Pet dog kills 5-week-old infant

[wicket]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/06/dog.attack.ap/index.html

A 5-week-old baby left alone by his grandmother died after being mauled by the family dog.

Jose Diaz was on a bed Tuesday when the dog jumped up and attacked him. Police believe a 7-year-old mutt hurt the boy, though officers also found two other dogs in the house.

The baby had bites on his face and head when his parents, both 19, brought him to a fire station after the attack. He was taken by helicopter to Shands Jacksonville hospital, where he later died.

Sun Woodjinski, 49, was supposed to be baby-sitting the boy. The baby's mother, Jennifer Woodjinski, was working at a nearby Taco Bell and his father, Albert Diaz, did yardwork.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. How screwed is our society that a mother needs to go back to TACO BELL

5 weeks after having her baby?

[Ilsa]

3. Very true. No time to bond, no time to

get breastfeeding off to a good start, no time to heal from delivery. This is insane.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. Now don't you know

POOR mothers are lazy bitches and horrible mothers if they don't go back to work immediately after a birth.

But middle-class and RICH, WHITE women are bad mothers if they don't stay at home until the child goes off to college.

:eyes:

[AspenRose]

13. True, dat

Best post I've seen today :toast:

[Southpaw Bookworm]

15. From a Ms. cartoon

Published several years ago. Had a bunch of televangelist-looking guys screaming at a woman in a suit that doesn't she know she should be staying at home with her kids or she's a bad mother. Then in the next panel they're doing the same to a woman of darker hue sitting on a stoop with a baby on her lap telling her that doesn't she know she should be working.

The hypocrisy of these fucks.

But related to this case, I think it's just another example of how this country provides no support: for new parents, people caring for ill family members, or basically anyone who isn't in the top 5 percent of the income bracket.

[Out the Parasites]

24. Lets ask Lynn Cheney about this one...

God you are so right.

[SemperEadem]

30. that is so true

sad, but true

[kslib]

33. Well, RICH and WHITE

but not middle-class anymore. Middle class mothers must go to work, even if they would rather stay home, because of rising healthcare costs and just plain ol' cost of living. x(

[David Zephyr]

28. Homeless Fast Food Employee Gets Nile Virus Sleeping in Car Behind Store

A dear friend told me this recently: An older fellow who works at one of America's fast food "restaurants", but couldn't afford an apartment here in Southern California had been sleeping in his car behind his place of employment when he was bitten over and over by mosquitos because his car window was open. He attracted West Nile Virus, nearly died and is now facing hospital and medical bills because...he had no insurance.

The "fast food" chain is not responsible because he wasn't bitten on the job, even though he was sleeping in their parking lot so that he could work there for them.

By the way, this man is is over 50 years old.

Forget minimum wage legislation, it's Living Wage and National Healthcare for all.

[venus]

40. I thought if you had no insurance

medical care was free. I know in Maryland (?) they just passed a law or something that allows the federal government o give hospitals money specifically to treat illegal aliens for emergency care. Why not Americans?

[Southpaw Bookworm]

42. You're kidding, right?

Search through the archives here -- there are articles about civil suits being filed against various health systems across the country, for OVERCHARGING people with insurance. Basically, the idea was to humiliate and harass them to the extent that they'd never show up again.

[Lizzie Borden]

47. I hope your'e being sarcastic???

n/t

[Voice_of_Europe]

34. Europe forbids work after birth

In Europe it's actually FORBIDDEN to work several weeks after a birth.
Plus you get your income paid!

Europe is coming to a point where young women have fewer and fewer children or they wait until they are 35 or older.

This gives much incentive to laws that protect motherhood and the financial situation of young families.

I heard in Singapoore its even worse, there the state PAYS for young couples to have children and encourages more sex because they have so few children.

[Xithras]

45. California provides paid maternity leave for all

It just went into effect in July. IIRC, you get six weeks leave paid though unemployment at 50% of your standard wage. It can be combined with any other maternity leave you may also have through your employer.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

49. holy shit

Didn't know that -- I think that the U.S. wouldn't have half the infanticide and accidental deaths if it provided such support across the board.

[6th Borough]

48. Welfare-to-Work at work.

Maybe not in this case (I don't know either way), but in many.

Without childcare assistance, a disaster waiting to happen.

Family Values for ya! :crazy:

[Ilsa]

2. Why on earth would that grandmother leave the baby?

At five weeks,a baby needs a caregiver around constantly. I know people need help with childcare, but leaving a baby is stupid and neglectful.

[Scairp]

5. It's called ignorance

She probably did the same with her own and nothing happened so I'm sure she figured this baby would be fine as well. Terrible, just terrible.

[SemperEadem]

31. maybe she had to go to the bathroom

and had trouble even getting the baby to go to sleep so she could go...

however, dogs are territorial. The nicest of them are unpredictably territorial. You don't leave a newborn alone and unguarded in a room where the dog can wander into it--because it doesn't look upon the baby as a human--it's an animal to them. and until dogs articulate what they're thinking, they need to be away from the child unless an adult is there. Clearly, the dog hadn't put 2+2 together yet on the baby and it attacked it.

[Scairp]

37. I guess I should have been clearer on "terrible"

I meant the child being killed by the dog, not the grandmother leaving the baby alone. For all we know, she only left the room for a moment and the dog attacked. A baby that small, it probably happened fast. I'm sure no one is going to be harder on her than she is being on herself. I do hope that this baby didn't die in vain and that all parents heed this very valuable and tragic lesson.

[AverageJoe]

6. Those poor people, my God

I have a toddler at home. If something like this happened to him I would want to die.

My prayers.

[sam sarrha]

7. what breed of mut...?

[napi21]

8. The breed of the "mutt" doesn't matter!

I've encountered dogs of all different breeds that were mean and unpredictable, as well as the same breed but different dog was a gentle and trustworthy as (or better than) most people!

I want to know WHY this grandmother didn't know here dogs could be a problem! I've had dogs all my life, and now do volunteer rescue work. I can tell you within 2 hours if I can trust a dog around people, kids, babies, cats or strangers. Something's not right with this picture. We certainly have not heard the whole story!

[progressivebydesign]

12. I love my dogs dearly.. but would NEVER leave them alone with a baby.

They are the sweetest, most gentle dogs in the world.. BUT I know that you just can't leave dogs alone with small children. You never know what instinct might kick in..

Sounds like negligence on the grandmother's part.. she probably had no idea. But, wow, you really wonder why a tiny baby was left alone long enough, and accessible enough, for the dogs to get to it. I'm sure some type of charges may be filed in this.. it's tragic, but it's just not right.

[RebelYell]

17. Completely agree

A crying baby = injured prey to dogs.

[napi21]

18. I don't buy the she probably didn't know part!

I wouldn't have done it either, at least not at 5 weeks! This behavior falls into the same catagory as the people who leave their babies in the car when it's 85 degrees os. It's much more than no knowing...it's stupidity!

[ElectroPrincess]

44. So true you are :-) ...

I have a "therapy dog" who is well trained, but most important, she has been blessed with a calm, accepting and mild temperament.

HOWEVER, and the following point is all-important - Dogs are still pack animals and should never be left alone with young children, let alone newborns.

In the 11 years my beautiful therapy dog has shown ZERO signs of aggression, I still would not ever leave her alone with young children.

Why? You just never FULLY know your canine and the "never say never" truism.

[SoCalDem]

9. Very sad, and this is traceable to "education"..(lack of it)

In this day and age, 19 year olds are not as capable of being good parents..

Good parents, in the sense of PROVIDING for their young..

There was a time, a few generations ago,when an employed young Dad could readily support his wife and baby, but those days are long gone. For young under-educated people, having a baby is a "luxury" they can barely afford.

Grandma really screwed up on this one, but the overriding fact is this.. Those two young people should have been in college or out in the workforce, trying to work their way into a better job.. NOT being parents of an infant who would rarely see them, and who would be improperly cared for.. :cry:

Sad all around.:(

[demobabe]

20. traceable to education? not necessarily so...

you can't assume this.

both young parents were out in the workforce - providing for their kid apparently in the best way they knew how. we don't know that they weren't trying to get better jobs or weren't taking classes. they made sure their kid was being watched - it's tragic that this grandmother made such a horrible mistake.

kids need supervision with animals - any animal - and should never be left alone with an animal or in a situation where an animal can get to them without supervision. many otherwise friendly animals will challenge a baby or young child on physical size alone.

[Scairp]

39. In some ways, I agree

But if we all waited until we could afford kids I don't think anyone would ever get born. The fact is so many parents have kids they didn't plan for or can afford, but most manage somehow. It sounds as if they were doing their best, getting her mother to watch the baby, but it's really appalling that this young mom was at work with a five week old infant at home. It's a horrible situation all around.

[SoCalDem]

43. You're right.. Most people cannot "afford" kids, but

if you are both 24, with a few years of college or work behind you, a car that's paid for, and an affordable place to live, it's much easier to have a child..

These two "kids" were not very prepared for becoming parents.. Their income had to be very low, and even with Grandma watching the baby while they worked, that's a pretty dismal way to start married life..Working dead-end jobs, with a baby to care for, and being only 19 yourselves..

40 years ago, it could be done, and WAS.. but these days, it's a recipe for divorce,poverty and disaster :(

[biftonnorton]

10. Dogs Should Not Be In The Home

Or if they are, should be secured at all times, or at least when children are present. Do we know the caliber of the dog?

[MaryH]

11. Dogs should never be left alone with small children

Ever.

For one thing when puppies cry the mother dog will put her mouth around the puppies head and put pressure on. That signals the puppy to quit crying. So if the dog hears the baby cry she will try to quiet it by putting its head in her jaws. If the baby continues to cry she will put more pressure on. And the baby can die and it is completely innocent on the dogs part.

[wicket]

32. So true

They are after all, animals and even the nicest and well behaved dogs can have incidents where their instinct kicks in and harms children if they think they are being threatened.

[Voice_of_Europe]

36. Our dog protected me from the beginning...

I think it's totally depending wether the dog accepts the child as a new family member or wether the dog is JEALOUS of the attention that the new child gets.

When I was born I was in that same situation and I'm being told that from the moment my mother carried me into the house and let the dog sniff that wrapped package of blankets that I was he wouldn't leave my side and would sit guard at my craddle and growl at my grandmother when she wanted to see me for the first time.

Later he growled at some neighbours child who took away my shovel in the sand pit...

I could tell many more episodes.

[Lizzie Borden]

46. Thank you for being the voice of reason.

n/t

[thecrow]

14. Oh!

The horror. Imagine.
My heart goes out to these young parents.
But my blood runs cold at the thought.
....and the grandmother?
Oh God!

[noonwitch]

16. My dog is really gentle, but I wouldn't trust her alone with an infant

Not even with my 2 year old niece. Katie has been around kids her whole life, loves them and is gentle with them. But even a gentle dog might bite a 2 year old if the 2 year old isn't gentle back.

My 4 year old niece and nephew, and my twin 7 year old nieces are different. They understand that you have to be nice to dogs. I don't leave them totally unsupervised with her, still, but I don't worry if I'm in the kitchen or bathroom for a few minutes. Katie has a good enough track record for that.

My cat is different-she sees the children coming and runs and hides from them. She has no use for any of them, except one of the 7 year old twins that she has liked since the girl was a toddler.

[SoCalDem]

19. We have had dogs all during my kids' childhoods, and the only

one to bite, was a 6 lb poodle.. The 90 lb Labs were serial KISSERS, and would slobber all over them, but the poodle was a biter..
We had to give her to Grandma (no kids there).. I dearly loved that little rat, but when I had to have stitches put into my then 2 yr old's lip, that was IT.. No doubt, he provoked HER, but it was not fair to keep her locked away, nor was it fair for him to grow up afraid of dogs, or maimed..(the scar never showed, and he was NOT afarid of dogs..but.....)

[justjones]

21. My granny is the one who told me NEVER leave my baby alone w/ my dog....

Not that I have a baby yet, but I did have a dog who is the nicest, sweetest dog on earth. My late grandmother only met the dog once and although she thought my dog Ursula was sweet, she knew the dog was jealous. She told me if I ever had a baby, never leave Ursula alone with it because she could potentially do something to it because she was jealous.

Maybe the parents and grandmother of the this baby didn't know this was true of any dog, no matter how mean or nice. Or maybe the grandmother thought the baby was secure in the room on the bed and it was not. I'm sure there is more to the story.

My heart goes out to this family....and to the dog. Yes, to do the dog too because after all, the dog was just being a dog. They have reason and intellect, but only to a certain extent. Perhaps some people get this confused.

[txindy]

22. I don't get this part

The parents were both at work and the baby was with the grandmother, yet the PARENTS took the baby to get medical help? Did the grandmother wait for the parents to finish work before the child got help?!

[Southpaw Bookworm]

23. No car?

When I was a child, my grandmother took care of us while my parents were working. She didn't drive. Accidents happened: Once I tripped and fell first place on a cinderblock and another was a sports related injury. Both times we had to wait for my mother to come take me to the hospital.

[Out the Parasites]

26. No Insurance?

[txindy]

29. Okay, I can see that. I grew up with grandparents who

took care of me during the day and didn't drive. But the parents rushed the baby to the fire station. Sounds like it was nearby. If they had driven to the station, they probably would've kept on going to a hospital. So, either the grandmother didn't think of the fire station or she was too upset (or physically disabled in some way, maybe) to go there, herself. I guess I can see that. I wish the story was clearer, though.

[progressivebydesign]

35. They do have something called 911 in all cities...

.. why didn't she call the paramedics right away? This story is getting a bit wierd.

[justjones]

27. The father was doing yardwork and the mother was around the corner...

working at Taco Bell.

I don't think it would take long for the mother to literally run home or, of course, for the father to come into the house.

Something tells me that medical help was called immediately after someone found the baby mauled. When exactly the baby was found mauled is a different matter.

[LizW]

25. That's heartbreaking

The grandmother will never recover from the guilt.

This was a tragedy waiting to happen. You can never know how animals are going to react to babies or children, especially if they're used to a one-adult household. But people who have dogs often cannot possibly imagine the dog hurting anyone. Put those two together, and you end up with a tragedy.

[venus]

38. This is the most tragic story I've heard

in a long time. Can you imagine how the grandmother must feel? And the mother of the baby, what must she be thinking about her mother? Can't imagine the pain. How do you tell your daughter you're sorry you let you let her baby get killed - by a dog no less.

[wicket]

41. It's incredibly heartbreaking

And sadly, completely avoidable. :(