Pit Bull smothers baby

[Pit Chick]

Family Pit Bull Blamed For Smothering Baby
1-Month-Old Girl Was On Couch When Dog Laid On Her

POSTED: 12:12 am EDT May 16, 2005
UPDATED: 7:35 am EDT May 16, 2005

LOCKLAND, Ohio -- A family's pit bull is being blamed for smothering a 1-month-old baby girl, News 5's Ken Stinson reported.

Lockland police are still investigating. They're not sure why or how long the pit bull laid on the baby, named Maria, in the house in the 300 block of Williams Street.

The baby was on the couch and the mother, Sarah Statzer, was in the kitchen when it happened just before 5 a.m. Sunday.

When rescuers arrived, the baby was bleeding from the nose, Stinson reported. She was transported to Children's Hospital.

Police are awaiting autopsy results.

A neighbor, Sally Clark, cried as she spoke about the child's death.

"She was born a month early, a little premature. I can't imagine what they're going through," Clark said.

Clark and her husband, Brad, said Statzer and the child's father are good parents.

"Both are very overprotective of their kids," Brad Clark said. "They're always aware of their whereabouts. They've been great neighbors and great parents as well."

The family requested that the dog be put down, News 5 reported.

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/4491674/detail.html

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There's more to this story than what's being told and an autopsy will tell ALL. The mother left the baby on the couch alone and I bet the baby fell off and hit her head, that's why she had blood coming from her nose.

[Kfamr]

Whether it was from falling or the dog smothering her, WHY was she left alone long enough for this to happen anyways?

And if it were from the dog - WHY was the child left unattended with it anyways? I love my dogs to death and trust them with MY life but i'd never leave them alone with a child. I'm even hesitant to leave them alone with one of my (teenage) friends.


I HATE how they have to mention the dog's breed. Who cares if it was a Lab, Boxer, Rott, Pittie, it's a dog. A dog is a dog. It only gives idiot people an even worse outlook on the breed. :(

[Suki Wingy]

I hate how if it is a pittie they mention breeds but if it is a lab they say dog or don't mention the dog at all. And also, what does the dog have to do with this? It doesn't look like the dog did anything.

[PJ's Mom]

Pittie or not, the baby shouldn't have been left alone long enough for this to happen. The parents are to blame for this...not the dog.

[caseysmom]

Kind of makes me wonder if the parent really didn't do it and blame it on the dog.

[LorraineO]

STUUUUUPID!! Those parents should be banned from owning any animals if they are gonna put it down just because it laid on the baby,,, the dog didnt know any better for Gawds sake!!! They also never should have left the baby unattended,,, Poor doggie,, poor baby,,,,,,,

[chocolatepuppy]

They should be banned from having pets or kids! :(

[K9soul]

Very sad. I certainly can understand them not wanting to keep the dog after he was (unintentionally) responsible for their child's death, but they could have put him up for adoption rather than just euthanizing him. He did not maul or attack the baby. I can't understand why a mother would leave her newborn on the sofa unsupervised with the dog, even the dog just jumping up could seriously injure a newborn baby.

[lizbud]

Originally posted by caseysmom
Kind of makes me wonder if the parent really didn't do it and blame it on the dog.


I was thinking the same thing. In the video within the news link,
there is a video of the reporting of the incident.

The reporter said that the dog in question also gave birth to her puppies the same day that the child was born. Makes you think
doesn't it? I'm sad at the death of the child, but I'll wait for the
autopsy to see cause of death and other injuries the child might
have had.

[Luvin Labs]

Originally posted by Suki Wingy
I hate how if it is a pittie they mention breeds but if it is a lab they say dog or don't mention the dog at all. And also, what does the dog have to do with this? It doesn't look like the dog did anything.

OOOOOOOOOOOOH I agree with you there!

watching animal cops, they talked about some dog that bit a cop and ended up the dog got killed.

did they mention the breed? NO

if it was a rottie, or a pit, would they have mentioned it? I HAVE NO DOUBT THEY WOULD...

I was sooo annoyed we didn't get the name of the breed.

and I agree with others, why was she left alone (on a couch) for any period of time without an adult there in the room? especially a dog and a baby in there??? Yeesh.

something is up

WHY are they putting the dog down? sigh :(

[LKPike]

Originally posted by Pit Chick
"They're not sure how long..."

exactly. because they werent being responsible parents and watching their kid.

my parents left me alone on a couch at 3-4 months old, only once.

only once because I fell off, hit my head, and had to be rushed to the ER and kept overnight. I have problems with short term memory loss and migraines today, which I think was because of that.

[Pit Chick]

And the mother doesn't seem very distraught in the picture they show.

Had it been another breed, they either would have not mentioned it or this would have been called an "accident".

[Bigyummydog]

any updates on this ?

[cocker_luva]

i dont blame the dog. it was obviously trying to protect it and be around it, since its family. plus who would leave a baby , especially a one month old?!!! i blame the mother. there is so much that could happen with the baby when its alone. dont put the dog down, send it to my house. i know how to take care of dogs and babies!

[tikeyas_mom]

this story sounds fishy. I doubt the dog smothered the child..
dogs have a great sence of these things, no dog would lay on a child on perpose.. :rolleyes:, and if a dog did sit or lay on a child, and the child cried or moved slightly, the dog would notice and move...
this whole story sounds so rediculas... these parents are hiding something.

[finn's mom]

I just tried to look for updates online, and, couldn't find anything. I'd like to know if they did an autopsy and if the dog was really put to sleep. That's a sad story. :(

[Pit Chick]

They say the dog was going to be put to sleep not only because the mother requested it but because Pit Bulls are banned in that town. If they do an autopsy it could be a few weeks before any results come back and by then who knows if the news media will still be interested in the story.