There's no Excuse for This...

[Joe Guy]

Sheriff says Ga. toddler killed by 7 dogs in yard as mother, other adults were inside house

Published March 28, 2013

Associated Press

ELLABELL, Ga. – A toddler who slipped outside through a doggie door was mauled to death by her family's seven dogs in the backyard while the attack went unnoticed by child's mother and other relatives inside their home, a southeast Georgia sheriff said Thursday.

Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said the child's grandmother told investigators she was lying in bed when she heard the pit bulls and pit bull mixes barking, and she looked outside her window to see them dragging the girl. Smith said she began yelling, "They're killing Monica!"

It was too late. Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned 2 years old June 1, was dead by the time an ambulance arrived Wednesday evening. Animal control officers used drugs to euthanize the dogs at the home on a rural road in tiny Ellabell, about 30 miles west of Savannah. Deputies found the girl's shoes, diaper and shredded clothing scattered across the fenced-in yard, Smith said.

"They had dragged the child all over the yard and chewed her and chewed her," Smith said. "They tore her clothes all up."

The toddler lived in a modest, two-story house tucked away from the main road. The sheriff said four generations of the same family shared the home, including the child's 18-year-old mother, grandparents and two uncles who are still young boys.

The girl's grandmother, Michelle McIntyre, sat weeping on the tailgate of a pickup outside the home Thursday. Summer Laminack, the child's mother, sat next to her staring silently at the ground.

"She's in shock," Barbara Brauda, a friend who was visiting the family, told The Associated Press before a man approached and asked a reporter to leave the property. "She hasn't been doing a whole lot of crying because she's still numb."

The sheriff said at least three adult relatives were inside the home when the dogs killed the girl outside. No criminal charges had been filed Thursday. Smith said he expects charges will be brought after he's had a chance to discuss the case with the district attorney and the girl's family has been given time to hold her funeral.

"I can see child neglect at the very minimum," Smith said.

Relatives told investigators the dogs that mauled the child were essentially family pets — a mother dog and six offspring from a litter she had about 16 months ago, the sheriff said.

The dogs had their own doggie doors that let them come in and out of the house as they pleased. The family told deputies the dogs had never attacked a person, though one of them might have killed a cat, Smith said. He said relatives insisted the toddler would play with the dogs and even "use them as pillows while watching TV."

Smith said the dogs looked healthy and well-fed, and investigators found no signs they were being used as fighting dogs by their owners.

"They said they have never been aggressive to other people," he said. "Why they got started I have no idea."

source

[Scooter]

"I can see child neglect at the very minimum," Smith said.

Try child endangerment. Try manslaughter. Try depraved fucking indifference second degree murder.

The family told deputies the dogs had never attacked a person

I guess they decided to go big their first time around.

He said relatives insisted the toddler would play with the dogs and even "use them as pillows while watching TV."

Because the parents are idiots.

"They said they have never been aggressive to other people," he said. "Why they got started I have no idea."

Because it's what they are. It's in their blood. They are naturally aggressive dogs whose anatomy will almost always cause their victims to be seriously injured or killed.

There's a reason why we never hear about a pack of seven cocker spaniels mauling a child to death.

[Lord Jim]

I've known a couple a of gentle pit bulls, but with that kind of dog it's always as a risk....

Yes, there's some "nurture" involved as well as "nature" and genetic chance dictates that some will be born that lack the aggressiveness dominant in the breed, (I also once knew a German Shepard who had been adopted after he was kicked out of police dog training because he wasn't aggressive enough; you couldn't meet a sweeter animal)

But they're like owning a wild animal; they may seem gentle and tame, and maybe they don't wind up turning and reverting to nature, but they always can....

Almost every time you read a tragic story like this, (we had one just couple of years ago out here in California) it happens not with a pit (or more than one) that was abused, or trained to fight or attack; it invariably involves a dog or dogs that were well treated, and were thought by the owner to be completely tame and safe and that had never expressed any kind of of proclivity for viciousness.

I used to think that the aggressiveness was a result of mistreatment; but there are too many stories like this for that to be the case. I'm beginning to think that we ought to look at having a lot more regulation about who can own these dogs...(Like not allowing them to be owned by people with minor children in the household, for a start...)

[Gob]

The Guardian, Wednesday 27 March 2013

A 14-year-old girl has been found dead in a house in Greater Manchester where a pack of five dogs were said to be "aggressive and out of control".



Jade Lomas-Anderson is believed to have been visiting the property in Atherton, Wigan, where she was found alone with injuries that were "consistent with her having been attacked by dogs".

Police were called to the address shortly after 2pm on Tuesday following reports that a pack of dogs was out of control and a girl had been seen unconscious.

Armed police destroyed four of the dogs and captured the fifth.

Officers, a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance went to the house but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Police confirmed they "humanely destroyed" four of the dogs, whose remains will now be examined as part of the investigation.

The breed of the dogs has not yet been confirmed but two are thought to have been bull mastiffs and two Staffordshire bull terriers.

Superintendent Mark Kenny said it was "too early to speculate" about what had happened. "First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the girl who has tragically lost her life," he said.

"I understand this is an extremely distressing incident for all concerned, including the community, and we will work hard to establish the full circumstances that led to this tragedy."

A "significant" police presence would remain in the area through the afternoon and evening, he said.

"We will be there to carry out an investigation and address any concerns residents may have."

[Crackpot]

Nature vs. nurture aside you can not underestimate the influence of pack mentality. A group of dogs does not behave the same way one or two dogs behave internal competition gives rise to too many variables

[Scooter]

Yes, which is why there are scores of incidents reported of people being mauled to death by packs of chihuahuas.

[dales]

[MajGenl.Meade]

He looks like such a friendly dog too......

Desperate attempts were made to save the schoolgirl as she lay on the floor but she died from her injuries. One of the dogs involved, Buddy, was seen ‘covered in blood’. A neighbour said: ‘I looked through the back garden fence and the white dog wasn’t white, it was orange. It must have been the blood of the little girl. It was horrible.’

. . .they are understood to be two Staffordshire bull terriers and two bull mastiffs – breeds which can be legally owned. A fifth dog, believed to be a shih tzu, was not involved in the attack and was taken away

Scooter has the right of it. Apparently even the police could see that the non-bull breed had done nothing wrong

Meade

[Lord Jim]

Yes, which is why there are scores of incidents reported of people being mauled to death by packs of chihuahuas...

Okay, now hang about there...

I believe I can say with absolute certainty, from having owned a few Chihuahuas, that it would be very unlikely that anyone would be mauled to death by a pack of Chihuahuas...

Nasty as they can be on occasion, that seems extremely unlikely....

I suspect that it is equally unlikely that anyone is going to be done in by a marauding band of Yorkshire terriers...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Chihuahuas are not dogs.

[Jarlaxle]

Field-goal dogs are actually RATS in disguise!

[dgs49]

Point #1: Some 2-year-olds are positively diabolical when it comes to getting out of the house to wander around. I know very conscientious parents who have been plagued by kids doing this at that time of life. Thus, I wouldn't be too certain about claiming parental neglect - just because the kid got out when no one was looking.

Point #2: The older I get the less I understand dogs as pets. They are costly, destructive, marginally clean, loud, and demanding. You can't leave the house without worrying about what the dog is up to, and a weekend away turns into a major undertaking. And walking around with a dog so that you can have the pleasure of picking up its shit and disposing of it? No thanks.

Multiple dogs? You gotta be fuckin' nuts. And if you get your companionship from a canine, you are short a couple marbles.

[dales]

And if you get your companionship from a canine, you are short a couple marbles.

Pathetic, indeed and I don't even own a dog.

[Sue U]

The more I know about people, the better I like my dog.

--Samuel L. Somebody

[oldr_n_wsr]

You can't leave the house without worrying about what the dog is up to,

My lab is well behaved and has never destroyed anything while we are not home. He is not put in a crate when we leave. The worst he ever did was jump up and sleep on the couch which was solved by putting shoe boxes on the couch. A week of that and no more shoe boxes and no more dog on the couch.

and a weekend away turns into a major undertaking.

Knowing other pet owners who know your dog and thata their dogs know yours goes a long way for you and for them. We have pet-sit many a friends dog as they have ours.

I know 4 years ago I felt as you did until we got Apollo. Now is a different matter.

[Gob]

Life without dogs about is diminished. Hen has had a particularly rough patch at work over the past months. The fact that she was returning home to the excited,unconditional love of our puppies eased her though it. Sometimes people are too complicated, a dog never is.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Sometimes people are too complicated, a dog never is.

Ain't that the truth.

[Daisy]

Life without dogs about is diminished. Hen has had a particularly rough patch at work over the past months. The fact that she was returning home to the excited,unconditional love of our puppies eased her though it. Sometimes people are too complicated, a dog never is.

With Cookie working on the other side of the world for much of the time, life without my dogs would be unbearable. The sheer joy of arriving home to their excited happy faces is priceless.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Dogs are the most unrestrained love there is out there. All they want in return is love and attention. I weep for the abused dogs out there.

[dales]

And if you get your companionship from a canine, you are short a couple marbles.

And once again dave gets his ass handed to him on a plate.