Brayden Heery, 2-weeks old, died after being "bit by a dog" and "head injury" in Milford.
Cause of Death Released
UPDATE 02/29/24: The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the infant died of blunt impact injury to his head, reports Milford Mirror. The manner of death was accidental. The Mirror also confirms our earlier reporting of data obtained from the audio dispatch log files of the Milford Fire Department. Firefighters responded to the home after a 911 call reported a dog had bitten an infant. They found the incident "as initially reported." The infant was taken to a hospital, but did not survive.
One week after the fatal mauling, the infant's uncle, Kevin Morse, who co-founded On Scene Media New Haven County, a Facebook-based media outfit that posts footage and livestreams of crimes and accidents, spoke to News 12, but would not share the circumstances of the attack. He stated the incident was not "an attack" by the dog but rather "a tragic accident." However, a bite to an infant's head and death by "blunt impact injury to the head," is typically caused by an aggressive dog bite.
Husky Confirmation
In March, the Stamford Advocate reported on a meeting held by the Connecticut Child Fatality Review Panel (CFRP). Data regarding dog attack fatalities of children was presented by Brendan Burke, state assistant child advocate, and the principal investigator on any in-depth child fatality investigation requested by the CFRP. Burke confirmed that Brayden Burwell was killed by a pet husky. "Burwell Heery died of an injury to the head after he was bitten by the family dog, a Husky, according to Burke."
02/24/24: Infant Died Last Friday
Milford, CT - A newborn died after being bitten by a family dog, suffering a head injury. Despite the infant's family not releasing details of what happened, the family states it was "not an attack" by the dog but rather a "tragic accident." Brayden Burwell, 2-weeks old, died on February 16. A local media outlet first reported the newborn's death on February 23. A GoFundMe organized for the infant's mother has raised over $17,000. The dog has since been euthanized, according to family members.
According to the mother's Facebook page, the family dog is "Dakota," a male husky. They obtained the dog when it was a puppy. "And just like that we have a new puppy, a 4 month old purebred Siberian husky," she posted on February 9, 2019. The other dog on her page, "Tucker," crossed the rainbow bridge in 2021. "To have to say goodbye for good to our furbaby was one of the hardest things I've had to do," she posted on March 23, 2021. "Can't wait to build an even closer bond with Dakota."
According to the audio dispatch log files for the Milford Fire Department on Broadcastify.com, responders were dispatched to a home in the 100 block of Gresham Street at approximately 5:15 pm. "Medic 3, we're diverting you to a different call ... [redacted] Gresham, two week old bit by a dog unsure if the child's conscious," states the dispatcher. "Two week old. Bit by a dog. Head injury," she states a minute later. A responder then asks the dispatcher to "put a call into animal control please."
The loss of an infant's life is a "tragic accident." Brayden's death is also a fatal dog mauling. The husky pattern of biting a newborn on the head, often a sleeping newborn, has been documented for many years. Recent attacks include the death of a 4-day old infant in Cave Springs, Arkansas, where "the husky's tooth penetrated the baby's head." In 2019, a 2-year old pet husky "bit a 22-day old baby on the head an undetermined number of times, killing the infant," our nonprofit wrote at that time.
Breed-Specific Traits
In our multi-year report of dog bite fatalities published in May 2018 -- U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities: Breeds of Dogs Involved, Age Groups and Other Factors Over a 13-Year Period (2005 to 2017) -- we pointed out a breed-specific trait pertaining to huskies. "Of the 13 fatal attacks inflicted by huskies, 62% (8 of 13) were infants ≤11 months old and 92% (12) were ages ≤5 years old. The single adult death, a 22-year old female victim, was a multi-breed attack involving a female husky and a male pit bull."
Our research finding was also footnoted with the following: "In comparison with the other top-six killing dog breeds, only 15% (3 of 20) of German shepherd victims were infants ≤11 months old, 13% (6 of 45) of rottweiler victims, 10% (28 of 284) of pit bull victims, 7% (1 of 15) of American bulldog victims, 0% of mixed-breed victims, and 0% of mastiff/bullmastiff victims were infants." Often in the cases of husky-inflicted infant deaths, the baby is sleeping when the dog bites or punctures the infant's head.
Are There New Findings?
Due to the Covid macro-level forces that have impacted our ability to track fatal dog maulings, we divided our tracking into two databases, pre-Covid (2005 to 2019) and post-Covid (2020 to present). For the purpose of reviewing husky fatalities, we joined the husky cases from both. Little has changed since our analysis in 2018. Despite huskies being infrequently involved in fatal dog maulings in the U.S., they are still among the top killing dog breeds, and they still disproportionately attack infants.
From 2005 to present day, we've recorded approximately 745 dog bite fatalities. Huskies have been involved in 17 of these deaths. Of these victims, 65% (11 of 17) were infants ≤11 months old and 88% (15) were ages ≤5 years old. In the two adult deaths, 22-year old Rebecca Hardy was killed in a multi-breed attack involving a female husky and a male pit bull, and 84-year old Loretta Moore was killed in a multi-breed pack attack involving two huskies, one pit bull and two dogs of unknown breeds.
The two most recent wolf-dog hybrid attacks also involved biting an infant or newborn on the head. Last year, Leo Caddle, 3-months old, died after "being carried around in a dog's mouth." The Shelby County Coroner said the parents tried to get the baby away from the wolfdog, but it was too late. In 2018, Aurora Little, 8-days old, was killed by her family's wolf-dog hybrid while lying in a bassinet. She suffered "very serious injuries to the upper body and the head," Sheriff Gary Parsons said.
Of the 11 husky-inflicted infant deaths, 9 have information about the victim's surroundings. 7 deaths, 78%, involved the infant lying in a bassinet, baby carrier, crib or inside a playpen at the time. 2 deaths, 22%, involved the baby "resting in a bedroom." In one of those deaths, Olivia Rozek was lying on a bed in a bedroom next to her twin sister when the pet husky pulled her from the bed and mauled her. Rozek suffered puncture wounds to her head as well as crushing injuries from the dog's jaws.
In the death of Brayden, the circumstances are unknown, except that Fire and EMS responded to a "Two week old. Bit by a dog. Head injury." The idea of a husky being involved in an "tragic accident" with an infant, killing the infant, without intentional teeth contact sounds as likely as this 1978 husky-inflicted infant death. The director of an animal hospital speculated back then, the husky "may have accidentally knocked over the crib and attacked the infant when the falling crib surprised her."
Related articles:
12/21/22: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Newborn, 4-Days Old, Killed by Pet Husky in Arkansas
07/09/19: 2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Sleeping Infant Killed by Family Husky in Hall County, Georgia
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.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: 
