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Boy 10 mauled to death at holiday park

787 replies

Witchofzog · 13/04/2019 15:08

I can't link on this phone but it is on most news sites. The owner was found off site after a police hunt so possibly fled when she knew her dog had killed a child. It's just awful - a young boy probably just going to the loo in the middle of the night on a campsite having his life ended because of a dangerous dog and an owner who can't control and/ or keep it securely away

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NicoAndTheNiners · 15/04/2019 09:22

If it's true that the dog had attacked people previously then the owner deserves to go to prison for leaving it in a confined space with a small kid.

What on Earth were the boys parents thinking?

imamearcat · 15/04/2019 10:08

I think it's a bit daft to say the child must have provoked it etc. What could he have done to provoke an attack of such a severe nature as to kill a 9 year old kid!! awful. I'm sure a dog doesn't go from being totally safe to killing someone??

I don't know why people have these big / bull dogs around kids tbh. There are so many breeds that frankly would be incapable of killing a child. Why not have one of those? People say breed is irrelevant but you never hear of a lab mauling a child do you?

PottyPotterer · 15/04/2019 10:19

People say breed is irrelevant but you never hear of a lab mauling a child do you?

Actually statistically labradors are the most prevalent breed involved in dog bites. Medical issues aside early life experiences (or usually lack of) and clueless owners are what determines a dogs behaviour. Obviously very strong muscular breeds have the capacity to do more damage than small breeds but breed alone doesn't determine a dogs character/behaviour.

imamearcat · 15/04/2019 10:29

@PottyPotterer I'm not saying other dog breeds wont bite etc. But the large bull breeds are bread to kill / fight and are very large and strong. So they are just naturally much more capable of a more likely to do a lot of damage IMO.

Speculating here but say the boy tripped over dog on way to the loo, a lab may have bit him but not maul him to death? Would not have the strength or inclination.

Comes back to owner responsibility either way but i feel much more comfortable but my pointer and my terrier than if I had a mastif!

LittleMissHappy19 · 15/04/2019 10:30

I'm sure a dog doesn't go from being totally safe to killing someone??

NO dog is totally safe!! That is the biggest error in the thinking of dog owners!

isittheholidaysyet · 15/04/2019 10:33

Soyou think every person bitten by a dog was minding their own business and this wild animal just randomly bit them? You're the one being ridiculous, 20 yrs ago if a dog bit you you were asked what did you do to dog

What did I do to the dog? Walked past it's tent, on the road/path. Carrying water to my tent.
It's lead/rope was long enough for it to reach the road, and bite me, even though I ran away from it as soon as I saw the dog running for me.

imamearcat · 15/04/2019 10:34

I mean I'm sure he/she must have shown signs of aggression before this?

Delatron · 15/04/2019 10:36

Agree labs an be bitey but in terms of mauling a child to death I’ve never heard of a case.

Yes it’s often the dog owners fault but certain breeds pop up on these horrific stories more than others..

If the dog had a history of violence then it beggars belief why it was left alone with that poor boy.

AngelaJ18 · 15/04/2019 10:37

@bookworm I think you’re right. Too many parents let their kids run up to strange dogs on the street then act shocked & offended when you don’t let them pet the doggie. Also Facebook is full of videos of ‘cute’ dogs when the animal in question is clearly stressed & becoming aggressive because it’s ‘back off’ cues are being ignored.

Bookworm4 · 15/04/2019 10:42

@imamearcat
Your ignorance is strong, bull breeds are not bred to fight, they are domestic animals. A GSD, Huskies, Rottweiler are just as big and powerful, this crap peddled by the red top papers needs to be stopped. Bull breeds i.e. Staffies, Mastiffs etc are intelligent, agile dogs; in the right hands like any dog are perfect pets. And yes a Labrador etc can kill, a baby was killed by a terrier a few days ago, as have many breeds; JRT, Husky. It's not the breed it is human failings.

TreadingThePrimrosePath · 15/04/2019 10:53

A lot of the arguments and discussions over dog attacks echo the arguments about gun control in the USA. And the results are the same whilst the squabbles continue. Children are injured and killed.

imamearcat · 15/04/2019 10:56

Babies are different, I would always be very cautious with any dog around a small baby. But a 10 year old boy!? Of course (some) dogs are bread to kill? Not humans but vermin, foxes, each other!

Do you honestly believe that a large bull breed is no more likely to seriously damage a child than a Labrador? I don't think it's the dogs fault at all, btw.

BertrandRussell · 15/04/2019 10:57

Utterly disgusting victim blaming on here. Some people are just beneath contempt.

HoraceCope · 15/04/2019 10:58

such an awful story

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 15/04/2019 10:58

Treading I agree.

Dog licenses that have to be regularly reviewed, training mandatory. That kind of thing. Couldn't care less who it inconveniences.

No-one has a God-given right to own a dog.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 15/04/2019 11:03

If what the Sun is reporting is correct (let's face it, it often isn't) then they should throw the book at both the parents and owner for leaving the dog unsupervised with the child.

On a semi-relevant side note, however, muzzled doesn't always mean vicious - I've known dogs that were muzzled because they'd eat anything they could fit in their mouths, regardless of whether or not it was food (labradors in particular), and others that were muzzled because of an ability to catch squirrels and other wildlife (usually greyhounds) but being completely safe around humans.

BelleSausage · 15/04/2019 11:20

Agreed @BertrandRussell

These dog attack stories seem to make certain people lose their senses. An animal has just killed a child. If you are busy making excuses for the animal or the owner then you need to give your head a wobble and stop being so insensitive.

Comefromaway · 15/04/2019 11:31

I would never trust any dog alone with a child. We have a bichon and I never left him alone with the kids until they were big and strong enough to control him. All it takes is for the dog to be feeling hurt, or ill or frightened about something. And you can’t totally trust a child either not to tease or provoke a dog.

My dad had a rescue cross breed lab that he had to get put to sleep because he attacked both my Dh and my brother. We excused him at first with Dh because he’d been spooked by a kids cap gun going off and tangled himself up. Dh was trying to free him.

But then he went for my brother completely unprovoked and we knew he was not safe to be anywhere near the kids. Dad was heartbroken but it had to be.

It’s a tragic story and I’m not going to vilify the breed, I just hope others will heed the lesson so it doesn’t happen to another child.

PottyPotterer · 15/04/2019 11:31

Yes it’s often the dog owners fault but certain breeds pop up on these horrific stories more than others..

Again, nothing to do with the breeds really just that certain types of people (the clueless and intellectually challenged) are attracted to certain breeds because of their status. That's why there are so many Staffies in rescues, not because they're badly behaved, quite the opposite, they're usually very calm good natured dogs, not what the original owners wanted.

QforCucumber · 15/04/2019 11:40

Current Sky News report says the boys dad wasn't on the holiday with them. So only mum, not both the Parents to answer to it.

Flaxmeadow · 15/04/2019 11:43

We won't know the circumstances, dogs very rarely attack unprovoked, dog could be ill, child could have goaded it, but as they were alone we can't know.

Dogs often attack unprovoked and dogs that have been well cared for can suddenly turn

PP re the dog description. It was described as pit bull/boxer type

We don't know the circumstances but it's possible the child was asleep. The dog was thought to be secured in a different room. It is a large static caravan. Or even have been with the adults and somehow got into the other caravan unnoticed or when other adults returned to go bed

We just don't know enough yet

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 15/04/2019 11:43

If there is no interest in establishing what caused the attack, then there is no interest in preventing recurrences with other dogs, and no lessons will be learned.

An enquiring mind looks at the full circumstances of the case - dog's past history, dog's breed, dog's health, what happened in the last day (eg was dog fed and exercised), what happened immediately prior to the attack (actions of both the victim and dog), if that dog and specific child had a history, why the dog and child were left alone together etc etc

It happened at 5am, when you would normally expect both child and dog to be fast asleep. Clearly whatever happened the dog went far too far. It is not, however, victim blaming to suggest that the child did something that prompted the attack. For instance, the child could have acted very reasonably by getting up in the night to go to the loo. He could then have accidentally tripped over the sleeping dog in the dark and fallen on top of it, prompting the dog to think it was being attacked and to attack back, clearly taking it far too far. The child, in that circumstance, would not have done anything wrong but they still did something that prompted the dog's attack.

Truly unprovoked dog attacks are incredibly rare. However, what an individual dog considers to be provocation will vary based on past experiences and may not be considered reasonable by the humans around it. As an example, if you walked through the front door of a dog that was seriously terrorial you could be bitten - the human has acted reasonably (if invited in, not a burglar) but the dog considers itself provoked. Alternatively a dog in possession of something that it considered very valuable (eg a raw meaty bone) and feared the human was going to take it away might attack to defend the valuable item.

LittleMissHappy19 · 15/04/2019 11:47

The sad thing is, is this will happen again.

People read these horrific stories, and naively believe that their dog would never cause any harm. Parents will still allow their children to tease and scare dogs.

If people don't know by now that dogs and children can not be trusted together, then what the hell can be done?!

Flaxmeadow · 15/04/2019 11:52

Truly unprovoked dog attacks are incredibly rare

This is not true and It is also unlikely a child of 9 yrs would be awake at 5am

BarbieJellyBabyBrain · 15/04/2019 11:52

I imagine that the parents left the dog in with the boy as a 'guard dog' as a 'safeguarding measure' (especially if they dog was quite aggressive) and it just didn't occur to them that the dog would attack the boy himself.

Absolutely horrible story and I don't think people will ever learn when it comes to dogs.