Boy Falls into African Painted Dog Exhibit at Piitsburgh Zoo Dies

[LarkBunting]

Unless frozen in shock, I believe I would have jumped in after my child. (It's been stated he was her only child, so no other kids to protect or remove from the area so they wouldn't witness something so horrible.) Jumping in after the child would likely not have saved him, but at least, as a mother, I would 1.) know that I had done all that I could for my child and 2.) probably have also been mauled to death, so would no longer be alive in what must be a living hell. I seriously don't think I could live after something like this.
It boggles my mind that the mother would put her baby in such a precarious position as on a railing over a zoo exhibit, but it also boggles my mind at what she and the father must be going through now.
RIP, little Maddox...I hope it was quick & you didn't suffer long.

 

[Hopeful One]

Did you read the quote? I'm referencing the animated scene by ABC, and say IF IT'S TRUE (their depiction) and many witnesses verify . . .

I haven't read anyone who said that's what happened, merely saw ABC's reinactment cartoon and wondered if it was true, or if they were as far afield from the truth as they were with the Zimmerman case.

I wasn't attacking you or being snarky, I just hadn't read that account anywhere, so I was curious to read it.

 

[passionflower]

I just couldn't sleep last night after seeing our local news about the horrifying death of this innocent sweet boy.
In a picture I noticed he was already wearing corrective glasses.
In the news they said he was 'tiny'. ??????
It was very cold, windy & misty in my area that day.......I'm not in the burgh.
but near.
Did he have on bulky slippery jacket? a hoody? mittens?
That alone would make you top heavy.
All around the platform IIRC is mesh screen.
Where he fell is for photos..........that is why the netting is there for cameras etc.
Why did she have him in the open space and not through the screen?
He was only 2? going on 3?
It's not like a real learning experience at that age.
Did just the mom and baby go to the zoo? no friends?
It was Sunday, did dad work?
I would like to know more about this mother.
Was this their first time at the zoo?
Did she know how dangerous this pit was?
Does she have a history of depression?
being absent minded?

 

[JeannaT]

I wasn't attacking you or being snarky, I just hadn't read that account anywhere, so I was curious to read it.

In rereading my response, I realize I sounded very snarky - sorry - I was just trying to go back through and be clear.

Anyway, you didn't come off as attacking, I did in my response and didn't mean to.

Best wishes.

 

[Sonya610]

JMO but I don't think adults jumping into the exhibit would have saved the child. They would have been mauled as well.

I don't think one adult would have made any difference. If 10 adults INSTANTLY jumped in (and didn't crush the child on landing) they might have created an intimidating enough presence to back the dogs off, but the dogs also could have felt extremely threatened.

In the wild these dogs have territories that are often 100 SQUARE MILES, in that zoo they are trapped in an acre of space surrounded by gawking humans. It is quite possible if a bunch of humans jumped into that tiny (by their standards) space the dogs could have felt they were under attack and fought back to protect their own.

 

[passionflower]

I agree jumping in would be difficult, IIRC the only opening to jump over would be exactly where she stood baby. The rest of the platform has screening IIRC.
I was only there 1 time to see the african painted dogs back in May.

 

[Hopeful One]

In rereading my response, I realize I sounded very snarky - sorry - I was just trying to go back through and be clear.

Anyway, you didn't come off as attacking, I did in my response and didn't mean to.

Best wishes.

No worries!

 

[4Jacy]

Yeah let's just make the Mom feel even worse then she probably already does. Allot of people hold their kids up to get a better view of things, her Dad probably did it to her when she was a kid as mine did to me and my siblings(I do not do this with my kids however). I am not saying this is right but it is a fact that people do this and will continue to do it so places really should think about adding more safety measures so things like this won't happen. Like adding bars, a larger net, etc.

The thing I am mad about is that someone didn't jump in right away to save the child. I would have jumped in a heart beat and covered him with my body if I was unable to fend them off, especially if he was my child.

Yes, I would have jumped in too if it were my child. That being said, I hope the mother is surrounded by friends, family and angels. God bless this family.

 

[Hopeful One]

I just couldn't sleep last night after seeing our local news about the horrifying death of this innocent sweet boy.
In a picture I noticed he was already wearing corrective glasses.
In the news they said he was 'tiny'. ??????
It was very cold, windy & misty in my area that day.......I'm not in the burgh.
but near.
Did he have on bulky slippery jacket? a hoody? mittens?
That alone would make you top heavy.
All around the platform IIRC is mesh screen.
Where he fell is for photos..........that is why the netting is there for cameras etc.
Why did she have him in the open space and not through the screen?
He was only 2? going on 3?
It's not like a real learning experience at that age.
Did just the mom and baby go to the zoo? no friends?
It was Sunday, did dad work?
I would like to know more about this mother.
Was this their first time at the zoo?
Did she know how dangerous this pit was?
Does she have a history of depression?
being absent minded?

I don't have answers to all of your questions but I do know dad wasn't there. And I believe they were with a friend and the friend's child.

 

[passionflower]

I don't have answers to all of your questions but I do know dad wasn't there. And I believe they were with a friend and the friend's child.

It seems we do not know much about anything.
Allot of details are hushed up right now.
Parents were hospitalized quickly.

 

[passionflower]

WPXI news just showed a memorial at the zoo, for baby.
Oh so sad.

 

[Sigh Sister]

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/local-woman-begins-raising-funds-family-boy-killed/nSyNq/

"Maddox's parents are asking friends, relatives and other mourners to donate toy construction trucks in the boy's name, which will be given to a Christmas children's charity."

A woman has also started a facebook page to raise money for his parents to pay for the funeral.

 

[passionflower]

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012...upset-following-boys-death-at-pittsburgh-zoo/

 

[alwaysonmymind]

I wonder how the family feels about the Facebook lady raising money for them without their consent. :waitasec:

 

[Cracka*Jaxx]

Yeah let's just make the Mom feel even worse then she probably already does. Allot of people hold their kids up to get a better view of things, her Dad probably did it to her when she was a kid as mine did to me and my siblings(I do not do this with my kids however). I am not saying this is right but it is a fact that people do this and will continue to do it so places really should think about adding more safety measures so things like this won't happen. Like adding bars, a larger net, etc.

Just because some parents prop their children up on railings to get a better view, doesn't make it the intelligent thing to do. It shouldn't be the responsibility of the zoo, or the rest of society, to have to protect people from themselves. There are already safety measures in place. This mother chose to ignore the regulations and she, alone, is responsible for her son's death. Maybe zoos, amusement parks and the like should administer reading comprehension tests, or IQ tests, before they permit admission.

 

[Hopeful One]

Just because some parents prop their children up on railings to get a better view, doesn't make it the intelligent thing to do. It shouldn't be the responsibility of the zoo, or the rest of society, to have to protect people from themselves. There are already safety measures in place. This mother chose to ignore the regulations and she, alone, is responsible for her son's death. Maybe zoos, amusement parks and the like should administer reading comprehension tests, or IQ tests, before they permit admission.

I applaud your whole post but the BBM is so true!

 

[Nova]

No, New Jersey. I'm extremely close to the Philadelphia Zoo. We also do the Cape May Zoo And the Popcorn Zoo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry, my mistake. I hope you and your family survived the storm without too much damage...

 

[Nova]

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/05/zoo-no-time-to-save-child-mauled-by-african-painted-dogs/


HOMICIDE??

defintion: The deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder.

Uh, no. "Homicide" is the act of one human being killing another.

Murder is the "deliberate" killing, IIRC.

Manslaughter is the "negligent" killing, IIRC.

We had a thread where this was discussed at length. Killing in self-defense is homicide, but it isn't murder in most jurisdictions, it isn't even a crime.

Since the primary actors in the death were wild dogs, I'm not sure this would even be considered homicide. But that's a matter of Pennsylvania law, which I don't pretend to know.

 

[passionflower]

I just can't get this tradgity out of my mind.............

 

[Nova]

Some folks maybe need to back slowly away from the internet..

Wild animals in a zoo are not to blame for human negligence or accident. It's not like they were roaming free in a city - and if they were, again that'd be humans to blame. But yeah, save the child by any means, it's a child in a pit full of wild animals. It's not rocket science.

I think everybody here is saying the same thing, so I'm not sure who needs to back away. To my knowledge, nobody is saying the dogs should be euthanized at this time. What would be the point?

There is some disagreement as to whether the mother needs to be criminally charged, but the discussion has been mild.