How very sad that such a tragedy leads to a discussion that degenerates into who is the rudest in their posting style .

Hi Its up to all HUMANS to provide a safe and secure home,as I stated in my OP my step-daughter because the family pet responded oddly to the new baby,she went through hell worrying,and all the family got together for a brainstorm,the family dog now stays with various members,and is never left alone with the baby,the only facts that we know is a baby was due and the husband brought a strange dog into that home,and instead of the parents,yes I know its a sad situation facing charges for endangering a child,it is the dogs that have to pay the price.Gemini54

Oh Gemini, you are absolutely right in saying that it IS up to the parents to provide a safe environment, but don't for one minute think that didn't pay a hefty price, their baby is dead.

The dogs were not PTS until well after a week after the death, which suggests that plenty of investigation and discussion was carried out before that decision was made.

Yes the dogs paid the price, but, really, what other solution was anyone left with?

I'll shed tears over dogs that are PTS because no-one wants them, because they've been in shelters and their allocated time is up, but I won't shed a tear over dogs that have killed a baby and would be almost impossible to re-home afterwards.

what a cracking post, a little bit of reason, in an emotive subject, maybe both dogs were put to sleep because it was inconclusive,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i don't think we will ever know

At the end of the day... even someone like me who would try and give a "killer dog" a home if I had the space, time, money etc. understands that it simply isn't reasonable and nobody can be truly angry that the dogs almost always have to die for their owners mistakes.

Dogs die when they kill humans. Humans can kill dogs all day long and will suffer nary a slap on the wrist. It's bothersome... but it's how it works and it's how it'll always work.

This is why it's so important as a good dog owner to understand your animal and ensure you stay within his/her comfort zone and always remain vigilant and use common sense. You make that ONE critical mistake, it is your dog that will truly suffer.

Also, leaving dogs alone with children is displaying an extreme level of stupidity. Never would I do this, even with my Labrador mixes who always adore children. I am having such a hard time understanding why people keep doing this??

Its because people are human and as such we make mistakes, and will keep making mistakes over and over again, its as simple as that, we drive cars, we know we should keep our eyes on the road at all times, but we still have accidents, due to human error. I have baby gates to stop my pup going up stairs, but on occasion I forget to close it , its human error again, and as long as we live we will suffer from it.

Do you think the parents of this child (or any other) thought they had a dog that would kill a child on their hands, there are those of us who have owned or own reactive dogs, that react around other dogs or humans, we do what we can to keep them away and safe, but sadly with the human race being as it is, we will always fall at some point or other, but I struggle to believe anyone would admit their dog is a would be child killer.

What worry`s me is in all my years I have never known anyone proclaim they have a dog that would kill a child if it got the chance I am really struggling to understand how anyone would own such a dog, and more to the point admit it on the internet.

You keep saying she will not get the chance, yet you post recent pic`s of her without a muzzle in public, what if she broke a lead/collar, some child came into your unfenced yard whilst she was out , and a hundred other things that could go wrong, you suggest if jade came into contact with a child she would kill it

I really hope you are exaggerating her behaviour because if not you are knowingly keeping a loaded gun waiting to go off,

As I said, human nature is such we can never say never, we can do our best but accidents happen....as we keep seeing .

The parents of these dogs are guilty of naivety and are paying the highest price imaginable for their mistake.

She is only unmuzzled at home and when there is nobody else around. You will find no children near my yard. Her equipment will not break. All that stuff is many many years old and is inspected to make sure it's not faulty and will not break.

She is always on a lead when she is outside. Even though she would bite... I would be there to break up any problems. It's not like I'd just go inside and let the child be mauled to death. It isn't common that people are right there and a child is mauled to death. She is only a 54 lb dog and she is very old and isn't powerful.

I won't let her bite anybody, and she has never bitten anybody and she is 11 years old. In the end, I'm not getting rid of her because she MIGHT bite someone someday. She is my dog and she is under control at all times.

She DID lunge at a child's face, snarled and bared her teeth and then tightly clamp her jaws closed on the air that was between her and the child. She tried to bite, I saw it. So from then on, I have taken special care to ensure she is not ever allowed to do this. It's been about a year now with no incidents at all.

My previous dog came to hate pit bulls and would kill one if allowed to. Unfortunately, he got into some fights, but I was always there to break up the fights and minimize the damage. Same with any attack or dog fight. I have witnessed lots and been apart of quite a few more.

She hasn't hurt anybody and proclaiming anything on the internet isn't harmful to me or her. You are I are two different people. That should be blatantly obvious by now. In "all your years" you have not met me, so it is unsurprising that you haven't heard someone say the things I say.

Of course I don't mind admitting this because like I said... I'd take on a dog that HAD actually killed or badly hurt a child. I am serious about that, it was not a joke. Therefore Jade... who has never bitten anybody is really not a problem.

Dogs can bite people, like you said... human error can cause this. I don't think everyone who has a dog that would severely bite a person should get rid of it. The dog didn't bite anybody... there is no reason to get rid of the dog.

Hi I do agree that was a brilliant post,I know there is always two sides,but why cant there be two sides for punishment,cause and effect,yes I am saddened by the death of a baby,but being an adult makes you responsible and being human allows you to make choices.Those dogs could have gone to a childless home,Battersea and Other rescues usually state if a dog is suitable for a home with children or not,and people are quite happy to take the dog home.Gemini54

but being an adult makes you responsible

A completely false statement, unfortunately. Also, while rescues try hard (usually) to place dogs in proper homes, there is no way for them to be spot on in all cases.

They also often make you sign a waiver confirming that they could be wrong about the temperament and cannot be held responsible for any of the animals actions after you take the dog.

There is also no way for them to predict how the owners are going to be. You might seem a wonderful owner with experience with dogs, a big fenced yard, a safe house, etc. and then you have a child and haven't been coached up on these things.

Shelters can't predict this kind of thing. Even a dog that is good with children might cause harm if left alone with one. You love your dogs, you treat them well... but you made one critical mistake as a new parent, and it's all over.

Clearly these two dogs that lost their lives would have been FAR better off had they not been with these people, however... it does not mean that this had to happen or was fated to happen. The parents simply didn't exercise good judgment.

The fault of course lies all with the parents and none with the dogs, but taking appropriate caution and using common sense can, will, and does prevent these accidents.

Also, at this point in time... is there really a point in saying what could have happened? I mean both dogs are dead, the child is dead and the family has lost everything.

What's more important IMO is that future cases of this be prevented by making people aware of the danger and stupidity of leaving dogs alone with helpless babies. It really needs to stop.

I agree totally, and have rehomed dogs that have bitten kids into adult only homes, we still don't know how this baby died, as far as i'm aware it was never released, the fact that both dogs were pts says to me that there was no clear evidence to suggest one or the other was responsible, another thought maybe the parents chose to have the dogs PTS because they didn't want them back.