "not to leave the baby unattended", or something to that affect. At least they did 30 years ago when my son was a baby.
The puppy did not attack this child. He was being a puppy playing the way puppies do. Prehaps the baby had a diaper full.
I agree with other posters that feel there is more to this story than we are being told.
So sorry for the precious innocent baby.
So sorry for the blameless puppy.
Big shame on the parents and the grandparents.
--------gryphon who has a nasty scar on her face from being attacked by a shih tzu

 

[tulsa]

Mother is accused of neglect in dog attack

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080805_11_A1_spancl167280

 

[southcitymom]

Mother is accused of neglect in dog attack

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080805_11_A1_spancl167280

Thanks, Tulsa. Mother potentially passed out from drugs while baby gets eaten alive is super sad. This young mother had past legal problems with addiction and drugs. It is so sad that she chose to bring a child into her confused life, but lots of troubled young Moms think having a baby will fix their problems.

 

[angelmom]

So the mom was too drugged out to hear the baby crying. What's grandma's excuse?

They should both be locked up, and someone should be investigating to find out why DFCS wasn't involved after LE has been to that house 3 times since May.

 

[cook78]

http://newsok.com/article/3279574/?print=1

By Johnny Johnson
Staff Writer

TULSA — Police are trying to determine whether drugs or alcohol use may have kept a 17-year-old mother from waking up while her 2-month-old baby was eaten alive by the family's Labrador puppy.

In an affidavit for a search warrant filed Monday, police said Linzy Leigh Earles, mother of Zane Earles, left the child unattended in an infant swing for about two hours on July 28 while she "went back to her bedroom and slept.”
"During that time, ... a 9- to 12-week-old Lab puppy that was left loose in the house ate the 2-month-old victim,” the document alleged.
The affidavit said Linzy Earles has a history of drug abuse and was just taken off juvenile probation for drug charges in June.
What's next in investigation?
Investigators have been granted a warrant to test the mother's hair and take a blood sample to determine whether she was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics at the time of her son's death, and to possibly explain why "she was unable to wake up to hear her baby's screams prior to her baby's death,” according to an affidavit.

Police plan to conduct a decibel sound test in the home to find out whether any screams from the infant should have been heard when he was being attacked by the puppy, the affidavit states. Tests will be conducted inside the house to find any possible body fluids left at the scene by the puppy "tracked through the residence after eating the victim.”
What happened?
Police first received a call of the mauling at about 10:20 a.m. July 28, and responded to a residence owned by Stan and Holly Earles, Linzy Earles' parents.

When officers arrived they found Zane been "eaten alive,” the affidavit said. Officers later determined that the child had been left alone in the swing after Stan Earles went to work about 8:30 a.m., while Linzy Earles and Holly Earles, zane's grandmother, slept in bedrooms that were about 65 to 85 feet away from the infant.
The black Labrador puppy was taken to the Tulsa Animal Shelter to be euthanized so investigators could recover evidence from the animal. The state medical examiner's office is waiting on toxicology results before listing a cause of death for the infant.