Reply With Quote:supp:
12-year-old boy, Jarrod Dwyer, was mauled to death by his brother's Bull Mastiff-Great Dane cross in an outer-western Melbourne suburb.
The family arrived home to find Jarrod injured in the backyard but he died at the scene from blood loss and "extensive injuries to his face and head".
A detective who arrived at the scene attempted to go to the boy's assistance and the dog attacked him.
He fired two shots at the dog before it fled. It was later destroyed at the family's request.
Apparently this was not the dog's first attack on a child.
This attack is a tragedy in so many ways. For those of us who own pets, the thought of a dog attacking and killing one of its own family is worrisome. Will our own dogs do the same? Are our children and family at risk?
This attack is certainly the exception and not the rule. Dog owners who are sensible about the manner in which they manage interactions between their dogs and their children should have no problems but if there are warning signs from your dog such as barking, yapping or mouthing when it is playing - please don't ignore them.
It worries me the risks that some people take. On air once, a caller asked me an amazing question "My Saint Bernard cross is mouthing my two year old son's shoulder and head when they play. Should I be worried?"
The dog weighed 80 kilograms, the lad 15 kilograms. I'm sure I don't need to emphasise the risk.
The tragedy involving Jarrod was unusual because Jarrod was no infant. He was a 12-year-old boy and, from the photos, a robust and healthy twelve year old too. We may never know what happened but something has gone awfully wrong.
Children are extremely vulnerable to dog attacks because they are often of similar height to the dog. It is not surprising, therefore, that research at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane has shown that the face and head are the commonest sites of bite wounds in children and, where the face is bitten, the lips and nose are more often affected. Three quarters of dog attacks in children occur in boys, and toddlers of about two to three years of age and also children at about 10 years of age are more likely to be attacked. More bites occur on the weekends and one in seventeen cases require admission to a hospital.
Just me guys..............Im done.
