Chevy Womack, 1-month old, died after being bitten by a family dog in Torrance.
Newborn Dies
Torrance, CA - A newborn baby died after being bitten by a family dog Tuesday afternoon. Paramedics were dispatched to a residence in the 2700 block of Martha Avenue around 12:35 pm for a report of an animal bite. "The Torrance Fire Department arrived and discovered that a dog had bit a one-month-old child," the Torrance Police Department said. The Torrance Fire Department transported the child to a local hospital. When Torrance police arrived at the hospital, they were informed the baby girl died.
Upon learning of the child's death, "Detectives responded to the scene and the hospital to conduct a follow-up investigation," Lt. Freddy Ahmad said in a news release. The family owned the dog, and it lived at the residence. The attack occurred inside the home. The infant has been identified as Chevy Womack. Torrance Animal Control took possession of the dog. As of Wednesday, the cause of death is still undetermined pending the Los Angeles County coroner’s investigation, states the release.
NBC Los Angels reports that multiple dogs lived in the home. Authorities seized all of the dogs. NBC spoke to Faye Tohidi, who is a friend of person who lives at the home. Tohidi said she was told, "The dog got ahold of the baby." The dog belonged to the mother, Ahmad said. Detectives are still conducting interviews. Children and Family Services is also investigating, Ahmad said. Torrance Animal Control said the dog involved is a "mixed-breed," which often indicates a "mixed bull breed."
Tohidi, who calls herself a "dog person," told KABC-TV there were three dogs in the home, including a mastiff, pit bull-mix and a mixed-breed dog.
Of the multiple news reports of the infant's death, Tohidi's account is the most impacting. Tohidi had hoped to visit the family today. Then she learned what happened. "I can’t even imagine how the mother feels right now. She must be devastated," she said. Then she offered a warning. "Be aware," she said. "When you have a big dog, and you have an infant in the house, you have to make sure they are completely separate or give your dog away." Tohidi added, "Your newborn needs your attention."
Confirmation of Dog Involved
We received confirmation of the culprit dog from a person who knows the mother. It is the only dog seen on the mother's Facebook page. A male pit bull-mix, apparently "Rambo," that bears striking similarity to the black and white male pit bull-mastiff mixes that killed Joseph Keeton in 2023. Last Halloween, when the mother could not find Rambo, she warned, "Rambo can get aggressive if you have gloves, a helmet, or a mask on. I don't want him running around and mistakenly hurt anyone."
The only dog on the mother's Facebook page is this male black and white pit bull-mastiff mix. The dog is always seen indoors: lying on furniture, lying on the carpet, or inside a car.
Top image: The mother's Halloween post about Rambo. Bottom image: KABC's chopper got a shot of the backyard. The soft-sided playpen appears to be keeping puppies inside(?)
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.Related articles:
05/31/24: 2024 Dog Bite Fatality: Pet Husky Attacked, Killed Newborn Sleeping in Crib
05/14/24: 2024 Dog Bite Fatality: 4-Day Old Dead After 'Apparent Dog Bite' from Husky
02/29/24: 2024 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn Dies After Bite, 'Head Injury' from Pet Husky
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 dogs are pitbull and “mixed dogs” .poor baby Chevy she only lived for only one month because her parents are pitbull worshippers. Her mom choice of a family dog killed her.she pay the price of pitbull cult.now her parents learn their lesson pitbull aren’t family’s pet.of course she devastated because she know the truth pitbull kills and her daughter is part of the statistics that pitbull are the number one dog killer.
I found the mom’s facebook. If it was her dog, it was a pitbull. No mix. Just a pit. Hopefully that comes out.
Please send us the link! info -at- dogsbite.org or any of these email addresses. https://www.dogsbite.org/dogsbite-contact.php
I sent to your email. Maybe you could add pics of the baby, too. Just so she doesn’t disappear completely forgotten. 🙁
sent an email.
What kind of a sociopath puts their 1 MONTH old around a Pit? Pits are dangerous. They have a prey drive. That 1 month old is prey to them. It’s that simple. These dogs are dangerous. These delusional people are dangers to society.
You know I’m of the opinion that you just shouldn’t have dogs in your home if you have children. I’ve relayed this story before because I think it’s relevant. When my kids were toddlers my ex-husband brought a young Great Pyrenees and gave it to my kids. I was at work. My mom was watching the kids and she went to the bathroom leaving my babies outside with the dog. It had a leash on it. The leash trapped my daughters hand and the dog pulled her away. I was living in Montana with literally thousands of uninhabited acres of land around us with only cows and wildlife for neighbors. So I called the sheffif right away when my mom couldn’t find my 2 year old daughter and my 3 year old son wasn’t any help. In the end that dog had dragged her down to the train track about a half mile away and she was standing on the tracks when a train was coming. How in god’s name the engineer got the train stopped was a miracle but the he handed my baby to my mom, scratches all over her but alive! The dog went back and I threatened my ex-husband with the loss of the family jewels should he ever give them any more pets! When they were around 10 I bought them a small breed puppy and until they were teenagers they had her. When they were older I let them have a big dog who spent nearly a year in training with him so he was well-behaved and very well socialized to make sure he was safe around everyone. I think the best dog to have with a baby or young child is a cat!
This sounds like you needed to give your mom away. She left your children alone with a dog.
Also, your leash story is completely different from a dog bite story. But this incident was your mother’s careless fault. She left your children alone outside! How long did she leave them that she could catch no sign of your toddler?
Agree. That’s a crazy story, but I’m not a fan of the “all dogs are dangerous and shouldn’t be around children” argument, largely because it is one I’ve seen pit apologists use to deflect from the reality of the problem, which is almost exclusively pitbulls. I also would never allow a Husky, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Great Dane or German Shepherd around my children, even though I understand GSDs can be great dogs in the right hands (I fear many owners are NOT the “right hands”). While there is indeed a hazard that a rambunctious young dog could knock a child down, mauling is not a risk with the vast majority of breeds.
I agree with you. I don’t like how pit bull propaganda has changed how we view and talk about what is the normal dog ownership experience.
Personal note: My brother and I grew up with dogs, from the time I was about 3. We had at various points through the years (up to 3 dogs at a time) some kind of Shih-Tzu/poodle mix, a corgi, a Shih-Tzu, a Papillon, and 3 English springer spaniels. There was no weirdness about not being left alone with the dogs or any of the strange stuff that comes up when people talk about pits or other dangerous dog breeds.
We knew how to be respectful of the dogs and had positive experiences. Early on in particular, we were pretty average at training and exercising them.
The most important element was that we didn’t own any dog breed that has killed a person.
Dog was a “mixed breed”. Translation, it was a pit mixed with another pit.
This post has been updated with dog photos of the confirmed dog.
This is just another sad story about a dog killing a child. How dumb are these people? Drunk? High on drugs? Just plain stupid? Maybe the child should have been put up for adoption at birth?
I know that my friends and I are exceedingly careful around children with dogs.
When I’ve seen parents with children, I personally put the baby in a safe place and watch it if I need to.
I’ve sold a lot of GSD puppies, and puppies are obnoxious. I don’t think they intend to hurt people, but I’m careful.
The first child was abandoned a day after he was born. Social services let this baby leave the the hospital with her knowing the danger.
the first child?
“Rambo can get aggressive if you have gloves, a helmet, or a mask on. I don’t want him running around and mistakenly hurt anyone.”
“Mistakenly”? Hey, dimwit, that’s not a mistake. Your dog is dangerous. Period. This was your first clue to not have it around your baby. The second was its breeding.
The level of stupid and blind here is truly astonishing.
She was on drugs and was telling people she didn’t want the baby and also used that dog rambo as a weapon to scare people this whole thing makes me sick the so called parents need to be held accountable
Stephanie’s comment made me laugh.
I would prefer euthanizing the dog to beating it.
If that had been done the baby would most likely still be alive.
Seems like if you have an escape artist that attacks anyone wearing gloves, helmets or masks euthanizing is the only reasonable step.
Then again it sure doesn’t sound like type of dog you would want around a newborn either.
It looks like the mother has a play pen of “fur babies” so maybe she wont take the loss too hard.
There are few things sadder than children being brought in to the world with no chance to grow up and no one looking out for them.
RIP Baby Chevy.