Its a sad story, and I agree something is not quite right about the story.

It says: "... said the incident was a surprise and there have been no indications of previous negligence."

What negligence are they refering to, the grandmother for walking two grandchildren and the family's dogs at the same time, or the owner of the lizard for allow his pet to run loose.

The grandmother "... fought the dog off and threw herself onto her granddaughter while her grandson called 911." That does not sound like neglect to me.