Boy, 6, fatally bitten by relative's dog

[XemaSab]

A 6-year-old boy who was playing with a relative's dog in Union City died after the animal bit him, police said Tuesday.

The dog, described as a pit bull or pit bull mix, attacked Nephi Selu at a grandparent's home on Elizabeth Way about 11:30 a.m. Monday, police said.

"It sounds like they were engaged in some type of horseplay with the dog. The boy was actively playing with the dog and may have attempted to climb onto the dog's back," said police Cmdr. Ben Horner. "We think he may have been trying to ride it, like a little horse. The dog attacked the boy and bit him on top of his head."

Relatives quickly pried the dog off Nephi, but he died at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford shortly after 4 p.m.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Boy-6-fatally-bitten-by-relative-s-dog-4606876.php

[flvegan]

1. Nom

Come on usual cast, pile on the pitbull hatefest! Glad I got in early.

Hey, which idiot wants to refer to the Merritt Clifton Report first? Step right up!

LOL!

It's a true shame that some folks have such a vile distaste for something (like this breed) that they'll use any unfortunate, sad situation (such as the death of a child) to try to make a (albeit incorrect) point.

Pathetic and sad, but social.

[Trajan]

3. It seems that you are more concerned about that reaction

than the awful fact of the event itself ...

If a poodle had done this, which you care more about the dead child? ...

[flvegan]

8. I'm concerned about the reaction of the OP

and many others here on DU that do the same, but not more so. You'll see that the OP failed to have ANY reaction at all. Just a post to an unfortunate story. A gotcha, but at what expense?

I don't understand your question as I have a proper grasp of the language.

[baldguy]

24. If a Poodle had done this it wouldn't have been posted here.

And it wouldn't be used as an excuse to exterminate all Poodles everywhere.

[RebelOne]

5. I agree as a former pit bull and Rottweiler owner. I have owned both of these breeds,

and all my dogs were the sweetest dogs you would ever know. Any time attacks by any of those breeds are immediately jumped on by the media. I have a Chihuahua now that is more fierce than either of those breeds. I did not raise her to be that way. She just is.

[joeglow3]

39. And has she ever ripped off a 3 year old's penis?

A pitbull did to a family member's friend. The issue is you try to frame the issue into something it is not. NO ONE is trying to say one breed is more apt to attack than another. We are saying, assuming all things equal, one breed is more likely to rip your body apart, while another will cause an annoying puncture wound (at worst).

[XemaSab]

7. What percent of dogs in the US are pit bulls?

What percent of attacks in the US are by pit bulls?

[flvegan]

9. You tell me.

Show your work, too. I'll wait.

[Honeycombe8]

11. How do we know the identifications are accurate? It's not like they're Dobermans...

easily recognizable. People mistake other breeds for pit bulls all the time.

Not saying they're not, but it is truth that "pit bull mix" is a common way people describe a med or med-lg dog with very short hair that bites someone. There is no way to clearly identify or categorize a "pit bull mix" unless it has the distinct pit bull face and head. Otherwise, there's nothing distinctive about a pit bull from other breeds. Mainly a lab mix.

[hollysmom]

2. Hmm, since it was a single bite, I wonder

if it severed an artery or something similar. Sounds like it could have been a very sad accident instead of a vicious attack.

After reading another story, the child seemed fine after the attack, they just thought he needed stitches, must have been internal bleeding or something, by the time they took him to the hospital, he was dead.

and adding - the boy was bit at 11:30 and died after 4 PM as he was airlifted to a hospital - I wonder if the family did not take it seriously, would be interested to hear the autopsy findings on this. Did they just let him sit around until he got worse?

[Honeycombe8]

15. Sounds like the dog may have simply bitten to get the kid off his back..this is what dogs do...

to other dogs, if they don't take the warning growl or behavior seriously (as the child clearly didn't or wouldn't have been able to, if he doesn't know dog warning signs).

There is a reason that book after book warns people that kids should never be allowed to horseplay or roughhouse with dogs. Ever. Period.

Dogs play with each other differently than humans. If a dog irritates another dog, they can read each other's behavior to know when to back off. And they'll reach for the ears to bite (my girl dog did once, to her brother), grab onto an ear, and hold the other dog down to teach him a lesson and exert his alpha status.

The adults should not have been letting this kid play horseplay with a powerful dog (or even a toy dog).

There are games to play with dogs: fetch, frisbee, ball, training commands, walking. But not horseplay. It brings out aggression, and the dogs find it irritating.

[hollysmom]

17. It is more than that

it sounds like the injury was not taken serious in time.

[Honeycombe8]

21. I see. But my pt was that it wasn't an "attack" or a "mauling." It was a regular dog bite...

that dogs will do to other dogs who don't back off when they should. Only this was a little kid. Little kids can't take a dog bit to the head very well, I would guess.

I've read books that say dog attacks rarely happen w/o warning. It's probable that the dog warned the kid to back off, in dog language, but no one was paying attention or knew the warning. It could've even been a growl that the child ignored.

But yes, if you go to a care provider with a dog bite, it has to be reported. I wonder if they were avoiding doing that, since a reported dog bite has to be investigated. I wonder that, because I did the same thing. Only it was a bite to my hand. My two dogs got into it (it's a scary thing to see a dog fight), and I intervened and stopped it, getting a bite to the finger in the process (the bite came from the losing dog who was just biting at the air, and my hand got in the way).

Also...my alpha dog is trained, to the extent I knew how to train her. So that when they were fighting, and she was definitely winning, I was able to grab the scruff of her neck and yell at her to "drop it!" She stopped fighting, while still having my other dog's ear in her mouth, met my eyes, thought about it a second....then when I repeated my command in my "I mean business" voice, she dropped her brother's ear. She wasn't trained well, but enough to stop her, when I got my wits about me enuf to give the command.

And then I took care of the problem that caused the fight. I determined I wasn't reading their behavior correctly. It was my fault. There was a problem that I wasn't taking care of, so after several years, she decided she'd put a stop to it. So I took care of that problem, and still do on a continuing basis. She no longer has to. I am the alpha. I take care of the problems. No need for her to worry about those things. It hasn't happened again. But I'm always on the lookout for a sign, and I never leave them alone together.

[hollysmom]

22. I wonder if that is a local thing?

I went to the doctor twice with cat bites (Bite deep bites that I had to pry their mouths off me and it took a while, they meant business) and once with a dog bite i got while working at a shelter - my fault, I had my dog out of her cage without a leash because I could not get in there to do it and another walker came around the corner with a dog, I got between them, bad idea. The doctor treated me each time without reporting the animals, shots and stitches and all. Didn't seem the least concerned to do that. The shelter was quite traumatized by it though, I told them it was a 'learning" experience

[Boudica the Lyoness]

18. Blame the victim

That is what pitbull bullies do first.

[flvegan]

19. So you were there?

I find it funny how often I ask you that, yet you never answer.

Wonder why.

[baldguy]

25. Single-issue poster.

And not very well informed on that issue, either. I suspect intentionally so.

[hollysmom]

23. I am not blaming anyone,

It would be horrific to think of how the parents and grand parents feel now. I am just wondering if there is more to it. The time delay seems odd and they told the dog owner the kid was fine according to the article, so he went to work.

Fora story to be a learning experience for us all, we can never have too many facts.

in my case, my 6 year old niece used to sleep with one of my dogs, a dog that weighed more than her. I never had a second thought about it because I had taken this dog to the park at the wrong time, after 101 dalmatians was just released and bunches of kids ran at her screaming "a dalmatian' - she wan't that is a breed I would never trust with children. the kids swarmed my dog, standing on her tail, hitting her (their version of petting), pulling her ears. The dog looked at me with a "make it stop look" and just laid down. The only time I ever heard that dog growl was when an adult was hitting a child, She did not like it and challenged the adult until the hitting stopped. I really believe she always thought small children were her puppies,. Of course one day the child came crying to me that the dog bit her. I asked where and I swear, not a mark on her - apparently the dog snapped at her without biting, but scaring her. My niece was trying to catch the dog's tongue - argh. Very lucky at that. Dog slept with me after that and the niece was never left alone with the dog, although she could play with it in my presence.

[tblue37]

20. The fact that the adult (the father) had to go downstairs

when he "heard a commotion" shows how incredibly stupid the adults were. Not only did they allow the child to roughhouse with the dog and try to ride its back, but did not even bother to be in the same room with the small child and the large, powerful dog:

[font color = "blue"]
Keala Keanaaina, a former player on the UC Berkeley football team, "heard a commotion downstairs," Rains said. "He went downstairs, and he saw that the dog had the child, and then he just went to the dog immediately and took a hold of the dog in the jaw, and the dog released."

[/font]

It's so sad--and not just for the little boy. That poor dog is now likely to be killed, even though everyone says he is a good, friendly, gentle dog. Even a gentle dog can snap if someone climbs on its back or otherwise hurts it! And if the dog is big enough, the kid will get seriously hurt or killed.

Adults should never leave a child alone with a dog of any breed, even if the dog has been in the family for years and has never bitten anyone. If the dog is large, a bite not intended to do serious harm can nevertheless do serious harm!

[BlueJazz]

4. This is from the SF newspaper >>

According to Colleen Lynn, director of the nonprofit Dogs Bite in Texas, pit bulls kill more people than any other breed. From 2005 to 2012, pit bulls killed 151 people in the U.S., accounting for 60 percent of dog-related fatalities, Lynn said.

[flvegan]

10. Mmm...Dogsbite.org

Where does their data come from again?

Journalism is a dead trade.

[BlueJazz]

13. Don't know. I'm not very schooled on the statistics of dog related deaths.

I've heard this and that but no hard evidence either way. (regarding pit bulls)

...or even if the stats are for Pure-bred or mixed ??

[flvegan]

14. Fair enough.

Thanks for your answer.

[baldguy]

26. Colleen Lynn is a liar.

[BlueJazz]

27. OK...I'll take your word for it.

[The Link]

6. Ban the breed.

[Honeycombe8]

16. A mix is not a breed. nt

[Boudica the Lyoness]

28. If all pit bulls were sterilized,

then there would be no more pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

Normal pet dogs tend to be tolerant of their human pack's off-spring. Dogs bred to be companion dogs/working breeds, don't show their annoyance by killing.

[baldguy]

29. Still promoting genocide, huh?

[Boudica the Lyoness]

31. Yes

As person who loves dogs and all animals and hates to see children/people killed and maimed, I'd like to see pit bulls stop breeding. Call it genocide if you want. You and your 'bully' friends have called me a bigot, a racist, a liar, a dog hater and a abuser/killer.

In my defense, here is a quick bit about me. Because I love animals, I've been a vegetation for 40 years. I'm well known (infamous) in my county and beyond, for my stand against animal cruelty and animal rights. I report facts. I abhor liars and I never lie. I'm white and 40+ years ago I married a black man, which wasn't popular (to say the least) back then. I've been in two different unions in two different countries. I've started a successful business. I saved our family farm, which now has been in the family for 125 years. Had dinner with a first lady (HC) and have been cleared by the secret service more than once. I've lived a good worthwhile life and the names you have called me are shameful.

[baldguy]

33. Saying you love dogs is like saying Jason Voorhees loves campers.

You want to kill off a breed that you can't even identify. And wouldn't solve your problem, in any case.

[uppityperson]

38. What species plant are you? Being a "vegetation for 40 years".

[Honeycombe8]

41. He didn't intentionally kill the boy. He bit him once, just like a chihuaha or yorkie would have.

Unfortunately, that dog's bite was too much for a little boy's head. The boy would have been killed had the dog been a german shepherd, doberman, husky, or any other muscular breed.

The fault lies with the parents, IMO. You NEVER let a young child rough house with a muscular dog....or any dog. Any idiot knows that.

Family dogs snap all the time. It's very common. The parents should have known that, but since they didn't, that means they're ignorant.

The dog has not been put to sleep yet, while the investigation is going on. That's because the dog didn't attack or intentionally kill the boy.

[TheCowsCameHome]

12. The tradition continues.

No surprise here.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

30. Here's something by a pit bull fancier.

These are the people who created the breed.

http://rayfox6.tripod.com/id41.html

Modern day pit bull fanciers talk 'pit bull' here. (Click on 'General Discussions about pit bulls' top right, to read more).

http://www.ultimatepitbullforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1168&start=20

I'm getting so sick and tired of pit bulls and their bullies.

Thursday we bring home the puppy we have been waiting six weeks for. She's going to be joining our other darling herding dog, as our much loved pet and cow boss. I know she'll be a herding dog because that is what she was bred to do.

I'm so sorry that little boy was killed. Poor little chap

[Kalidurga]

32. I think I have located the problem....

From the article.

As for the dog, Keanaaina said it was "good with kids, very obedient, he was never allowed in the house, he stayed right at the door, so we never had any problems with him at all. It's a huge shock."

Something about that just doesn't add up. And it's never a good idea to think a backyard dog is well socialized.

[baldguy]

35. They let a kid who doesn't respect dogs alone with a dog.

Trying to ride a doge like a horse at 6? Really?

Also: "...never allowed in the house...". Would you let your kid play with a yard dog? This tragedy could have happened with any type of dog.

[Butterbean]

42. The child was mildly autistic, it states in the article, which probably explains the

attempts to ride the dog like a horse.

My autistic child has our 7 lb. dog in his lap right now, and I am 2 feet away from him, supervising his every move because I don't want him to get too rough with the dog and get nipped/bitten. He just doesn't understand what's appropriate and what's not, even after we've drilled it into his head a zillion times.

Which is why I agree, this case is about negligent parenting, not the dog breed here (and I am admittedly afraid of pit bulls). I don't leave my children alone with my tiny dog because I don't want them OR the dog to get hurt. That child should have never been left unattended with the dog, period. The dog was reacting to pain and fear, most likely.

[B Calm]

34. You never hear of a Lab doing something

like this! Some breeds should never be allowed around children, period!!

[baldguy]

36. .

Black Lab
http://www.newson6.com/story/8746561/puppy-kills-baby-boy

Black Lab-GSD mix
http://www.abcnews4.com/story/18637442/toddler-killed-in

Golden Retriever-Lab mix
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dog-killed-2-month-old-baby-ripped-child-legs-father-slept-room-police-article-1.1065711

Black Lab
http://www.9news.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=65161&catid=222


Some people shouldn't be allowed to have a dog. The breed doesn't matter.

[hollysmom]

37. Well for all the pit bullhaters you can celebrate

Last edited Thu Jun 20, 2013, 03:00 AM - Edit history (1)

the dog was euthanize because the owner was not smart enough to supervise young children with a large dog. Dogs have the intelligence of a 2 year old (not a slam), they are not people and have different behaviors - what puppies can withstand is more physical than human children. Puppy skulls are very thick, I can guess where the dog was trying to control the child by grabbing his head.

Edited because this adult can not spell - too many years of bad spell check.

[flvegan]

40. Have a drink, Xema! Another dead pitbull is celebration time for you, right?