A sign outside the home where a sleeping infant was killed by a "vicious canine" in Hampton.
GoFundMe Tall Tale
UPDATE 10/29/20: A GoFundMe identifies the infant as Michelle Ocean Rae Carr. We must point out two parts of the family's statement. One, "Lane" the family German shepherd was not Michelle's "brother." Nor did this canine love or watch over "her with love." This is the very type of anthropomorphizing that can and does lead to fatal dog maulings of infants each year. Notably, even after the infant's death, the grieving parents continue to anthropomorphize this dog.
Two, the deceased infant's parents claim that they "awoke to a panicked, scared Lane and our baby" and that Lane "had heard her crying and tried to bring her to us. He was trying to help, but sadly, her delicate little body could not take the move." Essentially, Lane, the "hero dog" was only "trying to help," but the large-breed canine mistakenly doled out death instead. We hope that parents and dog owners reading this post understand how dangerously foolish this reasoning is.
Lane is a canine, not the infant's "brother" or any human being. The police statement says, "Hampton Public Safety Communications received a call of a vicious canine that had killed an infant in the first block of Scotland Road." Additionally, it states, "The child’s father observed the extensive injuries to the child and immediately euthanized the canine." These statements from police do not corroborate the tall tale fantasy spun by the infant's parents for a fundraiser.
Nor does the father rapidly shooting and killing the dog corroborate this fantasy. "We are not angry, we are not in a rage," states the GoFundMe. Nor, our nonprofit will add, do we the parents take any responsibility in failing to recognize that anthropomorphizing dogs, especially in relation to infants, is dangerous. Pretending that dogs are Nanny Dogs that allegedly "watch over" infants, is also dangerous. Then, inventing a story that the dog was only "trying to help" is sheer madness.
"Michelle Ocean Rae Carr came into our lives on September 1st, 2020 ... Everyday to look at something so beautiful, so pure, how were we so lucky we thought? Michelle’s brother, Lane, an eight year old German Shepard was always by her side. He loved her, and he watched over her with love. He was there at the smallest movement or sounds from her. Lane has never showed a shred of aggression toward anyone in his life. He was a big, curious, goofy child.
On October 26, 2020 at 3:00 am we awoke to a panicked, scared Lane and our baby... Lane had heard her crying and tried to bring her to us. He was trying to help, but sadly, her delicate little body could not take the move. I, the father, explained to him that we were not angry with him but there are consequences for everything in life; even accidents. He was euthanized. We are not angry, we are not in a rage. What happened was purely an accident."
The grieving father also does not understand that 99% of all fatal dog maulings are ruled an "accidental" manner of death, whether there are criminal charges or not. An accidental manner of death simply means an unintentional death, but also a violent death. There are four different non-natural manners of death: accident, homicide, suicide and undetermined. Finally, the last update notes, "Gofundme has requested we explain more in detail our purpose of this fundraiser."1
"We are raising funds to cover costs of our daughters funeral, time off work, to keep our roof over our head, counseling, and a million other obvious reasons. We would love keepsakes of our daughter as well. Gofundme has requested we explain more in detail our purpose of this fundraiser, so this is an unexpected update. We cannot imagine not being together to help each other through this unimaginable time. All funds will be transferred to our bank account..."
We feel terrible for this loss of life. We feel terrible for these parents. Had their beliefs about dogs, however, not been a tall tale fantasy, this loss of life would not have occurred. Hampton police had a realistic and practical view of canines. When asked by a reporter, "What triggered the dog to attack"? Hampton Police spokesperson Sgt. Reggie Williams said, he couldn't say "outside of just a guess or speculation," but "animal behavior can be unpredictable." Dogs are not human beings.
A photograph of infant Michelle from the parent's GoFundMe campaign, uploaded Oct 27.
The elderly German shepherd-mix seen in one of the videos posted to the GoFundMe page.
10/26/20: Infant Killed by Family Dog
Hampton, VA - An infant is dead after being mauled by a dog, according to the Hampton Police Department. At about 3:16 am, Hampton Public Safety Communications "received a call of a vicious canine that had killed an infant" in the 100 block of Scotland Road. "Prior to the officer's arrival, the dog had been euthanized by its' owner," police said in a statement. When officers arrived, they observed a small infant that had sustained injuries consistent with a dog attack.
"The preliminary investigation revealed that the infants' parents were sleeping in their bed when they were awakened by a large amount of motion," states the release. The infant had been in a cradle next to the bed when the attack occurred. "The child’s father observed the extensive injuries to the child and immediately euthanized the canine. The family states that the canine had not been previously aggressive and are fully cooperating with the investigation," police said.
The Virginian-Pilot reports the infant was a 2-month old girl. According to Sgt. Amanda Moreland, one parent shot and killed the dog while the other called police. The injuries were consistent with a canine attack, not just a bite. "There is nothing that would indicate this was anything other than a tragic accident," Moreland said. Police clarified the dog was "shot outside the residence" by its owner. Animal control took possession of the deceased dog, an 8-year old German shepherd-mix.
Infant Deaths in 2020
This infant's deaths marks the seventh infant (< 11 month old) killed by a family dog so far this year and 17% of all dog bite fatalities. In six of these deaths, the breed of dog was released. Pit bulls were responsible for four of these deaths, 67%. Other breeds included a Belgian malinois and this 8-year old German shepherd-mix. Notably, the "mix" portion can indicate a wide range of breeds, including husky, which has a long track record of killing newborns sleeping in cradles.
The cradle in the Virginia fatal dog mauling was later characterized as an "electronic swing" by the Virginian-Pilot. The dog was also identified as a male German shepherd-mix, named "Lane."
Residence where a newborn baby girl was killed by a "vicious canine" in Hampton, Virginia.
Related articles:
08/11/20: 2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Baby Killed by Family Pit Bull While Under the Care of his...
06/14/20: 2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Infant Dies After Being Bitten by Family Dog in Hartford
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
The dangerous canine did not inflict just one nip. Not just two nips. Not just one bite. Not just two bites. Extensive injuries from his family pet animal. Yes, that happens to people. Any person. Any time. Anywhere. This was not a accident. This event was tragic and predictable. Dangerous canines do not accidentally maul people. They do it on purpose, according to their intrinsic nature. Why? Because a human being was in proximity to a dangerous canine, that’s why.
Here is a link to a baby resource site that promotes Pitbulls for children.
M not making this up, it’s absolutely infuriating.
It doesn’t get any more distthan this……
https://www.babygaga.com/25-pictures-of-why-every-baby-needs-a-pitbull/
Wow. That post almost seemed tongue-in-cheek, it was so over the top. Those photos made me cringe: babies’ soft heads and tender skin should never be that close to any animal. Even if the dog shifts it could easily injure the baby. So, so sad when the boundary between human and animal life becomes so blurred.
That is some sick crap. It made my skin crawl.
That article is so horrifying and irresponsible I don’t know what to say. It even encourages placing a baby on top of a pit bull.
Saying every baby needs a pit bull is like saying every baby needs a wolverine. It’s over-the-top ridiculous. That article almost reads like satire, but some people are that nuts.
GSD MIX. Mixed with what exactly? Why didn’t they state this? I can guess why. I’d love to see a picture of this MIX.
I can’t imagine being wakened in the night to find my baby being killed by a dog. The horror of this is unthinkable. But why is this just “a tragic accident” when other avoidable infant deaths (such as tub drownings) are investigated and parents are brought up on charges of negligence?
I say avoidable because this is just that… no one HAS to have a large dog loose in their home with their newborn baby, just as no one HAS to step away from their baby in the tub for a moment. Giving a large dog (even a “nice” unaggressive dog) access to a baby is negligent. Surely by now, people know that dogs can and do kill babies, don’t they? Right? Or is the “it could never happen to me” mentality so prevalent in our culture that people are willing to take the risk?
My heart does grieve for this family and for this baby girl. I hope the parents become voices of reason to others so that there are fewer needless deaths like these in the future. At the very least, the killing dog was immediately dispatched by one of the parents so that it can’t be whisked away to some other location. How could a loving parent respond in any other way upon finding their baby slaughtered by their pet? That act alone at least shows me that these parents actually cared more for the baby than for the dog, although sadly not enough that they chose to keep the child safe from an animal that could kill her so easily.
I have no doubt that many people will cry out for justice for the death of the dog, while the death of the baby girl is just “a tragic accident.” What a society we live in… humans are deemed replaceable but dogs often get every protection and the right to live on and endanger others after killing sleeping babies and helpless old ladies (like Dexter in the Annie Hornish case). At least not this time!
Your line of thought hits the key points. The question you raise in your first paragraph: the problem is that it is de facto willfully dangerous to let a dangerous canine have access to a child, but it is not de jure considered to be dangerous to let a dangerous canine have access to a child. Your second paragraph: Of course, people do know that dangerous canines maim and kill children, but the problem is that people want to allow their dangerous canines to have access to children, and the additional problem is that it is perfectly legal to do so. The psychological defense mechanism that people employ is projection, “my dog knows that the child is precious, so therefore my dog will not maim or kill my child.” The erroneous projection of their sense of the child onto the dangerous dog, plus their desire to allow the dangerous dog to have access to the child, plus that it is perfectly legal to do so leads to predictable tragic results. Your fourth paragraph: of course, you are correct; many people are going to demand justice for the dog. The scary part is that they can make a case, because they can claim that when the dog retreated from the attack and was no longer an immediate threat, the dog was shot and killed. For example, if the same dog severely injured a person, and then backed away and then was shot, the law can claim that the person who shot the dog discharged their firearm after the threat retreated and was no longer an immediate threat. In that case, the shooter can be sent to prison for a few years. Therefore, I agree with you, there will be many people who will be demanding justice for the dog. What kind of society do we live in? An evil society. If our society were not evil, people would not want to place their children in proximity with dangerous animals, and the law would not allow them to do so. Evil is as evil does.
Look at the link I posted above, it’s not just a Evel society, it’s outright demonic !
Exactly. It’s dog worship run amok.
Perfect comment. I agree 10000000%!
Dogs are actually as a species astonishingly safe. Not to say I’d leave an infant where a dog could get to it, but one thing I really find troubling about this era of dangerous dog rehabs and breed blinding is how it is leading to banning dogs, not just breeds. If it’s unfair to differentiate between breeds, we are going to lose dogs as a legal companion species, and that would be a terrible loss and a major injustice. There is virtually no risk to a child in having a family dog. There is a high risk to a child when that dog is of specific breeds or of specific temperaments. Making that judgement is what we need to do, not angrily denounce all dogs, or all large dogs, and their owners.
Sara, large dog or small, gentle or fierce, dogs aren’t born with a set of instructions on how to cope in a human society.
While I agree with you absolutely that all dogs are not equally risky, one can’t really tell until they worked with, and trained the dog in each circumstance.
A new baby is a new experience between dog and owners. Thus, best to err on the side of dog training sense and caution, than to risk an egregious outcome.
Many dog owners project their own feelings/thinking onto their dogs, and honestly believe their dogs feel/think the same way they do. Therefore, let dog have access to new tiny human because dog understands that its job is to love and protect new tiny human. It is so tragically foolish to believe that. Dogs have pack mentality. That dog had apparently been a part of this pack for 8 years. The infant was an intruder, interloper. So the dog eliminated it. So sad. This tragedy was avoidable. I wouldn’t give my lick-you-to-death 10 pound puppy dogs access to an infant. They very well might want to eliminate it when my back is turned. I would love to think they would not hurt a baby, but I don’t know that, do I? So sad that this dog was not kept away from the baby while the parents slept. I am so sorry for this family. Unimaginable loss.
Personally I wouldn’t even leave young human siblings with a newborn baby unattended. They are so fragile an older child could easily kill it accidentally, or on purpose even. Its crazy to leave a predator with something so vulnerable.
I hate when they label attacks as accidents. This was not an accident. The parents didn’t accidentally bring this dog into their home. The parents didn’t accidentally give this dog access to their baby. And the dog didn’t accidentally viciouslly maul and kill its intended target. All of this was intentional and preventable.
Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with the parents. I can’t even imagine waking up to your dog killing your baby. And I am glad that they put the dog down themselves after they saw what it did. But I am angry that this baby lost her life like this. And I am angry that we see wo much propaganda every day where children are placed around dangerous animals.
German sheperds are known for being very aggressive attack dogs. There’s a reason they are used by cops. They are not family pets. This insanity of having dogs bred for aggression around vulerable infants needs to end. German sheperds, pit bulls, rotwiellers, siberian huskies, they all see children as prey. They should never, ever be near infants. Rest in peace to the baby girl.
If one selects a German Shepherd Dog based at least partially on temperament, socializes it properly, and obedience trains it, it should be a great family dog. The police also use a lot of Belgian Malinois which overall is a far more aggressive breed than the GSD.
Having said the above, no dog of any breed should be left unattended with a baby. No exceptions. This is a very sad story which could easily have been avoided and the baby and the dog would be healthy and happy.
I have such a strong feeling the “mix” part is pit. The baby’s cradle was actually a motorized swing. Many babies/small children have been attacked by pits while in one of these swings. It comes from the prey drive; going after a moving object. Until there’s a picture of the killer, that’s what I sense. Of course, we don’t have the dog being dragged out by the police, so we’ll probably never know unless the dog is on a FB page. Another BIG mistake parents make is having the dog before the baby. Dogs often grow jealous of the new, little interloper. Especially in our wacked-out-dog- worship-culture; dogs practically French kissing their owners, big mutts in the bed, no training, no alpha. The dog is in control of the owner. It’s sickening to hear them referred to as their children. Well, their human children are suffering from their stupidity. I always had gentle, loyal, trained dogs who knew they were dogs. Not one ever harmed any of my children. Not even a growl.
We had a miniature golden doodle before we had our first baby. When we brought our newborn home, our sweet dog who had previously slept on our bed was immediately locked out of the room at night. I didn’t really think it out…just mother’s natural instinct to protect. I loved my dog, but I love my child a million times more and would not take a moment’s risk.
So right, Beth. I remember reading a post where a mother was concerned because her pit bull was threatening her baby when in the swing. The dog “expert” had the gall to advise her on how to train the dog around the baby. How to introduce the dog slowly to the baby in the swing. This is insanity. Can you imagine playing Russian roulette with the life of your child? A mother’s instinct is to take a bullet for your kid. And yet, and YET people are vilified if you get rid of a clear and present danger. I’ve known people who put up with food aggression, tearing up the house, chewing the furniture to shreds, and far worse… posing a threat to human life, and they still can’t give the dog up. They’re hostages in their own home.
Doctors warn pregnant women to get rid of their cats due to toxoplasmosis. They also warn that a cat will kill a baby by laying on it either out of jealousy or seeking warmth. Does anyone remember the last time they heard about a cat killing a baby? But when it comes to dogs no one breathes a word more than gently saying to be there for the introductions and do it slowly. Stay in the room and monitor. Maybe due to all the studies more warnings are coming about pits, maybe not. Everyone seems to continue to believe the farce that dogs are man’s best friend and apply it to all dogs. It is silly to think that a large predator in the home would see a baby as a member of the pack and not an easy meal.
Uh, never. And as for toxoplasmosis, it can mostly be avoided by letting someone else clean the litter box, or using gloves and washing hands afterwards. I worked with a lady whose mother had this while pregnant with her, it wasn’t that bad. Mostly eye problems.
I’m sorry these people lost their new baby.
However, to everyone else out there–let it be an object lesson.
You do not KNOW what your dog thinks about a new baby. Stop projecting your warm fuzzy feelings onto your dog. This was entirely preventable. No matter how many facebook photos you see–dogs and babies DO NOT MIX.
Dogs can be protective of space, people, objects. Dogs hear squeaky things and play a game of tug with it. Dogs generalise. If I bite this squeaky thing, I can bite THAT squeaky thing. If they are annoyed by a high pitched noise, they may try to stop the noise. Some dogs attack the vulnerable, such as small dogs, sick animals, and babies *because* some dogs consider weakness a liability to the pack order. Some dogs attack prey.
No matter how much you love your dog, you put your dog AND your baby at risk by being naive about what motivates your dog. You don’t KNOW when it’s being pack-oriented, or protective, or annoyed, or in prey drive. You only know what *behaviour* it’s exhibiting.
Train your dog that babies are *completely off limits*–if they see one…go the other way. If there are rowdy children, teach them to sit quietly beside you or back away until commanded otherwise and you are available to intervene. Teach your dog that any food children have, is off limits to them.
If you can’t do that, don’t have a dog. They’re living organisms with their own sets of motivations that aren’t the same as human motivations.
Go to an you shelter or rescue site ……see for yourself how many Pitbulls are suddenly turning into
Labrador, Boxer, German Shepherd mixes !
It’s absolutely criminal ….
One was a “chihuahua” mix. Now there’s a mix the world really needs–a neurotic pipsqueak and a dog bred to kill. I had to slap myself aside the head to stop my eyes from rolling.
I don’t even want to speculate on how someone accomplished that breeding.
It’s entirely possible this is a true shepherd mix; the breed has a bad history with children. But like many others commenting, I have to wonder. I’ve seen way too many pit bulls being sold as shepherd mixes.
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/ramona-49592385/nj/lambertville/animal-alliance-nj290/
But-but-but that dog is always SMILING! What could possibly go wrong?
OMG…I just took a look at this pet finder profile of “Ramona” a “shepherd mix.” Huge mouth, wide-set, vacant eyes and needs a home without children. At least they’re warning people. But God forbid there’s a child in the neighborhood or you happen to have children visit.
I look at Ramona and I do not see any signs of a Shepard of any kind. Plenty of pits have stand up ears and GSDs generally need ear taping to get ears like that. Her coat is pure pit. What a farce!
Here’s one being called a GSDxbasset hound. I see GSD x pit or pit x basset but I definitely see pit.
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/babs-38053563/pa/mont-alto/knick-knack-pittie-pack-dog-rescue-pa856/
I’d attribute the dwarfing on the legs to a possible “Shorty Bull” sort of cross rather than a Basset. There are so many intact pit bulls being bred today, and so few of ANY other type, I think when you see pit bull types with some atypical features, the most reasonable answer is that it’s a pit bull.
I don’t know why you believe GSDs are a problem with children.
Again, no dog of any breed should be left unattended with a baby.
German Shepherd Dogs were bred to herd sheep. They also herd children. They are fantastic children’s pets as long as they were raised with children. If they weren’t raised with small children, they may be scared of children’s behavior and decide to bite.
Let’s be honest here. Shepherds and Rottweilers can be aggressive. They can also be protective, no pitbull DNA required. They were often highest on the list of “bite-ness” when pitbulls were still only in the hands of fighting dogmen.
Perhaps the owners got lucky before, perhaps they didn’t think it through, perhaps they lack sleep and missed some signs or forgot to pen the dog or didn’t think they needed, to.
None of that justifies the dog mangling the baby but the fact it managed to grab the baby, in the bath–means someone slipped up, somewhere, in all likelihood. Or they didn’t see the dog as a threat because they didn’t know what they were looking for or after eight years they trusted the dog without thinking that this was a completely new experience for that dog.
Which is all pretty standard for your average dog owner.
As for Ramona there, standing up ears do not a GSD, make.
Ramona has nice ears and a new type of head structure for a GSD.
I know we’ve not seen a picture of the dog, but I’m really kind of surprised by some of the comments here assuming this german shepherd mix HAS to be mixed with pit. As if a purebred german shepherd wouldn’t do this. These dogs very much have attacks and kills to their name across many age groups. Could it have truly been a pit mix, yeah sure. But it also could have been mixed with labrador or anything else. German shepherds have prey drive too. A little baby is an easy target for a large breed. Hence why as I always say, if a parent feels they MUST have large dogs, then those dogs should NEVER be able to have access to the baby.
I’m on the fence. I recognize that GSDs are a historically problem breed, with the worst safety record after pit bulls and Rottweilers. But there are an enormous number of people claiming that every pit bull is really a Ibizian Hound/Chihuahua mix, and selling/rehoming them as such. GSD mix is a very popular claim, given there’s a subset of pit bulls with wonky, oversized upright ears and given that it’s a very popular strategy to blame a nervy, aggressive pit bull’s unlikeable behavior on the well-known tendency for GSDs to be fruit loops.
That GoFundMe is sickening. The dog was always by her side waiting for a quick meal. The dog came at every sound from the baby again, thinking about a meal. The whole trying to bring the baby to “their” father due to the baby crying is beyond comprehension. I really struggle to wrap my head around this positive spin on a dog’s natural instinct. Anthropomorphizing, indeed!
I…..I have no words. What in the world is wrong with these parents??? They called the dog their daughter’s brother? They seriously believe that dog heard the baby crying and wanted to “bring her over” to them? Um, I’ve never heard of a dog bringing a crying baby over to their owner. Literally what is going on in their minds? The anthropomorphizing in that entire GoFundMe message is disgusting. Their baby died a horrific, painful death and they’re trying to paint the vicious killer as some good natured samaritan who only wanted to help. Sick.
Poor baby was born into a family of dog worshippers. And she paid the ultimate price.
On the GoFundMe there is a video on you updates called “You will always be my sunshine.” At 2:17 Lane’s head enters the shot licking lips. Lane appears to be a GSD mix with floppy ears. I could not tell what the mix is.
I’m jus trying surprised they didn’t add a picture of her ” brother ” in their gofundme page.
After all, it was just a terrible ” accident ” ….
Sigh
I am absolutely disgusted by what these parents wrote to describe their daughter’s horrific and needless death. Brother? Goofy child? They explained to the dog that there are consequences to actions before euthanizing him? Unbelievable. It almost sounds like satire. But I guess to admit the truth puts too much blame and guilt on these parents.
The false claim: the baby’s older doggy brother was so loving that he accidentally killed her when trying to help her, and felt sad and confused at having done so, then before law enforcement arrived they gently explained to the dog his wrongdoing and eased him calmly into death. Parents feel as if this couldn’t be helped, that they deserve money because they’ve lost two “children” and they’ve also managed to avoid upsetting people for having killed the dog by making it sound as if it were a teachable moment before a loving embrace into eternity.
The truth: the dog is an animal who looked upon this child as prey, found an opportunity to savage her to death, and
then looked guilty when caught because the parents were upset. The father, filled with grief hauls the dog roughly outside by the collar and without hesitation puts a bullet in its brain while screaming and crying out for his dead child. But upon thinking it though, their daughter’s death by their own pet seems to make them look like bad parents and killing the dog makes them seem like cruel people, so they concoct a fantasy to make it seem like their dog was a hero. Money doesn’t exactly roll in for “we negligently left our kid exposed to an unpredictable animal,” so careful wording is crafted to remove blame from them and from the dog. The only blame left is for the baby, because she cried and was too small and vulnerable to survive her doggy brother’s heroic efforts to save her.
Every ounce of sympathy I felt for these people is gone. They didn’t deserve that child. They’re endangering other children with their words.
I want to vomit.
Or wait… maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they never screamed and cried for their dead child and didn’t kill the dog in an understandable fit of grief and rage. Maybe they were only thinking about the dog from the moment they found Michelle dead. After all, they’d had their “son” Lane (retch) for 8 years and the baby had only been around several weeks. Maybe they killed the dog so it wouldn’t be put in custody of animal control. You know, to spare him from being scared and lonely in a kennel. Maybe that’s it. Human children are replaceable after all, but you can never have another great perfect doggo like Lane, right? Right?
It’s a perversion of the natural love parents should feel for their human children.
Prey or competition.
Holy crap! Their Gofundme has already raised over $16,000. It just floors me that people sympathize with a couple who could write something like this to pretty up the negligent death of their baby. The whole made up description of an infant being mauled by the family dog really makes me feel sick, which says a lot because the actual way she died was horrible.
And here’s why they “need” the money. In their own words:
“We are raising funds to cover costs of our daughters funeral, time off work, to keep our roof over our head, counseling, and a million other obvious reasons.”
Obvious reasons? Like being so deluded that you think your killer dog was a human brother to your now-deceased baby?
I pity the counselor who will have to deal with these people.
I pity their next child.
I wonder, will the counseling be to recover from the grief of finding the mangled lifeless body of their daughter Michelle… or the loss of both of their “children”… or just the loss of poor sweet heroic Lane who had to be put down as a consequence of the babysitting accident? I hope that whatever counselor they go to does not participate in their sick delusion.
But somehow I doubt they’ll go to counseling. Anyone who sets up their own Go Fund Me so quickly after the death of their daughter and has the cognizance to concoct such a fanciful tale about the death so they can look blameless and still profit don’t really seem that stricken with grief.
Reminds me of this:
Egotistical Innocents. They are members of animal protection clubs and humane societies. They read lots of sentimental stories about animals, and they watch lots of programs on Discovery Channel. They believe that all animals are sweet-natured cuddly toys. These people’s egocentricity is different from the adolescent’s. These people think they are the measure of all things, and they therefore believe that if a dog is nice to them, well, it means he’s nice, period. How the dog behaves towards others isn’t so important. The Egotistical Innocent lives in a fairy tale, failing to see that a dog is a living being with a will and personality of his own, and that the dog hasn’t been informed of the fairy tale.
KaD, “the dog hasn’t been informed of the fairy tale”–exactly.
“Dog saved my life” has turned from “pulled a baby out of a fire” or “fought off a pack of wild hyenas and saved my goats” to “I was depressed and the dog made me feel better”.
I’m sorry nutters but my Protection trained Bouviers DID save me, and my guard buddies from guys with knives, an enraged man with a golf club, broke up a bloody fight etc etc. These were imminent threats.
They weren’t pets. They were bred, raised and trained to do a job. I had the utmost respect for them.
Companion dogs need to be bred and raised and trained for just that–to be sociable companions.
That however, doesn’t work as tear-jerking clickbait.
I’m not going to deride the parents, here for the attack. Sorry gang.
I’ve seen plenty of foolish owners (just walk down the street and see who is walking who 90% of the time including large breeds).
What I am gonna blame is this culture that says that babies and large protective breeds, mix. They don’t. It takes preparation and training. And I’m going to blame idiot YouTube dog trainers who tell people that it’s okay for dog to sniff baby, lick baby, lay on baby’s blanket, etc etc.
Where I am baffled is that these parents don’t want that dog dead 15 seconds after their infant was killed. If one of their relations murdered their baby I doubt they would be saying, “Have mercy on my brother/sister/uncle/cousin/aunt/mom/dad”–they’d want them locked up to do no more damage for a long time–even if it was a psychiatric facility. But dogs whose thought processes we cannot fathom, are entitled to mercy?
Dogs are marvellous. They can be amazing companions but they don’t come out of a Cheerios box all exactly the same and prepared to live in human society.
Sometimes, if we fail to recognise that, someone winds up paying for it in a biting or mauling or even, death.
Yes, I found myself moving into judgment, especially if it had been a pit bull mix. Now, I want to come out of compassion. I’m a researcher by nature, so I saw another side to this. I found the grandfather’s FB page; he’s a war vet, who comes across as kind and decent. He is crushed that his beautiful little grandchild is dead. He’s not spinning the tale…he’s simply devastated. I looked at the parents, too. They’re young. From their videos, you can see two people in love with their tiny girl. I heard a mother’s voice say, “You are my life.” And, yes, you see in the video, the head of a very large dog licking the baby’s feet. My first thought was, she never had a chance. The parents bought into the Disney myth about animals. It’s the same reason people get out of a car and think it’s a good idea to take a picture with a bison. They had a dog that never showed aggression. It was treated as their child. Then, the real baby came and the dog disposed of the new object of affection. These parents are in absolute shock, so they made up a story to buffer the pain. And, by golly, they’ll get a lot of support from the dog worship deniers. They already are. Over time, they’ll have to face the truth. For now, I’ll say a prayer for them and their family.
Terry, I concur.
The first stage of grief is denial. That’s where these parents are–shock and denial.
They haven’t hit the rage stage, yet.
They thought they’d raised “The Littlest Hobo” without realizing that Eisenmann’s dogs were specifically bred for him, trained extensively by him and selected for which stunts and intelligent thinking they could provide for him.
And he never put his dogs at risk alone with children or babies even during publicity. He was *always* there to supervise and chose which dogs would be available.
They bought the myths instead of the research and they lost their baby, as a result. They’re unable to cope with the facts, yet.
First off, I’m glad we finally got a picture of the dog. Now the “it was secretly a pit mix” theories can end.
Second. What? What?! What?!?! WHAT?!?! What did I just read?????? What is truly wrong with the parents? I mean, where do I begin. The reference to the canine that killed their daughter as her “loving, protective older brother? Claiming the dog heard her crying and simply wanted to bring her to the parents to be comforted? The father claiming he ‘explained’ to the dog, about consequences of ‘accidents’ before dispatching the killer???
I am gobsmacked. Stunned. Beyond astounded by the insanity that was written in that gofundme. Do they truly believe what they wrote? Or are they only saying that to get more money from dog lovers who’d chastise them if they dare insinuated the dog was anything other than a vicious killer? I mean, everything about this initial story sounded like the parents saw their infant being brutally killed and shot the dog in a protective rage. Now it sounds like, “our poor pupper (who was actually just a human with fur) made a mistake, but we aren’t mad”. I mean, WHAT?!?!
I truly sympathized with the parents, but that feeling has greatly diminished. This dog KILLED their baby, and they have the nerve to defend the killer with a crazy hero dog story. They put up all those videos talking about how they loved and miss their daughter and she was everything to them, while at the same time they defend the vicious beast that killed her unprovoked.
I truly can’t believe me eyes. That poor poor baby was doomed with these parents.
50 comments tells me what I need to know. These parents have to be certifiably insane, and there are no two ways about it. My God…can you imagine your “nanny dog” just killed your one month old daughter, and hey, it was just some big misunderstanding? I have heard some crazy stuff in my 67 years of life, but nothing matches this one.
I just had a horrible and disheartening thought. There will be some people that read the parents’ fanciful hero-dog-rescue-gone-wrong account of what happened and who will come way thinking that the parents should have had a pit bull as their nanny dog rather than a GSD. Because most people who will believe that drivel about Lane being the baby’s protective “brother” are those who also fully adhere to the nanny dog myth. What a sad thought… pit advocates will come way tsk-ing these parents for their poor choice of a “son” because he wasn’t the best breed for nannying! Ugh.
When I look at the second and third photos of the infant above, I see a dog’s head that is nearly as large as she is. I see that the dog’s jaws could easily encompass her head and chest.
I feel sorry for any infant unfortunate enough to have parents that don’t see the same thing I do, whether or not the dog eventually kills or injures the infant.
That GoFundMe posting is absolutely sickening. And it really does lay bare, as you note, how anthropomorphizing animals poisons human minds.
I was horrified at a recent vicious and dangerous dog hearing in San Francisco when one of the witnesses — NOT the owner of the pit bull that attacked and injured another dog, but the complainant’s friend who was present during the attack — described the lives of dogs and children as “equally important.” This is pure madness, and until we come to grips with this madness as a society we will continue to see children being killed by their “brothers.”
Why did ‘Lane’ the pet dog have access to the baby when the parents did not? Baby Michelle should have been asleep in her parents room in case she cried in the night! To make it easy for sleepy parents to deal with a newborn, keep your baby close! why not?! Infants awake in the night and panic/cry when they cannot smell their mother close-by, just like ANY other mammal, which by definition, humans are…we feed our newborns milk…so the parents did not hear their newborn cries and her “brother” dog, German Shepherd dog Lane tried to drag her to the parents room for help…not buying that rubbish sorry… I like GSDs they were our family breed when I turned 10, they slept outside too, in very comfortable quarters…who in their right mind, lets a large dog have access to a newborn baby? Pure laziness, those parents, sound very suss, I don’t for one minute think they wanted this to happen but not THINKING at all is a crime in itself SMDH
From the reports, it indicates the infant was next to their bed in a portable swing. They awoke to a disturbance. The police described it as a deadly attack. The young parents, whom I believe are still in shock, have spun a tale about their dog trying to “help.” Obviously, that wasn’t the case as the father promptly killed the dog. It’s a horrible story on every level. My hope would be that parents might learn from this, though many won’t. There’s people already excusing the dog’s actions, including the deceased baby’s parents. They could have turned this tragedy into a chance to educate the public and maybe prevent this from happening again to even one other baby.
Now that is some twisted grifting if I may say so myself.
Without a clear picture of the dog, the label is too vague to be useful. “Shepherd Mix” rules out some large breeds (like Goldens and Newfies and Borzoi) but many other big dogs can still be shoved under the tent.
Take a cruise through Petfinder and look at the crazy range of dog appearances that are all labeled “Shepherd Mix.”
Some are pretty obviously heavy on German Shepherd:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/lucinda-49645502/dc/washington/lucky-dog-animal-rescue-dc20/
Others have a Shepherd-Collie look:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/hermon-49671942/md/ellicott-city/small-miracles-cat-and-dog-rescue-md257/
And others have Collie with the Shepherd part fairly AWOL:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/cherry-49674580/nj/marlton/matchdog-rescue-nj898/
And then there are your “this is a pit” “Shepherd Mixes”:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/spice-49521313/ny/syracuse/central-new-york-spca-ny512/
And the “what were they smoking when they called this a Shepherd Mix”?
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/dixie-49043624/pa/warren/paws-along-the-river-pa217/
And some look like they have some German Shepherd, but are strong(er) on some other undetermined power breed:
https://www.petfinder.com/dog/pogo-49623424/il/deerfield/orphans-of-the-storm-animal-shelter-il206/
I see what does appear to be a brown snout and head in the video, but still it doesn’t tell me much.
Neither does the label.
I feel like we need a lot more info before we talk about the particular dog that committed the attack.
What is more clear is the inappropriate anthropomorphizing of the dog by the parents, as Colleen has pointed out.
I don’t consider the dog a vicious killer. I believe he and the baby were not properly supervised.
People are supposed to be more intelligent than dogs. If the parents had simply put their dog somewhere outside of the bedroom, both the baby and the dog would still be alive.
Virtually all the people that German Shepherd Dogs kill are little babies. I still don’t think they recognize babies as little people. Babies have nasty smelling diapers. The parents could have said Lane was trying to change the baby’s diaper.
Are people getting dumber?
I was born in the 70’s. I don’t remember people letting large carnivores have access to newborns. Stores didn’t have to put up signs asking parents “Did you lock your baby in the back of the car? Might wanna go back and get the little tyke before they die.” The moon landing and the roundness of the planet were generally accepted by everyone.
Thanks to the internet so much knowledge is available about so many subjects. Somehow people are forgetting things that used to be instinct. We would not have made it as a species it newborns were frequently left alone with large carnivores or locked in heated, enclosed spaces.
Now when a small mammal gets killed by an animal that survived for thousands of years by killing small mammals it is a tragic accident, an unforeseen tragedy. How could anyone know that animal would do what it was designed to do?
The explanation that the baby cried and her “brother” tried to carry her is insane. Do they want me to believe the dog had never heard the baby cry before?
The dog didn’t try to carry the baby, it successfully shut it up. Once it saw the owners were upset it started the guilty act because that usually protected it from consequences. Didn’t quite work this time.
There have been dog owners in this situation fight to keep the dog. Their logic was they could always have another kid but good dogs are hard to find. Yes a mother said that about her own child that her dog had killed. At the time that outraged most people. I suspect soon that will become “new normal”.