Toddler Killed By Family Dog, Police Say

[Rainman]

A 2 year old girl was attacked by a pit bull owned by the family whose home he was visiting. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital by Police who responded to an emergency call but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Pennsylvania toddler killed in dog attack, police say

Tragic . . .

Pitbulls are dangerous and they've been known to turn on their owners from time to time. Wonder why people always insist on taking unnecessary risks.

 

[Gabe]

I would never allow a dangerous dog near a child because they are so unpredictable. I don't like being near big dogs or aggressive ones and the parents and owners should have put the dog in a separate room. I do think some dog owners are so irresponsible and think their dogs can do no wrong, but they do. The parents should have asked the dog to be put in another room or not allowed the child to be left alone. I know that can be hard, but toddlers need to be looked after all the time.

 

[OGRICHBOI]

As a child, I grew up near a vicious dog that always barked as I walked by. This is such tragic news, because I also felt feat walking by scary dogs. I would never let my child near a dog like this, because it is just common sense. I send my condolences to this family.

 

[Onionman]

That's a tragic tale. I do have my issue with pitbulls though. They don't have a great temperament and this isn't the first and won't be the last story with these dogs. I just hope that the law tightens up ownership and training rules for those dogs.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

I hate seeing children hurt by animals, but the one thing that rings true is the fact that you really do not know what an animal is capable of, because you just cannot communicate with them in the same way that you might be able to talk to a human being. It is a shame, but I would urge all parents never to leave their child with an animal unless they are old enough to take action if the animal turns on them. I certainly wouldn't want to leave a child under the age of around ten with an animal. We need to make sure that everybody is aware of this type of story, so that they will then think twice before they allow an animal to be anywhere near their child when the truth is that it could turn on them at any moment.

 

[mrsbright]

Pitbulls can be extrremely friendly if well trained, they just get a bad rep because of those that are not and that go wild (I think we can a parallel to cops and to any other group of humans, here). It's really all on the owner. My family had very friendly breed of dogs that were trained to be watchdogs and who could be downright vicious -- but the parents knew it, because it was their dogs and their responsibility to think ahead and to know that even if some of their dogs did not act dangerously, they could. So they told the kids not to go near the dog and the dogs were not allowed in the house or next to the main entrance and all.

Seriously, I saw parents teaching their kids not to mess with the stupid fat cat they owned because you never knew what could happen... I'm surprised when I see that some of 'em have animals and don't take basic precautions.

 

[RingoBerry]

People think that as long as they can provide the basic needs for a dog, everything else will be fine but if an owner has yet to form that real bond of trust between them and their pet, a lot of bad things can happen specially if they chose to keep aggressive breeds like pit bulls. I can only blame the owner of that dog for what happened to the little girl and to die in that particular vicious manner is just really horrible.

 

[missbishi]

It is illegal to own a pitbull in my country, due to their aggressive nature. We don't know the full details of the story and it is likely that the child had done something to antagonise the dog. Where were the adults when all this was happening? Were they just letting the girl play wilth the dog and not keeping an eye on things? Children should be kept away from dogs which they don't have any interaction with. I expect the dog will have been put to sleep by now.

 

[pandabear1991]

I hate to see Pitt-Bulls getting slammed with a bad reputation over bad ownership. Other's have mentioned it, but I am also curious as to where the owners were and why they would leave a toddler alone with a dog it was not raised around? What about the parents as well? Why would they allow their toddler to be around a dog it was not raised with? It is not just Pitt-Bulls that are known to attack and kill for no reason, therefore I also feel there were too many risks involved.

 

[marcamm]

This is a heartbreaking story..

Personally, I'm not much of an animal person, but my wife is. She loves dogs, and she has a dog named Lycan. She already owns that dog ever since before we met. I am always trying my best to like that dog, but I cannot completely like him because his temper is so unpredictable. At times he was completely sweet to me but there are also a couple of times when he would just bark at me like I would do something bad to him. My wife also told me that Lycan attacked a rooster that his uncle owned by biting its head until it died. After all that has happened, my wife still loves him.

I think that dogs (and other domesticated animals for that matter) have mood swings. I would never ever have a child, let alone a two-year-old be near them. Maybe if they are old enough, then they could pet one or two if they really wanted to.