Family dog kills South Carolina baby

[dowcat]

Horror as rescue dog kills and dismembers two-month-old baby while his father slept

• Aiden McGrew was two months old when his family's recently rescued golden retriever mauled him to death and dismembered him
• Father was sleeping in house with three-year-old child
• Mother discovered Aiden when she returned from doctor's office; Aiden died at hospital

By Beth Stebner
PUBLISHED: 20:58 GMT, 20 April 2012 | UPDATED: 21:57 GMT, 20 April 2012

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A two-month-old child was killed and dismembered by a dog in his family's South Carolina home as his father slept, authorities said Friday.
Aiden McGrew's mother Chantel called 911 when she got home around 11am from a doctor's appointment and discovered the boy's leg was severed.
The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was attacked and dismembered by a recently rescued retriever.





Tragic life: Two-month-old Aiden McGrew was attacked and dismembered by the family's dog as his father slept







Rescue: The dog that killed Aiden, seen at the local law enforcement centre, was recently adopted by the family







Parents: Chantel and Quintin McGrew welcomed their son Aiden into the world on Valentine's Day


The dog, who looks to be a golden retriever or some sort of mix, was new to the home, WBTV reported.
Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet said the boy was bitten and dismembered, but he refused to answer additional questions about the infant's injuries.
He said he hopes an autopsy scheduled for Saturday will determine if the boy was dead before the dog dismembered him, the Associated Press reported.


The attack happened in rural Dorchester County, about 30 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina.

Deputies said earlier in the day the boy's leg had been severed by the retriever.
Aiden died at the hospital shortly after he arrived.





On lockdown: Deputies shut down Sandpit Drive Friday, on the street where the infant boy lived with his parents







Tragic: Aiden was killed while his father slept in their modest home





'Today is one of the saddest days in my 20-plus years of being in the Dorchester County Coroner's Office as I report to all of you one of the worst deaths I have ever handled,' Mr Nisbet wrote in his email to the media.

The email had the subject line 'Today's Nightmare.'
Two other children in the home were not hurt, Mr Nisbet said.

A woman answering a number listed for the home refused to talk about what happened and told a reporter to not call her back.
Chantel and Quintin's two other children, aged three and seven, have been taken into child protective services for the time being, WBTV reported.

Read more: Horror as family dog kills and dismembers two-month-old baby while his father slept | Mail Online

[A*O]

Very sad. That dog looks evil.

[Laurent]

A retriever? I've never heard of them being aggressive at all.

[A*O]

There's a "mix" in there.

[NoNoRehab]

Hmm. I can't be the only one wondering at the circumstances of this. They lived in a tiny trailer and the dad somehow slept through the dog attacking the baby and severing its leg? And there were two other kids present at the same time who didn't notice and wake up dad to say, "Hey, the dog is eating the baby"?

I'm glad the coroner is apparently looking into whether the baby was dead or not prior to the dog injuries.

[Trixie]

Damn. I take it Dad's not a light sleeper.

[twitchy2.0]

Or it happened rapidly. I know someone who was attacked as a child by the family dog and had an incredible amount of damage done by the time his father got the dog off of him and they were in the same room.

[Charmed Hour]

A retriever? I've never heard of them being aggressive at all.

Actually the largest incidents of dog bites and children are retrievers and labs. They're well known for being "mouthy", it's a breed characteristic going back to when they were working dogs.

[Trixie]

Or it happened rapidly. I know someone who was attacked as a child by the family dog and had an incredible amount of damage done by the time his father got the dog off of him and they were in the same room.

I know someone whose daughter had part of her nose bitten off by their dog (they were able to reattach it...) but a severed leg? Yeah, it was a little baby leg but still...

[Ravenna]

Or it happened rapidly. I know someone who was attacked as a child by the family dog and had an incredible amount of damage done by the time his father got the dog off of him and they were in the same room.

But it sounds like no one discovered it until the mother came home from an appointment. It seems pretty weird.

Also it says Aiden died at the hospital, yet they're going to check on autopsy whether he was dead before he was dismembered. Doesn't make sense.

[MrsDark]

'Recently rescued' and "new to the home'. Red flags that jumped out me reading this. If I had a baby, a 3yr old and a 7yr old, I think I'd pass on a dog that who-the-fuck-knows what the history was. And double dumb fucks for leaving the baby alone with it.

[Kat Scorp]

Actually the largest incidents of dog bites and children are retrievers and labs. They're well known for being "mouthy", it's a breed characteristic going back to when they were working dogs.

Link, please.

Also it says Aiden died at the hospital, yet they're going to check on autopsy whether he was dead before he was dismembered. Doesn't make sense.

That popped out for me too. The quality of journalism these days gone to mind-numbingly awful!

A woman answering a number listed for the home refused to talk about what happened and told a reporter to not call her back.

I cannot believe these arsehole reporters; calling the damn house like that!

[faithanne]

^Maybe they just mean officially pronounced dead at the hospital ie they tried to revive him.

I think it sounds suss too - how could the dog have dismembered the baby in a tiny trailer and then sat patiently waiting for the mother to arrive home while the other 3 slept. Doesn't add up.

[Kat Scorp]

Faith is correct about pronounced-at-hospital bit.

More details below, but it is disturbing as all hell! And does anyone else put a baby to sleep in a baby-swing?:

Infant boy killed when mauled by family dog in Ridgeville as father slept
Andrew Knapp & Edward Fennell 3 hours ago


RIDGEVILLE — While his father slept in a nearby bedroom, a 2-month-old boy who had been napping was mauled Friday by the family's newly adopted dog.

The boy, Aiden McGrew, was apparently pulled from an infant's swing and his legs torn off by the golden retriever-Labrador mix inside the family's mobile home on Sandpit Road, authorities said.

Aiden, who was born on Valentine's Day, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Neighbors described the dog, named Lucky, as gentle, and they expressed shock. One investigator called the death one of the most gruesome he had seen in his career.

“This is about as bad as it can get for a police officer,” Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight said at an afternoon news conference.

The boy's parents were questioned Friday afternoon, but no charges have been filed. Numerous state and local agencies are investigating, Knight said.

Knight said Aiden is a son of Quintin and Chantel McGrew, who are raising two other children. The other children, ages 7 and 3, were taken into custody by the state Department of Social Services after the 2-month-old's death.

Child Was In Swing
Knight said Quintin McGrew was sleeping in a bed with the 3-year-old child and the family's other dog, and Chantel McGrew was taking the 7-year-old to a doctor's visit, when Aiden was attacked.

“The child was in a small swing and was asleep,” Knight said. “I'm not sure who put the child in the swing.”

Knight said the family adopted Lucky a few weeks ago, but their other dog has been with them for years. He said the McGrews “dog sat” for Lucky previously and decided to keep the dog when its previous owners wanted to give it up.

Knight said he knows of no prior complaints made about the dog, or any reports of aggressive behavior.

Asked why the boy's father apparently did not hear any commotion or awaken when the mauling took place in a nearby room, Knight said only that the matter is under investigation. The door to the room where the baby was apparently was open, he said.

Chantel McGrew told officials that she returned home just after 11 a.m. and found the infant on the floor by the swing with his legs torn off and his abdomen ruptured and bleeding.

The mother told 911 dispatchers that the father was asleep when she got home.

The boy was rushed by ambulance to Summerville Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities said a helicopter was dispatched from Medical University Hospital, but plans to fly Aiden there were changed because of the boy's grave condition.

The Post and Courier's attempt to ask the child's mother about the incident were met by her landlord's demand to leave the property.

Shirley Pargiello, 70, a next-door neighbor, said the McGrews moved to the home just after Aiden was born. “I see them all the time coming home from the grocery store with the kids,” Pargiello said.

“They seem like a very nice couple and a nice family,” she said.

A Facebook page for Chantel McGrew depicts her and husband in loving embraces, and a photo of mom and Aiden is inscribed: “Best Valentines Day Present.”

Speaking about Lucky, Pargiello said she typically does not like dogs. “But it's a beautiful dog. I went over to say hi one day, and he came right up to me and stopped. I rubbed his head, then he left. It's a very gentle dog.”

Another next-door neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the family's dogs “were never aggressive.”

Autopsy Planned
Coroner Chris Nisbet said an autopsy planned for today will “hopefully be able to determine if the child died prior to the dismemberment.”

He called Friday “one of the saddest days” in his more than 20 years on the job.

“This is “one of the worst deaths I have ever handled. (A) beautiful little boy was bitten multiple times and dismembered ... while the mother was away and the father was sleeping,” he said.

Knight said that in addition to the sheriff's and coroner's offices, DSS, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the 1st Circuit Solicitor's Office are investigating the tragedy.

The State Law Enforcement Division's Child Fatality Review Team has been notified of the death and will decide whether to join the investigation, Knight said.

DSS workers were seen escorting the two older McGrew children from the home and into a vehicle Friday as deputies finished their work at the scene.

An animal control officer caged the family's two dogs and a few chickens that the family also kept in this remote area east of Cottageville. Their fate wasn't immediately known.

Knight said the dogs did not act aggressively when they were corralled and transported. He expressed his conviction that large dogs and small children do not mix.

The McGrews' dogs were being held in the afternoon in pens at the county Law Enforcement Center near Summerville. When the pen was approached by reporters and photographers, Lucky wagged his tail and barked as if beckoning the visitors to come play.

source: Infant boy killed when mauled by family dog in Ridgeville as father slept | The Post and Courier | Charleston SC, News, Sports, Entertainment


A commenter at the site who claims to know the couple is insisting that the news media is confusing the dogs; Lucky is the Labrador the couple have owned for years and that slept on the bed with the father during the attack... the dog that attacked was a retriever-mix. Prior reports that it was a "rescue dog" appear false; the family had experience with the dog before adopting him. An autopsy will determine if the there was vascular response to the truama i.e. if the baby was still alive.


ETA here's a pic of both dogs being taken away.:


Photo by Andrew Knapp/STAFFThe two dogs of the McGrew family were taken away by a Dorchester County animal control officer Friday after one mauled an infant in his home near Ridgeville.

[louiswinthorpe111]

And does anyone else put a baby to sleep in a baby-swing?:

Truthfully, it's more common than you think, especially during naptime. Many babies falll asleep in their swings. My kids hated them, so it didn't work for me.

Still seems very strange. Baby didn't cry out when it was bit? No one in the house heard it. The other dog did nothing? Many questions here.