Baby dragged into woods

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I saw this on the news and thought I'd share

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A newborn baby was hospitalized in critical condition after being taken from his crib and carried outside his central Kentucky home by a family dog, authorities said Tuesday.

The infant, Alexander James Smith, is just a few days old and had been put in his crib for a nap Monday afternoon.

When his parents looked outside later, they saw their pet, a 4-year-old mixed breed called a Native American Indian dog, holding the baby in his mouth, said Jessamine County chief deputy sheriff Allen Peel.

The baby's father, Michael Smith, rushed outside and chased the dog into a wooded area behind the home near Nicholasville, just south of Lexington. It took the father about 10 minutes to recover his son about 200 yards behind the home, Peel said.

"It's unreal," Peel said.

The baby was taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington, where he was listed in critical condition early Tuesday. Peel said the baby suffered multiple punctures and bruises.

The dog, named Dakota, was taken by local animal control officials and was being quarantined.

No charges have been filed, and the case remains under investigation, Peel said.

Here's the link in case someone wants to watch the news video on it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32027117/ns/us_news-life

 

[ChinchillaFrenzy]

That is crazy!

 

[Melissa]

I have to agree.. That IS crazy. But maybe there was something wrong with the baby and the dog was sensing it and dealing with it the way dogs do.

I want to know how the parents didnt notice a crying baby(I cant imagine unless he was knocked out why he wouldnt cry) being carried out of the bed and out of the house. Question is.. where the heck were they? Maybe the dog was "rescuing" the baby from the parents? I would love to hear the findings of the investigation.

 

[ChinchillaFrenzy]

That is a very good point.

 

[3CsMommy]

It seemed strange to me, when someone brought this up on another forum I'm part of, that the dog got to the baby in his "crib". Am. Indian dogs aren't very big, and I find myself wondering if they had the baby in a Pack and Play or similar 'baby storage device' instead of a proper crib.

That said, though, I hope the dog isn't put down. I see no aggression in what she did, and really, it's the parents' fault for leaving their newborn unattended around the dog in the first place. Not the dog's fault her instincts caused damage she doesn't understand.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Maybe the "crib" is a bassinet style bed. A dog could easily get into that.

 

[Ash]

Well, if it was a bassinet style, or ANY style crib, the dog would have been making noise to get into it. Why wouldn't the parents have reacted to that? Nope, they just happened to look outside and saw the dog there with the baby?

 

[iayla]

It isnt that hard for a dog to quietly get into a crib. My pomeranian could get into my daughter's bassinette without making a sound. But luckily all he wanted to do was sleep next to her.

Not meaning to defend the parents, but if they were outside in the yard while the baby was napping, I could see the dog getting to the infant before the parents would realize what was going on. Tho I have to agree, I'd wonder why the baby wasnt crying & screaming if it was bruised & bitten as the story claims.
~Barb~

 

[ABBY W.]

It's such a sad story! I feel terrible for the parents and for the dog. They said she wasn't trying to hurt the baby, she was carrying the baby the way she would a puppy. But she is still going to be destroyed anyway. Plus, of course, the baby was so horribly injured and may not survive. How awful for everyone all the way around!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Som other things the news mentioned that the site didn't was the baby suffered from 2 punctured lungs and skull damage.
the dog is being put down as well.

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

Family dog.. newborn infant... ABSOLUTELY REQUIRES ADULT SUPERVISION. Period.

The dog is capable of defending its place in its "pack" ..out of jealousy or instinct or both... and it is still a dog/animal.

Heck! I never even left my toddler child alone ..for a SECOND.. with my infant child. In all seriousness, she was capable of defending her "place in the pack", as well.



Boooo hisssss.. parents! Booo hissss!!

 

[Rebecca]

The dog has the baby in its mouth, so I'm going to chase the dog and get it scared and riled up! Good thinking, Dad.

 

[Sandi]

This just made me sad and sick all the way around . I read the baby was only 4 days old, I would never, even with a baby monitor, not have an eye on the room that the baby is in. So sad.

 

[alli713]

That's what I thought, chasing the dog isn't going to help the situation. I mean, I know he probably freaked out seeing his baby in the dog's mouth, but really you should go running towards the dog.

I think there's something not right with the story either way...

 

[Melissa]

Not meaning to defend the parents, but if they were outside in the yard while the baby was napping, I could see the dog getting to the infant before the parents would realize what was going on.

They story said they looked outside and saw the dog with the baby in her mouth. It didnt say they went into the babys room found the baby missing then looked outside.

It is neglect on the parents part.

ETA: I heard a story on the radio not to long ago that a set pf parents were teaching the dog how to bite their child. Maybe this case is something similar and they were trying to cover it up with a story.

 

[Nancy]

If the dog and baby were inside, how did the dog open the door to get out? How come the parents didn't hear the door open? It sounds a bit suspicious.

 

[alli713]

I know Nancy I wondered the same thing. That breed of dog is large enough that it's not going to be using a small doggy door.

I don't know, the whole thing just seems a little messed up to me..

 

[Tiatrack]

This just made me sad and sick all the way around . I read the baby was only 4 days old, I would never, even with a baby monitor, not have an eye on the room that the baby is in. So sad.

Really? So when you have a baby and it takes a nap you won't go to the bathroom? Take a nap yourself? Throw in some laundry? Do some dishes?

I do agree with all of you that this story is really fishy. How did the dog get outside with the baby? How did nobody hear anything? It looks like that breed of dog is usually 55-120lbs, so I could imagine it could pick up a baby, but to not hear/see anything until they got outside seems very odd.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

If the dog and baby were inside, how did the dog open the door to get out? How come the parents didn't hear the door open? It sounds a bit suspicious.

it does sound suspicious.

I want to know where those parents were and what they were doing when this dog got the baby. Think about it, a four day old baby being woke up is most like going to cry. It had to have been woke up when the dog got into the crib to get the baby in his mouth. So it had to have been crying.
Were they so far away they couldn't here it sleeping? Is their washer or tv, or whatever so loud they couldn't hear it crying?
even if they were outside...why didn't they have a baby monitor?

There's just something that's not being told.

 

[Sandi]

Really? So when you have a baby and it takes a nap you won't go to the bathroom? Take a nap yourself? Throw in some laundry? Do some dishes?

That's right! Also, I should have added that if I had 3 dogs, I'd keep a close eye, but I was posting from my cell phone so I forgot to add that. If I took a nap, I took the nap when the baby did in the same room. Household duties waited until my husband came home. This baby was just a couple of days old, so yes, maybe its just me but at that age, wherever the baby was, I was, or wherever I was the baby was.