"Robin" wrote in message
news:06Wfd.259435$wV.123790@attbi_s54...

What this story illustrates is how disastrous irresponsible
dog owners can be. The injured boy was six and the other
two were "a few years older" so let's say 9-10. There is no
way that these boys should have been delegated the task of
reigning in a dog that had gotten loose from his normal
boundaries,

Well it wasn't just "a" dog but a familiar dog to two of the children, who
presumably, have handled the dog before. The owner was also on the porch
when it happened. There's a possibility this was simply a case of "John &
Michael get Fido before he runs in the street" which really isn't some
horrible act on the part of a parent, not when the dog is known & trusted.

ESPECIALLY not a very young boy who was
unfamiliar to the dog.

To be fair again, the new boy was in the company of the two boys who own the
dog & the owner was right there. Given the dog has no previous history of
assault there was no reason for anyone to think the dog would attack the new
boy.

Then to have the new young boy
putting on the collar while the dog was already in an
excited state was idiotic.

We don't know that the 6yo was involved in physically putting the collar on
the dog, it just says "they."

ALL dogs have to be handled
responsibly and supervised around small children.

The owner was reportedly on the porch supervising, just not physically
helping.

Like the
incident with the six week old baby who was left laying in a
bed unsupervised with a Pomeranian, and then mauled to death
by the Pomeranian; this was a clear case of owner
negligence.

Sure but it was out of ignorance based on a sense of security. If your dog
has never shown an aggravated nature and has always been safe around people
then why would anyone thing the dog would suddenly decide to maul a child?
Most people wouldn't think about that just like most women wouldn't expect
the loving man they married to molest their child. When there's a good
history with an animal (or person) you don't walk around assuming the worst
might happen at any moment because there's been no provocation for such
thought.


I hope the boy has a speedy recovery, and does not suffer
long term effects. I hope the dog owner is punished for her
negligence.

I hope he does too although there's no telling about the long-term effects.
From the description of the wounds & the multiple reconstructive surgeries
needed in the future this kid will be lucky to look relatively untouched in
the face. As for the dog's owner, unless other information comes to light,
I don't think she should be punished for the initial attack, I'm sure she's
already punishing herself. I do think she should be made responsible for
leaving the child on the porch & unattended with the dog not fully secured
elsewhere causing the child a second attack.

On the one hand I can certainly see that in a state of panic & emergency the
owner ran for the phone to call 911. People don't always think clearly in
such situations. However, she did leave him exposed to the second attack,
even though it was likely unintended. From a parental POV I'd want someone
to pay for what happened to my child but from an uninvolved POV I'm sure
this woman, and her two boys, have learned a horrible lesson and one they're
not likely to forget anytime soon.


--
Tara