Puppy gnaws off baby's toes

Associated Press
Dec. 12, 2006 07:38 AM


BOSSIER CITY, La. - A puppy chewed off four of a baby girl's toes next to her sleeping parents, who were then booked on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence, police said Monday.

Mary Shannon Hansche, 22, and Christopher Wayne Hansche, 26, told police they woke to the baby's cries, found her mangled foot and took her to the hospital early Sunday.

Police said that they were sleeping on a mattress and that the month-old girl was in an infant seat beside them when the 6-week-old pit bull began chewing on her toes.

"They did not see the dog injuring the child," police spokesman Mark Natale said.

The puppy might have been trying to nurse on the toes of the baby, a veterinarian speculated.

"I know that sounds a little far-fetched, but that's the first thing that comes to my mind," Michael Dale said.

The girl underwent surgery Sunday in Shreveport. There was no way to reattach her toes, Natale said.

The puppy had no record of receiving shots and will be quarantined for 10 days while it is checked for rabies, officials said. Natale said he did not know what the animal's fate would be after that.

The child will be placed in a foster home until the case against her parents is settled, officials said.

sick

OMG! I have the news on & I just heard this report. Weird freakin' timing!!!

They should throw these parents into a pit full of starving pitbulls.

You know I saw an article just like this in this thread about months ago. The baby was in a bassinet and the dog chewed her toe or was it the whole foot? Anyway, I have no idea what they did with the mother.

What do you think the dog was trying to do? I think it just wanted to play with the baby, it had no idea how fragile the baby was.

How did the parents not hear the baby crying when the dog first bit it??? They somehow managed to sleep through this baby getting 4 toes chewed off?

There's no way these two deserve to have their child back.

The parents had to be on something to not hear a baby screaming.

This is sad and sick. They shouldn't be breathing.

I would be happy if all pits were sterilized and the breed became extinct.

Geez ... poor kid ... they should have had the child wrapped up in a blanket. Having pets/animals around an infant is risky, 'cause they could smell the milk on them.

Come now Bella, there is nothing wrong with pit bulls... any puppy could have done the same...

Katherine Houpt, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cornell and author of Domestic Animal Behavior: "Different breeds have genetic predispositions to certain kinds of behavior, though that can be influenced by how they are raised. The pit bull is an innately aggressive breed, often owned by someone who wants an aggressive dog, so they're going to encourage it."

Pit bulls have been bred specifically to be aggressive. They're descended from the now- extinct old English "bulldogge," a big, tenacious breed used in the brutal early- nineteenth-century sport of bull baiting, in which rowdy spectators watched dogs tear apart an enraged bull. Victorian reformers, concerned about the coarsening effect bull baiting had on its devotees, banned it by the early 1830s, but enterprising bull baiters merely migrated to an equally bloody sport: organized dog fighting.

As Carl Semencic, author of several informative books on guard dogs, and a big pit-bull fan, describes it, the bulldogge owners made a striking discovery: "a cross between the bulldogge and any of the game [i.e., brave and tenacious] and relatively powerful terriers of the day produced a game, powerful, agile, and smaller, more capable opponent in the dog pits." These bull-and-terrier crosses became renowned for fighting prowess and soon were the only dogs used in organized dog fighting in England and later in the United States. To preserve the bull-and-terrier's pugnacious traits, the dogs were bred only to dogs of the same cross. Thus was born the pit-bull terrier, "the most capable fighting dog known to modern man," Semencic enthuses.

Though breeders, realizing the pit bull was an attractive dog when it wasn't scrapping, bred a less feisty version—the American Staffordshire terrier ("Pete" of the old Our Gang comedy series is a well-known representative)—the pit-bull terrier is first and last a fighting dog. Its breeding history separates it from other tough dogs like Doberman pinschers and rottweilers, which have been bred to guard their masters and their property. Pit bulls are genetically wired to kill other dogs.

The pit bull's unusual breeding history has produced some bizarre behavioral traits, de- scribed by The Economist's science editor in an article published a few years ago, at the peak of a heated British controversy over dangerous dogs that saw the pit bull banned in England. First, the pit bull is quicker to anger than most dogs, probably due to the breed's unusually high level of the neurotransmitter L-tyrosine. Second, pit bulls are frighteningly tenacious; their attacks frequently last for 15 minutes or longer, and nothing—hoses, violent blows or kicks—can easily stop them. That's because of the third behavioral anomaly: the breed's remarkable insensitivity to pain. Most dogs beaten in a fight will submit the next time they see the victor. Not a defeated pit bull, who will tear into his onetime vanquisher. This, too, has to do with brain chemistry. The body releases endorphins as a natural painkiller. Pit bulls seem extra-sensitive to endorphins and may generate higher levels of the chemical than other dogs. Endorphins are also addictive: "The dogs may be junkies, seeking pain so they can get the endorphin buzz they crave," The Economist suggests.

Finally, most dogs warn you before they attack, growling or barking to tell you how angry they are—"so they don't have to fight," ASPCA advisor and animal geneticist Stephen Zawistowski stresses. Not the pit bull, which attacks without warning. Most dogs, too, will bow to signal that they want to frolic. Again, not the pit bull, which may follow an apparently playful bow with a lethal assault. In short, contrary to the writings of Vicki Hearne, a well-known essayist on animals who—in a bizarre but emotionally charged confusion—equates breed-specific laws against pit bulls as a kind of "racist propaganda," the pit bull is a breed apart.

Pit-bull expert Semencic makes a more sophisticated argument as to why pit bulls shouldn't be singled out for regulation. Pit bulls, he says, were bred not to be aggressive to people. "A pit bull that attacked humans would have been useless to dog fighters," he contends; "the dogs needed to be handled by strangers in the middle of a fight." Any dog that went after a handler was immediately "culled"—that is, put to death. But Semencic's argument assumes that the culling of man-aggressive dogs is still going on—which it isn't. As Robin Kovary, a New York-based dog breeder and pit-bull fancier, acknowledges, "Once the word got out, 20 years ago or so, to youths who wanted a tough dog to show off with, the breed passed into less than responsible hands—kids who wanted the dogs to be as aggressive as they could be." Geneticist Zawistowski gives the upshot: "Irresponsible breeders have let the dogs' block against being aggressive to people disappear. They've created a kind of pit bull with what I call `undifferentiated aggression.' " A Milwaukee man learned this the hard way in January, when he tried to break up a fight between his two pit bulls and had one forearm ripped off and the other so badly mauled that doctors later had to amputate it.

source

Ja well obviously you'd find a whole bloody book in defense of your theory about pits Bella, but I could find a plethora of writings that will contradict everything you've quoted, as well!!

Pit Bulls are actually extremely tolerant animals, and very communicative and vocal. The vicious bastards you read about are inbred and trained to kill by SICK HUMANS - it is not in their nature to be like that!!

I get so tired of this whole we hate Pitbulls nonsense, it seems very prevalent in America, and the UK at the moment.

Have you ever HAD a pit bull??? Or met one even??

They are living on either side of me and across the street. I also know their owners well.
One one side the owners are hunters who expose them to killed game regularly.
On the other side the guy in special forces has trained them to attack people.
Across the street the woman is terrified of people and instead of building a fence (which is requied by law here) she has it on a very long chain so that it can attack anyone who comes into her backyard and part of her side yard.

So far the only one that has not escaped periodically has been the one on the chain.
The special forces guy became suspicious that someone was feeding his dog ( I was, cheese) and he began keeping a closer watch on it.
The one owned by the hunters is going to get me or I am going to get him I am afraid. It is only a matter of time. He has chewed his way out through the reinforced fence and gate twice now when he heard me working in my yard. I have tried to avoid it and my yard looks like hell now, but I am past tired of it all.

I used to have a pit bull, and she was the sweetest thing ever. She would pick up my kitten by the scruff of his neck and carry him around. We only had to get rid of her because nothing could keep her in the yard. She was an escape artist, but no more dangerous than any other dog.

And the puppy was trying to NURSE off the baby's toes. Any puppy could have done that. Does that sound like aggressive behavior?

Any dog will behave aggressively if trained to do so. But if it's a pit bull, then the breed is blamed. The phrase 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people' comes to mind. A dog can be a loving and trusted companion, or it can be a weapon aimed at anyone or anything.

I have seen two of the pitts here jump five feet vertically regularly. One has learned to grab the top of the six foot fence and pull themselves on over and one has not.

^^^I had a basset hound that used to climb the fence. But, other than that one trick she was the dumbest dog in the world.

o.O I live in a neighbor hood full of pitbulls , german shephards and rottweilers. I dont leave the house fo nothing. Glad bout that , im terrified of dogs like that :\

So Bella because you have maniacal neighbours who train their pits badly you're anti the entire breed?

Not really fair, is it?

Yeah RachelM & coldethyl bring up the question that I have, too.





Makes me woner if the parents have a criminal record for drugs or something. Cause I'm sure the baby would be screaming it's head off!! Some people should NOT PROCREATE EVER!!!!

enit.....or they just weren't there at all.....and popped out for the afternoon fix......there is no way that these two were sleeping it bull....it is really, they are a disgrace to human population and should be disposed of immediately

even brad Pitt?

Okay on a serious note these parents are idiots didnt they hear the baby crying. and why have a dog and baby in the same room unsupervised even if you are in the same room u have to be awake to be supervising

i hope the dog didn't have rabies

A puppy will do what a puppy wishes to do, pitt bull or not. It's way to easy to blame the dog when it was the parents who left their child within reach of a weening pup unattended while they slept.

The only reason some pit bulls are agressive is because people either breed or train them to be that way.

It probably wouldn't even be in the news if it hadn't been a pit bull puppy.

edit:It is a teething puppy that will chew on anything.

Blame the deed and not the breed.

Animals can't help what they are; its humans that make them "bad".

No, it is entirely fair. The breed is a creation of man meant to be a terrible threat to others. A bird dog, a herd dog, a guard dog all have traits that we created. It is bred into them, it is what their breed is. Pitts are killers, not companions and protectors. That is all they have been created to be and all that they are now.

I do like pitt bulls but I dont trust them far to many have been said to be sweet dogs but then the dog's go off the short end. I knew the owners of two pitt bulls and they never trained the dogs for anything other then to be a pet. But then their dogs would go wacko they had to have them put down. My sister and I were going out one day and one of the pitts owned by our neighbor got ahold of another neighbors cat and my GOD WHAT A HORRIBLE SITE my sister and I were screaming and crying the owner tried to stop the dog but could not. I know alot are the way they are because of the way they are raised or treated but I just cant figure out why some go crazy when they arn't treated mean. In this case you have to blame the parents they sound like 2 crack heads to me how do you not hear a baby SCREAMING.

pOOR BABY- YEAH THEY SHOULD HAVE PUT THE DOG IN THE OTHER ROOM OR THE BABY IN A CRIB

Oh no...

Edit.

I hate pit bulls. They are the most stupid breed of dog. They are stupid and agressive.

Ja? Yes in Afrikaans?

Doesn't matter if it's a Pitbull or a Poodle point is that an Infants toe's were chewed off by a dog. The Infant was neglected by dispicable, scum of the earth, who will probably use the excuse "oh its a Puppy, its teething,`" This type of news makes me sick to the stomach.

[Edited to avoid any confusion].

The breed needs to be eradicated.

No, they don't. It's how you raise any dog and take charge.

Poor child! Stupid dog & parents. Another reason to hate that breed of dog. >> I hope the child recovers from the injury.

Sounds like they were "sleeping" as in "passed out". How could anyone sleep through that? And now these awful people are trying to excuse their own negligence by blaming it all on the fact that the puppy is [gasp] a pitbull.

Put it down. Now.

I hate pitbulls.

I read on NOLA.com that they say it may have been a ferret not the pup.

Regardless, the parents are totally responsible for what happened.

That's right Ghostkol!

Note- Several posts have been deleted. diggs6979, You are reminded that flaming, trolling and calling other user's names are against forum rules.

The pit-bull is a tough, loyal and tenacious breed which takes good, responsible training to manage correctly- unfortunately some owners who prefer these dogs don’t have the necessary attributes to train this dog. ie they are thick, and decent, responsible owners get dragged down by the reputation of these fools.

A very astute assessment, rapid...

edit:Ironically, I typed rabid at first...

Here is an update on the story. It seems a ferret is the guilty party, not the pit bull pup.



We may never know which pet really did it. But the pit bull pup is a good scapegoat. Here is the source

Now are a bunch of people going to become insensed about ferrets, demanding that they all be destroyed?

It's times like these that should be fast reminders, not just to the families involved, but all the readers too. Our domesticated pets are there because of artificial selection. Their genes are now more biased to have a certain disposition, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be like that. An animal... is still an animal, regardless of what environment you put it in. This is obviously a freak accident anyway, but still parents should always know where a dog/cat is whenever a small child is near them. Hopefully this puppy isn't destroyed, seeing as it doesn't seem to be because of tempermant of the animal. Still, the parents should be reprimanded in some way, permanent foster care is overboard though. Remember any pet is a liability, a risk, and never to be taken lightly. Same with children, never be careless with youngins.

i bet more people have been attacked by chihuahuas than pitbulls, of course a chihuahua cant rip your limbs off..
anyway, im not against pitbulls and im not sayin they should all be destroyed, but i dont trust them one bit.

that bein said..i agree on this just being a freak accident. the puppy was teethin and the parents are to blame. my cousin got an american bulldog and..as a puppy..he chewed up anything, and everything that he could get his mouth on when nobody was around.

i mean if the dog bit of her foot then maybe they never noticed till it happened
but it chewed.......

the kid must of been crying for ages

bad parents!!!!

Bad parents indeed. Shame to think that the pit bull is probably going to get the blame for all of this, and end up getting put down.


Probably just another case of some Rednecks decidng to be cool and get a pit bull, and not have a grain of knowledge on how to raise it.

Thats sick...
Isn't it common sense to put the baby in a safe place so animals can't harm them?

Apparently not to them.....