To be horrified and heart broken by the Frankie Macritchie case

[frillyflamingo]

Frankie Macritchie dog attack death: Mum Tawnee Willis jailed www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-52939564

I think the mother will be haunted by her actions for the rest of her life but Jesus fucking Christ, I can't believe anyone would think it was a good idea to leave a child alone with any dog, let alone a 7stone bull breed.

I love my dogs and I trust them with my life but there isn't a chance in hell I would leave them with my children for just a minute.

I'm sharing because it's easy to get complacent, especially when you have good natured dogs like mine.

I feel sad for everyone in this sad story but just desperately sad for what that little boy must have gone through that evening, alone.

Dear IhateBoswell

The social class who knows their child is on warfarin but leaves them alone all night in a confined space with a dangerous dog, while they go off to feed their drug habit. Don't be obtuse.

They weren't prosecuted, though. They were made suspects by the Portuguese police, but not prosecuted. (Unless I'm remembering it wrong!)

I know. I disgaree with the lack of prosecution. They should have been prosecuted for neglect. Hard to prosecute to say the neglect led to her death, as there's no proof she is dead.

But the definitely shoild have been prosectued.

Depends on the breed too. I don’t think I’ve ever read about a Labrador mauling a child but some breeds (pit bull types) seem to do it regularly enough.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dog-breed-most-likely-to-attack-bite-you-revealed-a7166296.html?amp]

"Pit bull types" suit the media better so that's why we hear about them more

There's no breed of dog whose jaws lock.
That's a myth

The social class who knows their child is on warfarin but leaves them alone all night in a confined space with a dangerous dog, while they go off to feed their drug habit. Don't be obtuse

"The social class"- no, one absolute idiot. Don't attribute it to a whole swathe of people.

Pit bull types" suit the media better so that's why we hear about them more

Pit bull types kill more children, so that’s why we hear about them more.

She left her child unattended to get pissed.
The Mccans left their child unattended to get pissed. Both cases had catastrophic consequences. Only one parent is in prison though.

Public image, social class and ‘respectability’ massively play into this.

Frankie's mum will have been prosecuted under the dangerous dogs Act. Not sure how that applies to the McCans?

Prosecution depends on there being a prosecutable act - here it was leaving a child with a dangerous dog. The situations are not legally similar.

@Pelleas
Bollocks. No dog's jaw 'locks'

Pit bull type also covers several breeds as well as mixed breeds from Staffordshire bull terriers and bulldogs to bull mastiffs. Pit bull is not a breed in its own right

According to statistics, you’re more likely to be killed by a Labrador than a Doberman. Just shows how “off” the stereotypes are.

Pitbulls kill more people than any other dog breed ... followed in second place by Rottweilers. But you have to consider the types of people more likely to adopt such a breed.

It’s a sad and unfortunate fact that Pitbulls, American Bulldogs, Rottweilers and Doberman’s are more likely to be adopted by people wanting a “hard ass” dog. And I say that as a Doberman owner.

OK, apologies for making a sweeping generalisation. I guess it's true that I have become jaded as a result of working with a 'whole swathe of people' for whom this sort of thing is normal behaviour.

It does get to you. Ironically I have just spend the day updating my online training around child abuse and neglect. I simply cannot imagine what that child went through.

@Veterinari I had already retracted that comment.

It’s pretty rare for a bull breed to attack a child, yes they are the breed that kill the most children mainly because they are one of a few breeds that can kill a child (or adult), there are also many bull breeds, it covers a wide range of dogs. And yes they are often a dog chosen by bad owners and they are not the easiest breed to train. I had a SBT for 11 years (she passed away last year), she was amazing with all children but I would never leave any dog alone with a child. I hate how some breeds are now feared because of bad owners.

Made me cry when I saw it in the news. So sad that poor boy 😢

People often buy hard arse dogs for protection because they live in unsafe situations; fear of burglars, muggers, bailiffs and moneylenders, dangerous exes etc. Perhaps those sort of key issues are ultimately what we should be looking at.

cms you sound terribly burnt out. Perhaps you’ve done your bit and should be looking at a less horrendous job.

@Trevsadick

They weren't prosecuted, though. They were made suspects by the Portuguese police, but not prosecuted. (Unless I'm remembering it wrong!)

I know. I disgaree with the lack of prosecution. They should have been prosecuted for neglect. Hard to prosecute to say the neglect led to her death, as there's no proof she is dead.

But the definitely shoild have been prosectued.

Ah, I see. I misunderstood.

No sympathy from me. She’s evil.
Her family offered to babysit and she declined.
I remember reading a tribute from the boys dad. It was heartbreaking.

@Pelleas
No you changed it to
Apologies, 'reflex' was the wrong word. I should have said 'instinct'.

Which is still, bollocks. There's no jaw locking 'instinct either'

@cms1972, I think I understand your overall point (although I don't agree it has anything to do with social class). I think the idea that people who commit these crimes will be consumed by guilt for the rest of their lives is naive. They probably blame their victims, or their co-defendants, or society, or pretty much anyone but themselves.

That poor boy deserved so much more from his so-called mother. I doubt this was the first time he was left alone for hours. Selfish people like her neglect their children regularly; we just don't find out about it until something terrible happens.

What a desperately sad case. I feel very sad for them both. She made a stupid , stupid error of judgement. I imagine she was told by the friend that he dog wouldn't hurt a fly. And I do believe she would have been treated very differently if from a nice middle class family with a husband in tow.

Sadly there are swathes of people who have no business producing kids, or owning dogs.
I saw a tweet that said ‘I wish more people would realise that being a parent is a skill set, not an entitlement. Just save everyone the trauma, ffs.’
No doubt this cokehead will be out in a few months, impregnated within weeks, and her trash mate will be buying another backyard bred genetic wreck.

A ‘stupid error of judgement’ was for example, me thinking I had turned the gas ring off and not realising it had been cooking an empty Pyrex dish for an hour. Discarding your child who has a heart condition, in the middle of the night, to go and take two different types of drugs to the point where you’re so shitfaced that people can’t even wake you up to tell you that your kid has been killed as a direct result of your choices? Nope. That is being a morally reprehensible, indefensible, vile excuse of a human being.

That poor little boy. My ds is 9 and would be so frightened if he was left alone at night like that let alone adding in the fact that he was left with a dangerous dog.

I doubt leaving him alone that night was an isolated incident.

This story makes me feel sick. Poor little boy. 2 years is a disgrace. And so she should feel awful.