A tragic incident unfolded as a horrified mother discovered her five-week-old baby boy had been snatched from her arms and fatally attacked by the family’s American Staffordshire terrier. The distressing details of the incident were shared during proceedings at the NSW Coroner’s Court in Sydney, Australia, where an investigation into seven fatal dog attacks from 2019 to 2021 is underway.
The heart-wrenching event occurred when the unnamed mother entered her baby’s room and found him on the floor. Frantically, she called out to her husband, exclaiming, “The dog’s got the baby.” The NSW Coroner, Carmel Forbes, is examining the circumstances surrounding these attacks, including the breeds of the dogs involved and the responses of local authorities.
The first case under scrutiny is the death of a five-week-old boy in regional NSW in 2021. The court has taken measures to keep the baby’s identity and that of the parents private. David Kell SC, assisting the coroner, revealed that the baby’s father owned a six-year-old dog believed to be an American Staffordshire terrier. The dog, purchased as a puppy for $500 in June 2015, was registered as such but was suspected of having American pit bull lineage.
The same dog had been involved in a fatal attack on a cocker spaniel in a neighboring property just five weeks before the tragic incident with the baby. Although nobody witnessed the attack, a park ranger claimed that the dog, named Saffy, pulled the cocker spaniel through a fence and killed it in the garden. Concerns were raised about the dog’s potential pit bull lineage due to its physical characteristics.
Despite being described as “a people dog” by the mother’s mother, indicating a discomfort with other dogs, no aggressive incidents had been reported before. After the attack on the cocker spaniel, the council ranger speculated that the dog might be part pit bull and issued a notice designating it as a restricted dog. The dog was required to be kept in a secure enclosure and wear a muzzle when outside.
On the fateful day, the parents were at home, with the father sleeping on the sofa and the mother holding the baby in a rocking chair. Upon waking, the father found the baby on the floor, covered in bites, after the mother had fallen asleep. Despite immediate efforts by paramedics, the baby could not be revived. The dog was later put down.
The ongoing inquest, led by Coroner Forbes, seeks to understand the circumstances surrounding these tragic events and explore measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The inquiry emphasizes prevention rather than assigning legal liability for the deaths.
