Redondo Beach family's pit bull bites their baby's face
A family's pit bull grabbed a 17-month-old boy's face in its mouth Tuesday in Redondo Beach when the baby tugged on its tail, police said.
The mauling occurred about 9 a.m. in the family's home in the 1000 block of Palos Verdes Boulevard, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said.
"The child had touched the tail or pulled the tail," Keenan said. "The dog turned around, grabbed the child by the face and mauled it."
The mother pulled the dog's jaw off the baby's face and called police. The call went out that a dog had bitten a baby in the eye.
"The child has severe dog bites in the face, puncture wounds and it nicked the eye," said Keenan, who was on the call.
Paramedics found bite wounds on the baby's forehead and cheek. The boy was taken to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His condition was unknown.
The pit bull was in a back room, still excited. Two Redondo Beach animal control officers worked to corral the dog while two police officers stood by.
Animal control officers took the dog into custody for a vicious dog investigation.
The family could not be reached for comment. No one was home Tuesday afternoon.
The incident comes a week after two loose pit bulls attacked and killed a smaller dog just blocks away.
The mauling occurred about 9 a.m. in the family's home in the 1000 block of Palos Verdes Boulevard, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said.
"The child had touched the tail or pulled the tail," Keenan said. "The dog turned around, grabbed the child by the face and mauled it."
The mother pulled the dog's jaw off the baby's face and called police. The call went out that a dog had bitten a baby in the eye.
"The child has severe dog bites in the face, puncture wounds and it nicked the eye," said Keenan, who was on the call.
Paramedics found bite wounds on the baby's forehead and cheek. The boy was taken to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His condition was unknown.
The pit bull was in a back room, still excited. Two Redondo Beach animal control officers worked to corral the dog while two police officers stood by.
Animal control officers took the dog into custody for a vicious dog investigation.
The family could not be reached for comment. No one was home Tuesday afternoon.
The incident comes a week after two loose pit bulls attacked and killed a smaller dog just blocks away.
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PUT IT DOWN !!!
pit bull = loaded gun
Why was the baby being allowed to pull the dog's tail?!?!
There's no way intelligent responsible parents would allow that situation.
It's not the type of dog its the way its trained. Any dog can attack. Young children shouldn't be around animals because they treat them like the are toys and they are bound to be attacked.
Sure, any dog can attack, but you don't often read about labrador retrievers or beagles or chihuahuas mauling a child or killing a woman outside her apartment (as happened in San Francisco a couple years ago).
Do you know how many children are bitten by dogs every day ? Why is it that when a pit bull bites 1) It is called a mauling and 2) When one of our volunteers (an adult x-military) was savagely attacked by another breed and hospitalized for 3 days NO media coverage was done ? 3) Why is there no media coverage of all the other breeds that not only bite, but *kill* kids. When all the pits are dead b/c of ignorance, is the lab next as in parts of Canada ? Please some responsible media for a change -
It is often called mauling when a pit bull attacks because massive amounts of flesh are ripped and shredded and sometimes people die.
There's no media conspiracy against pit bulls. Dachsunds and cocker spaniels just don't do much mauling.
Pit bulls are too dangerous and deadly. They should not be kept as pets, just like rattlesnakes and tigers, etc.
I hate when I see parents let their kids abuse their pets. If a bratty, undisciplined child slaps, socks, hits or pulls any animal too hard, it will respond. I'll bet the parents let that child hit on the dog and just say, "Stop that, Mike".
That child should've been taught not to abuse the family pet.
I have a pit and she's as sweet as she's treated. I don't go around pulling her tail and if I did, she wouldn't bite me because it wouldn't be a habit.
Having kids and owning a pet comes with responsibilities.
wow. The answer was right in front of our faces this entire time... If you Teach your 17 month old baby to not grab things, having some dangerous, idiot dog in your house will be problem free.
Way to go Ed. You've found the solution
Due to a recent Pit killing in my town, this issue is once again being scrutinized. Below is a post from a member on www.dcsportbikes.net in response to someone comparing Labrador attacks to Pit attacks. It was too good not to share.
Hey elizabeth lujambio, not sure if you even look at this blog anymore but if you do, read carefully...
From www.dcsportbikes.net
Something interesting for you to merely consider is that I've defended them, as a breed, not as bad dogs in and of themselves, but identified them as uniquely capable of biting... not to the point of simple biting, as you've proven labs to do... but to the point of killing individuals. THAT is the difference. Labs don't kill people, they bite people, and that is the difference between aggression between the breeds.
This has been proven OVER AND OVER. Not by me... some brief googling... this is 2006 only.
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm#homicides
July 2006: The month of July saw three human deaths, all by pit bulls. Two deaths were in one-bite states. On July 27th, 71-year-old Ms. Jimmie May McConnell was in her yard in Kansas City, Kan., when a pit bull jumped over her fence and killed her.
Earlier in the month, 3-year-old Mariah Puga of Hargill, Texas, was killed by her parents pit bulls.
John Brannaman, 81, died of a heart attack at Orlando, Florida, on July 31st after he was mauled by two pit bulls in front of his home when he tried to retrieve garbage cans from the road.
August 2006: The month of August saw two canine homicides, both in Florida, one by a Presa Canario and the other by a boxer. On August 18th, a Presa Canario ripped the jugular vein from the neck of its owner, Shawna Willey, 30, in Tamarac, Florida. She was giving the dog a bath and it bit her a half dozen times. This is the same breed of dog that killed Diane Whipple (see below).
On August 30th, a man was killed by a boxer that was confined in a dog pen, in Miami.
September 2006: In September, no persons were killed by dogs in the USA. The UK saw a terrible coincidence, however, in which a baby was killed by Rottweiler guard dogs and then, within hours, her grandfather was stabbed and left for dead (but survived).
October 2006: There were three canine homicides in October, one by a Rottweiler and two by pit bulls. Two deaths were in one-bite states. On October 3, 2006, 2-year-old Julius Graham of Greene County, North Carolina, was killed by a Rottweiler.
On October 8, 2006, 44-year-old Jeannine Fusco was killed in Ramapo, NY, by a pit bull that she was taking care of for a friend.
On October 28, 2006, 40-year-old Tim McCurry of Montgomery County, TX, was killed by a pit bull that he was considering buying for home protection.
November 2006: November broke the monthly record for canine homicides: there were 7. Three were in one-bite states.
On November 3, two-year-old Ariel Pogue of Tallapoosa County, Alabama, was mauled to death outside her home by one of her parents' three Rottweilers, in the presence of her mother.
Also on November 3, 10-year-old Matthew Davis of Dillon, South Carolina was killed by six dogs that attacked him outside a rural home.
On November 4, one-year-old Allen L. Young died after he was mauled at home by his dad's four pit bulls, which took the boy from his bed at night.
On November 6, two-year-old Luis Fernando Romero Jr. was killed after being mauled by two Rottweilers at his home near Tucson, Arizona.
On November 8, a pit bull was found eating the body of Richard Adams, in Phenix City, Alabama, after it killed him.
On November 13, two Rottweilers killed 40-year-old James L. Eisaman of Summit County, Ohio.
On November 21, two dogs killed 4-year-old Pedro Rios in east Harris County, Texas, as he was playing outside his house.
December 2006: There were no canine homicides in the USA in December 2006.
I don't do this to demonize pit bulls, they are probably my top five dogs that I'd own, others being German Shepherds, etc. What I WILL reiterate it that pit bulls are not a one bite dog, they are a multi-bite, maim, kill dog. And these are unique to the breeds (mastif based) NOT only to the owners.
There are two things that contribute... general disposition of the animal, and the owner. Granted a very good dog can have his disposition overwhelmed by a very bad owner, or a very bad dog can have his disposition overwhelm the good training of a good owner... but you'll find this is almost solely the case of specific breeds... even poorly treated labs do not habitually find themselves in the paper for unmitigated mauling or killing... this is SPECIFIC to the pit bull breed.
To ignore this is ignorance...
ok i got a bite from a GREAT DANE, and had to get stitches. i got it on july 23th. and ever since i have been terrified of GREAT DANES,PITBULLS,ROTTWIELERS,DOBERMANS,and GERMAN SHEPARDS. plus it was a baby, it didn't know any better!