Family dog kills 2 week-old baby girl

**Moongirl** · March 5th, 2009, 02:58 PM

MSNBC.com

Family dog kills 2-week-old Ariz. girl
Infant was low enough to the ground at her home for chow to bite her
The Associated Press
updated 8:55 a.m. PT, Thurs., March. 5, 2009

MESA, Ariz. - A 2-week-old Arizona girl has died after being attacked by the family's dog in their home.

Mesa police detective Steve Berry said police were called Wednesday night by a woman who said her daughter had been bitten by a family dog.

Officers found the infant in the living room with bite wounds on her head. The baby was pronounced dead at the scene.

Berry said the mother had placed her daughter in a low-lying bassinet or crib and discovered the attack when she returned a few moments later.

The parents' names weren't released. However, Berry said the father is a Mesa police officer who was at work at the time. The mother is an officer for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.

The dog, a chow, was quarantined.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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**Penny Lane** · March 5th, 2009, 03:08 PM

She died from a single bite to the head? I guess since she was so young it would have killed her, but that dog must have really bitten her deep and hard... this is so sad.

**twitchy2.0** · March 5th, 2009, 03:16 PM

That's one breed I'd never trust around little kids.

**HWBL** · March 5th, 2009, 03:23 PM

Never leave a dog alone with (small) kids, people! Kids are unpredictable
and as a reaction to that, even the most docile dog can lose it.

**sparkly** · March 5th, 2009, 03:25 PM

^Yeah, but the baby was only 2 weeks old, so it's not like she grabbed for it or anything. I would NEVER leave a dog alone in a room with a baby, especially not a breed like a chow.

**celeb_2006** · March 5th, 2009, 03:40 PM

Probably the end of the relationship, sad.

**fgg** · March 5th, 2009, 03:41 PM

such a heartbreaking story! chows and children do not mix.

**FriendOrFoe** · March 5th, 2009, 03:48 PM

I have had chows and love them, but they are not good with children. When my grand kids started coming along, my chow went to a new home.

**twitchy2.0** · March 5th, 2009, 03:53 PM

They can be lovely dogs but they're super possessive of "their humans".

**Sarzy** · March 5th, 2009, 04:56 PM

Babies shouldn't be left alone with any dog. Things like this seem to happen way too much.

**A*O** · March 5th, 2009, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by twitchy2.0

That's one breed I'd never trust around little kids.

Yeah - chows are bad news. Cranky, unpredictable and very powerful.

**MrsMarsters** · March 5th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Uh, I don't want to blame the parents, but do people not THINK about these things? Chows are not the best...around kids...

**Daphne** · March 5th, 2009, 06:54 PM

The little girl across the street from me had a huge portion of her face bitten off by the family chow when she was a toddler. She had to have several reconstructive surgeries. The kicker is her parents did not get rid of the animal.

**buttmunch** · March 5th, 2009, 09:20 PM

She died from a single bite to the head? I guess since she was so young it would have killed her, but that dog must have really bitten her deep and hard... this is so sad.

Babies skulls are still pretty soft at two weeks so it wouldn't have been hard to chomp through it. And the people who didn't get rid of their dog should be slapped hard.