The father's 4-year old pit bull, Brody, off leash at Burleson High School.1
Mother Feared Dog
09/26/12: The CBS DFW video posted yesterday briefly interviewed neighbor Jessica Hale who has young children of her own. Parts of Hale's statement are also quoted in a WFAA news report. Quite literally -- just minutes before the deadly attack -- the baby's mother Jessica Oxner had been speaking with Hale, expressing concern to her about the baby being in the house with the dog:
[CBS] Police were at the house investigating a domestic disturbance when witnesses say the child's mother began screaming for help."Someone call 911! My baby is not breathing, my baby is not breathing. So I just called 911, but at that time the ambulances were already coming down the street."[CBS] Neighbor Jessica Hale says the baby's mother was concerned about the presence of not one but two pit bulls in the father's home."That day she told me her concern was the dog, and that was before it even happened. She said her main concern was the dog, and the baby being in the house with the dog. Then -- not minutes later -- he came running out with the baby," Hale said.
09/25/12: Baby's Parents Named
FoxNews.com reports the baby's father, Barnett Bruce, began arguing with the baby's mother, Jessica Oxford, just after Oxford brought the child over for a visit. While the two parents argued, the baby's grandfather was holding him. Someone called police after the argument escalated into pushing. Arriving officers separated the two parents -- one officer taking a statement from the father inside the home and the other taking a statement from the mother outside.
During the hour-long period of police questioning the parents and witnesses, the baby fell asleep in the grandfather's arms. He took the baby into the home and placed it on a bed and came back to talk to his son (who was likely still inside the home). Not long after, the grandfather heard noises from the bedroom and went to investigate. This is when he discovered the pit bull had attacked the baby. The baby's father grabbed the child and ran outside alerting police.
NBC 5 Dallas reports the unaltered male pit bull responsible for the deadly attack was one of two pit bulls in the father's home. The Star-Telegram reported earlier today that Kim Peckler, supervisor of Burleson's Animal Services, said the same pit bull had previously been involved in a minor biting incident in 2011. The dog was quarantined then returned to its owner, Barnett Bruce. Peckler added that the dog had also been picked up by animal services in 2010 for being at-large.
09/25/12: Father's Pet Pit Bull
The Star-Telegram has updated its earlier article. The newspaper now reports that 3-month old Rayden Bruce had been asleep on a bed inside the home when he was mauled by his father's pit bull. Burleson police officers were present at the home in connection with a domestic dispute between the baby's parents when the mauling took place. Officers administered emergency aid to the baby boy until paramedics arrived. The infant did not survive his injuries.
Officers responded to the area after a 911 hang-up call was received from a cell phone at 6:48 pm. Officers were searching for the source of the call when they found the family disturbance at the home on Linda. Officers separated the couple, documented reported injuries and checked the welfare of the baby, which at that time was fine. Two officers were still on the scene an hour later taking statements from witnesses outside the house when the mauling occurred.
Burleson Animal Control officers euthanized the animal Tuesday.2
09/25/12: Child Killed by Dog
Burleson, TX - In a developing story, newspapers confirm reports of a suspected fatal dog attack that began circulating last night in social media channels. Police were called to a domestic disturbance on Linda Drive at 6:45 pm. While family members were speaking with police officers, someone sat the baby down and the family dog attacked. The child was taken to Cook Children's Hospital. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner confirmed the baby's death Tuesday morning.
The child has been identified as 3-month-old Rayden Bruce.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Texas Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.2MailOnline reports that police officers were unaware there were two dogs in the home.
Related articles:
So far there aren't any as this child was attacked while police were on the scene.
Cue the nuts* who are going to say that the poor little doggy was scared by the cops and whatnot, and thus should now be put in a loving home with lots of small children.
Pardon me, but there is NO REASON A DOG SHOULD ATTACK AN INFANT. PERIOD!
* Note I said "nuts" and not "pit nuts" since the breed has not been revealed. Though smart money says doggie is at least part-pit.
OOPS I spoke too soon. It WAS a Pit Bull!
How UN-surprising!
What kind of family would have a pit bull in the same house as a newborn?
Now we've seen the unneutered male dog. I have a need to see the father of the infant that owned this monster and the relative, maybe a grandfather, that put the baby on a bed in a bedroom where this dog was. One neighbor told a reported that the mother had told her that her main concern was her baby being in the house with the dogs. One report says there was another dog there. The father exercized his right to own these monsters…NOW, WAS IT WORTH IT ???
Pit and Rotts have now combined for 50 DBRFs in Texas.
How's that BSL pre-emption working out?!?
Animal control officials confirm they had custody of Brody the dog at least twice before: once, when the animal got loose and was picked up, and once in 2011 when the dog bit someone on the ankle while on a leash.
Animal officers investigated the biting case, and ruled the dog was not aggressive
Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19631371/newborn-mauled-to-death-by-family-dog#.UGG39omnNvY.twitter#ixzz27Wrl7w46
This is the problem with the Animal Control profession…There should be a mishap investigation reviewing the procedures and poor judgement calls the led to this tragedy.
Instead the public will get a warning to "Not blame the breed".
It's almost as if the profession has turned on the American people.
An unaltered, roaming pit. No doubt his human-aggressive offspring can be found all over the neighborhood, perhaps to carry on his mauling legacy.
Yup: "…the same pit bull had previously been involved in a minor biting incident in 2011. The dog was quarantined then returned to its owner, Barnett Bruce."
Ding, Ding, Ding! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a WINNER!
Its obvious to me that there is usually some sort of aggressive behavior indicated before the tragedy. Probably not reported in a lot of cases, but there nonetheless.
This story keeps getting more horrific.
Here is video of a neighbor who says that minutes before the dog killed the baby, the mother told the neighbor that one of the reasons she wanted to take the child from the home was her fear that the pits would harm the baby.
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/09/25/family-pit-bull-mauls-kills-baby-dog-euthanized/
If it is true that the mother told the police that she feared for the safety of the child with the pits and the police were there, and said there was nothing they could do, they specifically looked at the pits and gave the OK that the baby was not in danger in the presence of them. I wonder if the police checked for previous bite reports when assessing the safety of the child with the pits. This is insane.
Here in Tucson, I've heard police officers bragging about the bully dogs that they own. And that, when it comes to pit bull aggression, it's all in how you raise them.
Methinks that the nutters have infiltrated our police force. And we are not a safer community for it.
I was reading a news story the other day about a pit breaking free from its owner's leash and attacking another dog on leash. Nothing was done to the pit or pit owner because it was stated that it wasn't the owner's fault that their pit broke free. That is obscene.
I understand that the law must take into account truly, freak accidents. Let's say a healthy oak tree on my property is struck by lightning and then immediately falls onto a child. That is truly an unpredictable event. However, dog owners are let off the hook continually for their poor decision making and inability to predict or control the outcomes of their decisions.
The case of this poor child is similar. Hopefully, the adults that put the child in danger will be held to account and, more broadly, dog owners will be held to account for the first offense of their animals and aggressive animals will be dispatched on their first offense.
In the eyes of the law, sensible people that do not endanger others by their (pet) choices are not rewarded for their good judgement.
I always wondered if nutters would be okay with BSL for families with children specifically. I don't see why so many kids should die because their parents picked the worst breed of dog to have as a family pet.
This event and the one like you describe DubV has been making me believe even more strongly that the law that has just been overturned in Ohio – designating pit bulls inherently dangerous – is the best baseline regulation for pit bulls and other dangerous breeds.
After that, communities should be free to further regulate them.
There should be no benefit of the doubt or second chances for these dogs. And when freak accidents are common place, they're no longer freak accidents! You can bet real money that a pit bulls is going to "break free."
Pit nutters are playing Russian roulette with themselves and others, but are not capable of understanding the rules, parameters, or consequences of the game.
Skeptifem,
You are looking at this wrong…Pit Bulls are a Billion dollar a year business. This is not a humane or family dog ownership issue…it is a business one for those involved in it. They have already decided the victims, including the Pit Bulls themselves are expendable.