Just heard the sad story that a 1 year old baby has received injuries from which he has died, from the family's American Bull Terrier, in Leeds.   This has been reported on BBC Radio news.   The dog has been taken away and destroyed.

What a terrible time for the poor parents. 

Margot

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4674685.stm

I am confused, I thought pit bulls were banned?

Apparenty not this one...

That is horrific and it must be awful for the family, just read it on the BBC news website. I can see that this dog may be added to the banned list at some point...

its sad isnt it. :( i wonder wat made the dog turn on the baby? did you know how long theyde had the dog margot. as this is this first ide heared of it! i feel for the family coz losing a child is ment to be the worse sort of greif you can feel. and expecially at a young age ! my thoughts are with the childs family! x

The BBC news report was quite categorical - this dog was an Amreican Bull Terrier which is not one of the banned breed, but can be "related" to the American Pit Bull.

Margot

The poor family :( they must be going through sheer hell. It is unthinkable as to how they are feeling.

I read the link and it clearly states American Pit Bull Terrier   And then goes on to say American Pit bull Terriers are not covered by the DDA

Edited to add

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/main.asp?structureid=675

Correct, it is in the title:

A one-year-old boy has died after being attacked by an American pit bull terrier at his home in Leeds.

However, it may for all we know be a SBT, crossbreed or anything else for that matter.  The photo is probably just an archive photo rather than being one of the individual dog concerned.

Quite true there, but many dogs have been bred to Pit Bull TYPE - which is what the act covers :rolleyes:

no excuses this time...this was a BABY!! I hope this doesn't cause a renewed more outgoing upholding of the law since it seems so many people are now flouting it.
RIP little boy....
Archer

It was more than likely a cross bred dog called an APBT by the breeder<sigh>or an "american bulldog"etc The dog in the picture has cropped ears & looks quite familiar in that I have seen the photograph somewhere else

The dog & child must have been left alone together breaking the first rule & kids & dogs ie they should never be left unsupervised together

I can remember a baby being killed by pet ferret(s)in a bedroom, didn't have an outcry to destroy all ferrets afterwards tho'

When I read these sort of stories, rare though they are, it makes me feel physically sick.  I don't know how any parent ever comes to terms with the death of a child but particularly in such circumstances - it must be devastating beyond our imagination.  God help them.

Teri :(

How devastating for the family.  I know from experience that it's hard enough losing a child (my brother, not had any children myself) but to lose it in this way, well I just wouldn't want to put myself in their place.  Just losing a child through natural causes can split a family but I'd hate to know what this will do.

This I feel was something waiting to happen unfortunately, especially with the heatwave that we are having in this country at the moment.

according to this  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4674685.stm  they are unsure of the breed, two dogs were removed from the house and both are being kept in kennels.

sorry havent a clue how to do links :(

In another article, also on the BBC, a woman was attacked by a pit bull -only they then go on to say the dog is still being searched for. How they know it is a pit bull is beyond me, unless the owner (who was apparently with it) said so.

Lindsay
x

Just back from the post office and heard on the radio that the dogs were bull mastiff types!!  They are reportedly both in kennels although it is thought that only 1 was involved in the attack.  They reiterated that bull mastiffs are not on the dangerous dogs list.

What a horrible state of affairs for everyone involved!!!

Annie

Well at 4.00pm there wa one dog and it is an American Bulldog and it hasnt been PTS.  Media, eh!
DAwn.

why can't they ever get it right?I really feel for the parents

One of the reasons I left my job!!  I worked as a press officer for the Scottish Executive (she ducks as rotten eggs are thrown through the air!!!) and no matter what you told the journalists, they always wrote what they wanted to write.  An American Bulldog is a better story I'm afraid and that is what it's all about.  It doesn't matter if they print an apology a day or two later, the damage is already done.

Annie

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter a gnat's kneecap what the dog was - there is a dead baby (of 12 months, so no saying that the dog could be provoked) and parents who must be beating themselves senseless, knowing that they have left a baby alone with a pet.

Margot

Sadly I've lost count of the times I've been told how good a dog is with the baby/kids/etc.  by people who seem to forget that they need supervision :( 

My two are great with people/children/other dogs/ small animals/ etc.  but at the end of the day they are dogs and have limited options on how to react, they aren't left alone with children and certainly not babies.  These people must be devastated :(

Unfortunately a 12-month old baby could be a very efficient crawler (mine was), and if loose on the floor (I don't know any of the details of this terrible event) could possibly have startled or hurt the dog. I doubt it, but it's possible.

Funny you should say that!  Our local paper used to want to do stories about my business and my daughter's junior handling etc.  At first we were flattered but the items that they printed bore no resemblance to what we had talked about.  The first time we thought it was us just not explaining to dog world to an undoggy reporter, but the second time we were very explicit and the story was unrecognisable! :(  When we declined further offers of interviews, they thought us most ungrateful!! :rolleyes:

i diddent see it but what is an american bull? there is no such thing? so many people get hurt by dogs and then dicribe them as some sort of pitbull? my own dog was killed last week by 2 pitbulls in a freak accident m, my do escaped thru a hole in the fence while i was out, an the pitbulls jumped a 6ft high fence to meet him, they must have fought for about 45 mins till they were dicovered and my dog died of his injurys 15 mis later!:(. these dogs WERE pitbulls and the owner diddent imagine that they could scale a 6" high fence, she was astinished and upset for me. in most cases they are not pitbulls at all, but if they have a short coat and any sign of muscle and so high, then people say the attacks were by pitbulls! and hence the ban on them, rather than educating dog owners. pitbulls are an excellent breed in the right hands, yes they are devastating when they attack for their size, but a rotty, akita, dogue de bourdeux, german shepard can inflict as much damage, all have bitten humans but not banned?? ALL dogs can bite! not all owners do what they can to prevent it, and sometimes hopefully not often you dog will get into accidental, unintentional fight. i KNEW that my dogs mentalitiy was when he goes in to fight he comes out on top, or dosent come out at all. i was out fishing when he got out, i wish id have taken him with me!! R.I.P JIMMYBONEZ

>of 12 months, so no saying that the dog could be provoked<

One of my kids was walking at 12mths. old. I know there is no excuse for this dog,but the kid could have been hanging off his ears or poking it's toy in his eye,or something much worse!

Maybe the dog just wanted to warn the child away,but the child being so small obviously wouldnt be able to take a bull breeds warning! The parents should NOT have left the child alone with 1 or maybe 2 dogs!!!

I feel desperately sorry for the family,but i also feel sorry for the dogs,i cant help it :(

I agree with you bindy

I read that the second dog tried to save the baby by attacking the attacker dog. It was this that made it release its hold on the child.  Very sad for all concerned.

They actually said in the end that it was a mastiff type.  What a shame that the other dog was also put down!

Or perhaps left him in the house where he was safe jimmybonez!!!  Then he wouldn't have been able to get out through a hole in the fence and be attacked.

Dogdeli, I am sorry it is none of my business, but I thought that was a bit out of order to be honest! Don't you think Jimmybonez feels bad enough? What you have said is true, but a dog can get into danger in the house if left alone.

Sorry you feel that way Natalie but this dog died!  And it would have been safer in the house if there were 2 pitbulls around!  Don't you agree!  This was not an accident and if it isn't pointed out then there may be a risk to another dog he may get!!!  Maybe it is harsh but he is referring to it as an accident!

Annie

Oh yes I forgot all pitbulls are deadly. :O

Sorry but I think you will find that in the TOS, it states the following:

>Please avoid being judgemental or condescending in your posts.

and

>Do not simply criticise the poster for having the problem, as this serves no useful purpose.

If only we all lived in a perfect world where no mistakes are made. :D

Sorry after having seen your edit to your last post, I can see your reasoning behind it, I just didn't think you needed to be so harsh :D

<<Sorry you feel that way Natalie but this dog died!>>

You forget the most important part of this thread - a BABY died, for heaven's sake!   A baby of 12 months old, who was in the garden, playing with his mother.   The dog rushed out, and grabbed hold of the baby and wouldn't let go.   It was only when the neighbour let the other dog out, that the mother and neighbour were able to rescue the baby.

No dog's life can be worth more than a child.  Sorry.  That's the way I see it, and most other people too.

Margot

Margot,

I am well aware a baby died, I have already expressed my sympathy for the family, and considering I only said my opinion on how I had read someones post, I don't think I deserved that reply from you.

Nat :D

Natalie, I wasn't referring to your post - it was the one above it, I was referring to - the one that seemed to think that the worst part was the death of the dog.   I know you expressed sympathy with the parents - sorry if you misunderstood my post - I obviously didn't get it in the right place.

Margot :)

It's OK Margot, I could see that you picked one of the comments from above, but it was just with you replying (as in pressing 'reply' to my name) to my actual post that got me confused :D

In Dogdeli's defence, she was replying to Jimmybonez post a little up the page, that isn't really about the news story, but anyway, she wasn't talking about the dog that killed that poor baby. :(

I hope you are not talking about me Margot!  if you read the post I was referring to it was sent by somebody who was talking about his dog being attacked and killed by 2 pitbulls.  The dog had been left in the garden while he was out fishing.  I have expressed my sincere sympathies for this case and I don't think it's quite right for you to attack somebody who is expressing sadness at the fact that dogs were put in the situation and were destroyed.  We all know that the death of a child is paramount - it doesn't have to be drummed into us by you - twice!!!!  WE are not stupid you know. 

I have had a particularly bad day today with some distressing news and it involves stupid people getting dogs; having no control or responsibility for their dogs; their dogs doing something and ending up destroyed.  So forgive me if I feel quite sad about the fact that dogs die because stupid individuals buy dogs that are not fit for their lifestyle but that is the way I feel.

Annie

Sorry Natalie.  You know that I am not that type of person but I am sick to the back teeth of dogs being at the receiving end of human stupidity or lack of thought.  You will see later why I am feeling like this today.

Annie

Dogdeli, it sounds like you need to go and have a nice bath, or something, and just calm down, I think Margot just had her wires crossed, and understandably, when she thought you were comparing the death of the dog to the death of the baby, felt she needed to say something.

I do hope your experiences today haven't been too serious.

Nat :)

Hi Natalie

I did just that last night and feel back to my old self today - thank goodness :d  I think you are right about the wires being crossed but that is why it is soooo important to read things carefully before sending a post!  It's always hard when writing to get across "sincerity" and I have to say I have nothing whatsoever against APBT.  In fact, my old vet used to have one years ago (who was kept muzzled and of course she was speyed) and she was lovely.  But, we all know the "dodgy" dogs in our area and will do all we can to keep our own dogs safe.  What upset me about this original post I replied to was the fact that the dogs were fighting for 45 minutes before anybody actually discovered them.  What a way to die!  I know that the person posting will be feeling really bad about losing his dog and that goes without saying but, under such circumstances, surely somebody was going to comment!!!   Normally I wouldn't get involved in things like that - I tend to leave that to other people but yesterday was a terrible day.  On reflection, I don't know if this person lives in the UK and it may be that where he lives dogs are kept outside.  It just goes to show what can happen when you send a post when feeling emotional.

I am truly sorry if this post offended you.

Kind wishes
Annie

I am glad you are feeling a bit better today :D

I didn't take offence, don't worry about me :D