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Pit Bull Chews Off Baby’s Toes
Honestly, I think pit bulls and babies don’t mix.
In the latest dog-bites-baby news, a North Carolina mother and her boyfriend have been arrested and charged with felony child abuse after a pit bull chewed off the toes of her 4-month-old baby’s left foot.
The mom, Robie Lynn Jenkins, told authorities that she was on medication and, along with her boyfriend, slept through the baby’s cries. All three were sleeping in the same room. In fact, Jenkins said she didn’t discover the injuries until the next day when she was changing the baby’s diaper.
Now, I’m not calling for the destruction of an entire dog breed, but I can’t believe how easily people mix these aggressive dogs with babies and young children — especially when the dog in question isn’t even a part of the baby’s family. In this particular case, the pit bull didn’t belong to the couple; they were watching it for a friend who was in jail on gun charges.
There’s a pit bull mix in my extended family. She’s a sweet, sweet dog and very tolerant of her own people. When my kids are around, I make sure they’re not pinching her or bumping into her. In fact, I encourage them to stay away from her, much to the irritation of her owner. But I can’t help it. I saw her snap once at my oldest when she was two and that was it. I’m not taking any chances.
How do you manage your kids around non-family dogs, especially pit bulls and Rottweilers and the other notoriously aggressive types?
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[...] as the U.S. is filled with news of a dog mauling a toddler, Canada (surprise, surprise) comes out with the feel-good dog and baby story of the year. Truly, [...]
Dog Saves Toddler Lost in Wilderness | Strollerderby commented on Sep 07 09 at 6:30 pm[...] Pit Bull Chews Off Baby’s Toes [...]
Preschool Search Nightmare Starts Today | Strollerderby commented on Sep 08 09 at 12:16 amdiera commented on Sep 04 09 at 3:31 pmUm, I think if you’re on so much medication that you can sleep through A DOG CHEWING OFF YOUR BABY’S TOES
diera commented on Sep 04 09 at 3:35 pm… hit enter too soon … then the DOG is not the problem. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with pit bulls. I think there’s sometimes something wrong with people who acquire pit bulls; they’re people who value aggression and don’t train their dogs well. (I’m not saying this is all pit bull owners, just some who get their dogs for the tough image of the breed.) There have been cases of various breeds of dogs attacking babies, not all of them ‘scary’ breeds. Basically, it is never appropriate to leave a baby and any dog alone together, and if you’re so drugged up that you can’t hear your baby cry, that’s no better than not being in the room at all.
Laure68 commented on Sep 04 09 at 3:52 pmI agree with diera. This has less to do with the dog than with the mom and her boyfriend. She was on “medication”, but what about the boyfriend? If they have a friend who is in jail on gun charges, and they take his pit bull and let this dog sleep with their baby while they are on “medication”? This poor baby is obviously in a very bad situation.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Sep 04 09 at 4:47 pmThese kinds of stories make me just sick. For the sake of the child, I hope it gets removed from this situation. And Madeline, if anyone is trying to give you the side eye because you keep your kid away from their dog, they can bugger off.
patricia commented on Sep 04 09 at 5:24 pmis it the ignorance of the dog owners and then people who don’t know dog that allow things such as this to happen. Shame on you for labeling a breed of dog “aggressive” not just the one dog. I am so very tired of the whole pit-bulls are aggressive crap, yes some are agressive as are some poodles, some terriers, basset hounds, yorkies, cats, kids etc.
Marj commented on Sep 04 09 at 7:07 pmIt’s inappropriate to leave a baby or child unsupervised with any dog, even a tiny sweet-tempered dog. Situations can change, and things can go badly. If you’re sleeping while heavily medicated, the child is unsupervised – and it sounds as if they didn’t know the dog that well anyway, although as I said, even if they did, it still wouldn’t be okay. Poor baby. Also, I have noted that although not an inherently bad breed, Pit Bulls are often owned by people who like the macho, mean big dog idea (not my friend who owns two, or my brother who owns one, but some people). Anyone with that attitude towards dogs could have a “mean” dog by encouraging bad behavior or making no attempt to correct agression.
Lula commented on Sep 05 09 at 10:24 amThis report says the dog was a 12-week-old puppy, and that it may have taken “several hours” for the puppy to chew off the baby’s toes. ?!
That is SO not “an accident that could happen to anyone”. Where exactly was this baby? And where exactly were the adults for hours while a puppy chewed off the baby’s toes? 3-month-old puppies are pretty easy to subdue – WTF went down here?
Athena714 commented on Sep 05 09 at 1:09 pmThis story has nothing to do with the breed of dog and everything to do with negligent parents. I absolutely recognize the fact that many people have had violent encounters with pit bulls over the years, but to turn this particular story into a cautionary tale against the breed is ridiculous.
Mom commented on Sep 05 09 at 2:00 pmMy son has two of these dogs and it terrifies me. He and his girl friend don’t seem to understand just because a dog is OK today doesnt mean they will be tommarow. Pitbulls are breed to fight in a pit. even experts say don’t get one if you have a baby.
Lula commented on Sep 05 09 at 3:19 pmThe 12wo puppy belonged to the parents’ neighbor – they were only keeping it for a couple days. They must have been under some serious “medication” influence to not hear their baby’s screams of pain from anywhere in that tiny-looking trailer, esp. if it really did take the 12wo puppy several hours to chew off the baby’s toes.
The breed of dog doesn’t have anything to do with it. There’s a video of the puppy in question (which has been euthanized), which shows a small puppy acting like a small puppy. This is not a situation where a grown pitbull mauled a child – this is a situation where parents were so incredibly checked out that they couldn’t hear their baby screaming while their neighbor’s puppy chewed on it. It could have been rats chewing on this baby, or a cocker spaniel or a freaking budgie. The point is that the parents were negligent, not that any particular kind of dog nommed the infant.
esther commented on Sep 05 09 at 3:43 pmAs someone who endured a vicious attack from a neighbor’s cocker spaniel when I was 5, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to blame the dog in this instance, especially since it was just a puppy. This is a case of parental neglect, plain and simple. It sounds like some serious drugs were involved here, there is no way that the mother or boyfriend should have been able to sleep through that. Puppies have a natural propensity to chew, and all dogs can be aggressive and bite in the right situation. It is the responsibility of the owner, or caretaker, to make sure that a child is well supervised around a dog at all times. I really hope that both of these “parents” go to jail for a long time.
Ri-chan commented on Sep 06 09 at 10:53 pmThat’s horrible! How do you sleep through that and then not notice that your BABY HAS NO TOES until the next day!?!?! This happened in my area recently
LEXINGTON — A father was frantically calling 911 to report his missing newborn when he spotted the baby, bleeding from the mouth and clutched in the jaws of a family dog who had carried him from his crib to the heavily wooded backyard.Four-day-old Alexander James Smith was rushed to the emergency room at University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington, where he was listed in critical condition Tuesday with two collapsed lungs, a skull fracture, broken ribs and various cuts and bruises.
His father, Michael Smith, said doctors were optimistic the boy would survive, but a day earlier they braced the family for the worst and had to use resuscitation paddles to get a heartbeat.
“They took us straight to a consulting room with a pastor and gave us pretty much what was the last visitation,” Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press from a hospital waiting room.
Smith said he and his wife, Chrissie, had just put Alexander James (or A.J.) in his crib Monday afternoon in their Nicholasville, Ky., home. Smith said he was preparing to leave for the store to buy various baby items, including a video monitor that he now believes could have prevented the entire ordeal.
“It’ll haunt me because that was my job,” he said. “It’s a nightmare.”
When Chrissie returned to the bedroom minutes later after going downstairs to look at the shopping list, one of the doors was ajar and both the baby and their Native American Indian dog — a breed that looks similar to a husky — were gone.
Michael Smith initially headed to the backyard, knowing that Dakota, a mixed breed with wolves in its ancestry, had a reputation for stealing household items like cups and wallets and depositing them there. He spent 10 minutes searching among the trees and bushes in the two-acre fenced yard before finding the dog and child in tall grass some 200 yards behind the house.
He grabbed his son and sprinted toward the house, handing him over to emergency workers who had just arrived.
“When you’re running through the backyard and you can’t find him, every worst fear comes through your head,” Smith said. “We had to try to stay positive, try and find him. My guess is five more minutes and he wouldn’t be here.”
Jessamine County chief deputy sheriff Allen Peel said no charges had been filed, but the case remains under investigation.
“It’s unreal,” Peel said.
Smith, who is the owner of a corporate security business where his wife also works, said the dog was treating the baby as a puppy and wasn’t being vicious. Still, he doesn’t want her back in the family home.
Dakota was taken into custody by animal control, and although Smith remains hopeful a good home can be found for her, he acknowledges the animal may have to be destroyed.
A call to Jessamine County animal control was not immediately returned.
The 4-year-old dog was one of three — including one from the same litter as Dakota — that the family had owned since they were puppies. None had any history of aggression, even when playing with Smith’s two other children from a previous marriage, he said.
“It wasn’t a vicious dog attack,” Smith said. “She had A.J. for 10 minutes on her own, and if you look at A.J.’s belly, there’s about 100 little marks. All the dog had to do was one bite and A.J. wouldn’t be here.”
jeannesager commented on Sep 07 09 at 10:24 amI’m going to totally blame the parents on this one rather than the dog. I have a pitbull in my extended family too – and I trust him around my daughter completely, in part because my friend’s husband was attacked by a dog as a kid and thus raised this dog with major amounts of love.
But if a dog snapped at your kid, Madeline, I totally agree you should keep your kids away – and the owners should think twice about having it around kids.
Rae commented on Sep 07 09 at 8:22 pmAs a professional dog trainer, I’ll tell you that pitbulls are NOT the number one people biters of the dog world: chihuahuas are, followed by dauchunds, then yorkshire terriers. Pitbulls are actually number 11 or 12 on the list. The media jumps on pitbull attacks/bites whenever possible–you rarely hear of the chihuahua that attacked the neighbor kid, and believe me, small dogs can dish out the damage too. Yes, pitties have a higher prey drive because of what their ancestors were originally bred for, but as long as you are an educated owner, know the breed and what they can handle and/or are capable of, take the time to train your dog, and remain consistant every day, then pitties can and DO make excellent pets. Staffordshire terriers are actually known as the “nanny dog” in Europe because of their affection towards children, and their protectiveness of their families. Food for thought.
Whit commented on Sep 08 09 at 12:53 amWe have a pit-mix. It’s mixed with teddy bear.
MR commented on Sep 09 09 at 1:26 pmI am a dog lover and am not for destroying any breed just because people have bred them and trained them to be vicious. However, to say that people shouldn’t be cautious with a large dog with a bad reputation is unrealistic. I have been bitten by a chihuahua and yes it did hurt, but my mother kept the wound clean and luckily I didn’t need stitches. Now if I had been bitten with the same force by a pit bull, the damage would have been much worse simply because of the difference in the size of the dog. Sorry, but I’d rather take the risk with the chihuahua.
leanna commented on Sep 10 09 at 4:28 pmthis is a horrible situation all around – for the baby and the dog, and blame most certainly falls on the parents. ANY dog can be a risk around a child or someone it doesn’t know. in fact, ANY pet is a risk, particularly around a child it doesn’t know. i wouldn’t let my child around a dog i wasn’t familiar with, and i have taken the time to teach my seven year old the right way to approach an animal. pit bulls (which cover MANY breeds of dog by the way, pit bull is a nickname) are very protective and loving towards their pack. we exploit that, creating aggressive dogs who are not socialized and do not understand waht constitutes a true danger to their people. media jump on any story with a pit – like a commentor said before, no one hears about the poodle bites, the chihuahua bites. and as MR said, yes, if the force was the same, i’d rather be bit by a chihuahua than a pit bull. however, my experience as a dog groomer for seven years has taught me that big dogs know their strength – they give MANY warnings before a true bite. chihuahuas, and other small dogs, are more likely to bite quickly and do damage than most well bred and socialized larger dogs, bully breed or not.
and by the way – your fear of a dog will get you bit much faster than calm, common sense approaches. that dog doesn’t know why you’re afraid, but it can read your body language and it gets scared too!
Bridget Pilloud commented on Sep 11 09 at 2:03 amI have a pit bull, as well as two mutts.
Who leaves their baby unattended with any dog?
Pit bulls are dogs that desire, more than anything, to please their owners. Sometimes the owners teach them to be aggressive.
Unfortunately, there are also plenty of dogs that have genetic aggression tendencies. Pit Bulls are a breed that have some bad apples. But many of the dogs described as pit bulls in pit bull attacks aren’t.
In the 1970′s, it was the rottweilers and german shepherds that were the scapegoats.
The American Temperament Testing Society has done testing of many breeds, to gauge the potential reactivity/aggression of a dog.
Pit Bulls had a score of 85% (meaning that 15% of those tested showed some reactivity, and 85% did not). What animals scored lower? Golden Retrievers, Bearded Collies, Lhasa Apsos, Chihuahuas. The list is pretty long.
Would I leave a baby alone with my pit bull? No. What about with Lassie? No. Not even if Timmy was down the well.
Brittany commented on Jan 08 10 at 1:36 pmI DO NOT agree with the rottweiller thing……they are not mean dogs it is all how they are raised. Pit bulls on the other hand…..i just dont trust them..they are a fighting dog and rottweillers are guard dogs. We have a rottweiller she is 4 years old and we have had her since she was 6 weeks old. The best dog i have ever had, you could win her heart forever with a piece of cheese. I do have a 15 month old little boy. He is my first child and my dog loves him to death….she checks on him 4 or 5 times a night and sleeps in front the hallway in front of his bedroom door when her bed is just around the corner in the living room. She loves him and he loves her. He throws a ball….she goes and gets it and sets it down in front of him. He can walk up to her and take her bone out of her mouth and she just licks him. She is the first rottweiller i have personally owned..my family has owned a few and i have to say that yes i was scared of them. But they are great dogs. Very protective of their family. When my baby is playing outside she walks right beside him and let me tell you if some one tried to hurt him it would be a bad move on their part. Rottweillers do not forget faces…if they have seen you with the family before they like you…if they have never seen you before they are a little hesitant of you but with our dog as long as you present yourself and don’t suprise her and talk to me or my husband she loves you. The ONLY time i have seen her aggressive is when my grandpa( who is a VERY big intimidating man) walked into my house and i had my back turned changing a diaper and my dog was laying in the floor and he suprised her and she growled and bristled up but he said hi to her a petted her and she was fine. He just scared her. Dogs can not talk….when they growl they are warning you…that does not mean they are out for blood. I am not saying that this pit bull should just go back to the owner..no it needs to be put down, what i am saying however is not to clissify a rottweiller as a mean dog because they are not. Actually statistics say that a dalmation and black labs are most likely to attack you.
Deyen commented on Jan 18 10 at 9:16 pmyou are dumb. pitbulls are just like any other dog. If you are a shitty owner any dog will turn out bad. it doesnt matter the breed. in fact pitbulls have been proven to be one of the most people friendly breeds dogs. Although they are typically more aggressive with other dogs
Catherine commented on Mar 08 10 at 3:51 pmBabies toes being chewed off have NOTHING to do with the type of dog. I agree no child should be left unattended PERIOD. Not just alone with a dog. I agree with Deyen’s comment, Pitbull are one of the most friendly and loyal and caring animal. Their only fault is unlike other breeds they NEED to impress their owners, they are happiest when making their owner happy. So if one is aggressive they are that way because their OWNER is happy when their aggressive so they do it to make them happy. If their raised in a loving atmosphere they will be loving animals. Now most people too say oh well they weren’t dog fighters or abusive to their bull – it just snapped. NO they don’t just snap abuse can be in very small forms.. you think your correcting behaviour my smacking your dogs butt – well it isn’t. Dogs like pitbulls cant be punished like that – they DONT get it.. it makes them scared, angry confused.. and thats when you get snappy pitbulls. Chances are this dog probably got kicked in the face or something by the baby or it pulled its ears, or tail – and it bit. And obviously a warning bite that wouldn’t hurt a grown adult has a different effect on someone so tiny.
Brittney Smith commented on May 04 10 at 1:32 pmNormally i don’t post my own opinions and just prefer to read others but this one i will respond to. First of all did you not see that later the lady admitted that it was her pet FERRET that was the one who bit off the toes. She admitted it the next day but the media is like flies on picnic food when it comes to anything pitbull related and it just wasnt as interesting anymore after the truth came out. I am so tired of ignorant people who judge people, dogs, animals actions, anything when really they don’t know what they are talking about. Not all dogs are nice, but it isnt a breed of dog, every dog is different.
Brittney Smith commented on May 04 10 at 1:32 pmNormally i don’t post my own opinions and just prefer to read others but this one i will respond to. First of all did you not see that later the lady admitted that it was her pet FERRET that was the one who bit off the toes. She admitted it the next day but the media is like flies on picnic food when it comes to anything pitbull related and it just wasnt as interesting anymore after the truth came out. I am so tired of ignorant people who judge people, dogs, animals actions, anything when really they don’t know what they are talking about. Not all dogs are nice, but it isnt a breed of dog, every dog is different.
a. frank commented on Jan 09 11 at 1:30 amI’m really tired of hearing about peoples ignorant opinons of pit bulls. I would hope that a writer of an article would know a little more about what the hell she is talking about before she posts it. Pit Bulls make great pets – when they are raised by the right people. I think its really stupid of you to encourage your kids to stay away from the pit mix in the family instead of teaching them how to treat/act around the dog. If I were to guess, the pit mix probably snapped at your two year old because the kid was probably irritating the dog. Encouraging your kids to stay away is basically telling them to fear dogs, Pit Bulls in particular. They make wonderful family dogs, I’ve seen it myself. I have also seen a shi-tzu snap at a young child before, but I bet if that happened to one of your kids you wouldn’t be telling them to stay away, or blogging about how horrible shi-tzu’s are around children. Basically, it could be any dog. You just choose to get your panties in a bunch because pit bulls have the bad rep.
You don’t know what you are talking about, so don’t write about it. There are tons of other dogs that are FAR more aggressive than a Pit. Do your research.
Miss meggie commented on May 19 11 at 5:53 pmI honestly despise everyone that believes the CRAP that the media puts out on these loving dogs… We ( as in my family ) have several dogs because we have land we have One American Pit bull who is the sweetest thing to ever live We have a seven year old living with us and she unconditionally loves her. We have a bulldog-pit bull mix who is also very sweet and gets along fine with everyone including the KITTENS we have a Rottwieler who is actually the sweetest, smartest of all of them and wont even hurt people who he’s never met that come up to our house. WE ALSO have two CHIUAHUAH’S whom i despise. They attack anyone coming into the house including the family members. They bark and snarl if you try to touch “their mom”. They try to attack and provoke the large dogs. AND they do not get along with kids… If anything ALL CHIUAHUAS should be uthinized i have yet to meet a predictable one and i hate them its pretty much the same for other small dogs. Just because this ONE irrisponsible most likely druggie family who’s friend is in jail… We should blame the pit bull! I think not you want to see a true terror you can have our stupid aggresive chiuahuah’s who HAVE BEEN RAISED EXACTLY THE SAME AS OUR BIG DOGS! also if we only leave the small dogs… there would be pee everywhere cause no matter what you do they dont seem to learn… ON this note why blame the dogs who are 1. Great with learning and training 2. Very Family Oriented and 3. Eager to please in any way they can! when there are tons of little dogs who do worse then they do!!! I say instead of focusing on the CRAP the media throws at you look around and realize its that stupid little rat dog probably sitting in your lap right now that does the most damage…. Look around The non- ignorant people have got it why cant YOU????!!!!!
MARIA SONIA ESTRADA-SOLERO commented on May 30 11 at 5:50 pmLa culpa nunca es del animal , si no del ser humano .
jamee commented on Jul 22 11 at 6:58 pmI completely agree with MISS MEGGIE, I have an American pit bull terrier, and he is one of the smartest and loving dogs that i have ever known.
** Does anyone stop to ask why it took the neglectful parents the very next to realize that their baby did not have it’s toes?**
Yet its is the dogs fault and the breed of the dog as well!!!
I just hope that one day people do not decide to make a large hybrid Chihuahua!!!
FOOEY!!! TO ALL OF THE IGNORANT PEOPLE OUT THERE, BEING HATEFUL TOWARDS A BREED OF ANIMALS IS JUST AS BAD AS BIGOTRY AND RACISM!!!
nataliadorado commented on Aug 07 11 at 6:27 pmthis is entirely the parents fault, i have 3 pitbulls and they are the most loving,smart,obident, best dogs. i couldnt live without them. some people like you are ust to ignorant
Erin commented on Sep 02 11 at 8:36 pmTo label an entire breed as aggressive is just ignorant on your part.
Pick up a book, and educate yourself on …well apparantly dogs in general….and then come back if you want to throw around information.
Nick commented on Nov 08 11 at 7:57 pmi dont care how many people hate pit bulls or how they feel about them. the ones that have negative remarks about them are as ignorant as hell. its not the dog, and where the hell did this site get that picture from? cause it looks exactly like my dog. i think its bullshit to have this site up here.
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