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2 Staffys Euthanised After Attacking Young Boy


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Dogs killed after 'vicious' attack on toddler Emma Cillekens of the North West Star

August 23, 2011

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Two dogs that mauled a three-year-old Mount Isa boy late last week have been put down.

The Staffordshire terriers were handed over to Mount Isa City Council after the attack at 6.30pm on Thursday night which occurred when a boy and his parents had been visiting a friend's house in Parkside.

On Friday, the child was flown to Brisbane by Careflight and was believed to be in need of plastic surgery after the dog attack, which was described as vicious by ambulance officers at the scene.

Advertisement: Story continues below Queensland Ambulance Service Mount Isa officer-in-charge Matt Steer said the boy was in a stable condition and his injuries were serious but not life threatening.

"He received severe facial, arm and leg injuries after being set on by two dogs," Mr Steer said.

"It's quite devastating for everyone who was involved because there was no warning."

Mount Isa Police investigated the incident on Friday and at this stage, no charges would be laid.

Acting Superintendent Brian Cannon said as far as police were concerned the attack had been a "sad event" and a "terrible accident".

"It's not a situation where anyone has committed an offence from a policing perspective but our thoughts are with the child and we hope for a speedy recovery," he said.

The dog attack is just one of more than 50 reported in the past year to Mount Isa City Council.

Last financial year there were 56 complaints of dog attacks which were investigated and there were seven reported just last month.

This latest attack of a child comes about a year after a four-year-old boy was mauled by two dogs at his Kaeser Road home. In that instance the dogs were also destroyed.

Mount Isa council chief executive officer Bhan Pratap said dog attacks were treated very seriously and the preference was always to have the animals destroyed if they injured a person or animal.

"We appreciate the cooperation of the owners of the dog in this case who immediately surrendered the dogs to council," Mr Pratap said.

"Both dogs were unregistered so we issued the owners with an infringement notice but because the attack occurred in a backyard there can be no other punishment under council bylaws."

The owners were fined $400.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/dogs-killed-after-vicious-attack-on-toddler-20110823-1j7be.html#ixzz1VvwEgDZI

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Thing is snook attacks can happen when the parent is there. Sometimes the "always supervise" message gives parents a false sense of security. A dog attack happens in a second. Some dogs are bred not to give specific warnings (obviously not staffys).

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Another awful attack :( I hope the little boy recovers quickly without too much scarring.

I really wish the media would stop reporting in incidents like these that there was no warning though. There is always warning, just people don't see it, don't know what they're looking at or just ignore it.

By perpetuating the 'no warning' theory, it doesn't encourage people to learn or pay more attention.

eta Snap Snook, you must type quicker than me :p

Edited by Rottshowgirl
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i think MOST dogs give warning. but as a dog groomer i have seen dogs who do not warn and just snap at you. I can read most dogs but the ones i was always careful of where border collies. I had 2 just snap at me. no warning. My vet boss said then same that there is some dogs that just dont warn you. they just snap. this was not from a newbie vet and a extrealy good vet at that.

also the parents or the owners might not be able to read the dogs.

hope the little one has a full recovery and can learn to love dogs again.

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Yep, I got bitten when I was 14 (I am now 47), but there was no warning at all

I was and remain a dog lover, and this dog, was well known to me,

I have no idea what set it off, I was patting him, down at his level, and all of sudden bam, just latched on my face

still have scars now, faded ...

so,yes, some dogs do give warnings, but not all, and some just do snap

who knows why

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Or perhaps the warning came too quick for the brain to register and get you out the way? That would definately look like a "no warning" attack. I've been in this position before, it's like just as you think..."Oh Crap", You barely have time to dodge it and that's with you being aware of the dog in question.

As a kid I got bitten by a neighbours dog for what appeared no reason. I had been in their yard heaps of times, but most of the time that was with one of the resident kids. This time I went out there (the days of outside toilets) on my own. No sooner had I stepped out the door than WHAMMO this dog nailed me on the shin. There was no posturing of the body, but it was sure giving me the evil eye, which I recognised only AFTER I had gotten bitten. I think that dog hated me, because it did seem to target me. After that I never went in that yard without one of the family members and even then that dog would stalk me with the evil eyes. It would quite literally stalk me, never growled or barked..just stalked. To everyone else it looked like it was just 'following me around'. After awhile, I just chose not to go there at all.

I think it would be a very rare dog that wouldn't tell you you had overstepped their boundariess, it's just sometimes the signals can be very subtle and easy to miss if you don't know what you are looking at or for.

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Hi guys, very interesting reading. So sad about the attack. Can anyone please post a good link (or a link to a good book) that would explain the warning signs in more detail?

(We are getting a puppy in 4 weeks, have 2 small children and never had a dog before, trying to suck up as much knowledge as possible!)

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Hi Jarvis.

I would strongly recommend any of the Calming Signals range by Turid Rugaas - however, sometimes her stuff seems a little bit 'heavy', especially as Turid is Norwegian and some of the wording can be a bit awkward. Licking lips, yawning, etc, are all 'calming signals' that show the dog is not very comfortable, and may escalate to biting.

I also recommend Gwen Bailey's "The Perfect Puppy" - it describes some aspects of dog body language that other puppy books don't. Gwen has written a few books, so another of her puppy books may cover similar content.

I think one of the most important things with children and dogs is that the dog has a safe place s/he can retreat, and the children are not allowed to interact with the dog in his/her space. For example, if the dog has a kennel, a crate, a mat, a bed, then this should be his/her space and the children should not interact with him/her. The dog should always have access to this special space, and the children should never be allowed to interact with the dog in that place. This means that, if the children ever get 'too much', the dog has somewhere to go.

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Guest Willow

Thing is snook attacks can happen when the parent is there. Sometimes the "always supervise" message gives parents a false sense of security. A dog attack happens in a second. Some dogs are bred not to give specific warnings (obviously not staffys).

Saw this happen last week....at a gathering where the family dog was allowed to be running around with 15 kids it didn't know. Dog and 2 year old boy were centimetres away from 5 adults when the boy reached out to pat the dog, got his finger tangled in the long curly hair on his ear, tried to pull his hand away, and the dog whipped round and bit him. The little boy was fine....the dog had amazing bite inhibition and didn't leave a mark, but 5 adults were within arms reach of him and it still happened. I was on the other side of the room and saw a split second freeze, but what "sort of supervising, sort of chatting" adult or oblivious 2 year old would have seen that?

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If the media report said the dogs appeared to attack without warning, I'd be more inclined to agree.

Dog body language can be very subtle and a lot of pet owners don't consider anything short of growling to be a warning.

I'd like to know more about the circumstances of the attack and in particular (as always) about the dogs. To see TWO dogs inflict this kind of damage makes me wonder about a whole bunch of things and top of my list is how familiar these dogs were with children and whether or not they had any hunting experience.

Nasty nasty stuff and I feel for everyone concerned. There's a little boy in a bad way and a lot of adults who will also be traumatised. :(

There is always a reason for a dog attack, even it its not apparent to those who witness it.

Edited by poodlefan
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It can also be particularly dangerous if the dog has been previously roused on for growling or other similar behaviour and then there's no warning next time. :(

What a terrible thing to happen to the little boy.

Very well said, Poodlefan.

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Thing is snook attacks can happen when the parent is there. Sometimes the "always supervise" message gives parents a false sense of security. A dog attack happens in a second. Some dogs are bred not to give specific warnings (obviously not staffys).

Now there is supervision and there is "standing nearby, relaxing at the BBQ, having a chin wag and assuming the dogs are okay with kids" ..despite the kids NOT being part of the family and visiting peoples home where perhaps a "high pitched toddler is an unusual occurance for the dogs of the house.

Before we had kids if any of our friends came over with their babies/kids I simply put my dogs out or 'away' from the children. That way both were going to be okay.

Nothing should ever be assumed when it come to children and animals...particularly in combination.

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:offtopic:

but I am voting we get rid of our current numpty pollies and vote in Poodlefan who as ever is the voice of reason.

You don't need any other policies, common sense would go a long way.

I would "subscribe' to her "newsletter"!

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