Boy, 3, Dies After Dog Attack
www.theglobeandmail.com
By JANE ARMSTRONG
December 29, 2004, MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. -- Police are investigating how a three-year-old boy was fatally ambushed by a pack of vicious dogs in his suburban Vancouver house.
The child, Cody, was found by a family member Monday morning and rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead. The boy suffered severe bites to his head and face. Police have not released the family's surname.
Police say four dogs, including three adult rottweilers, were in the tiny, white corner bungalow in Maple Ridge when Cody was mauled. The boy's three siblings and mother were also home, but it appears no one witnessed the attack.
Two of the rottweilers belonged to a friend, and the mother was minding the dogs.
Police in Maple Ridge have not revealed details of the attack, but the RCMP's serious crimes unit is investigating as is the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Police say the joint probe is to "determine if there was anything negligent or criminal to blame in this tragic death."
In a statement, RCMP said that all four dogs were being kept in the basement but had somehow escaped. According to initial reports, the boy was asleep at the time. RCMP Constable Bill Dalzell said he believed only the rottweilers bit the little boy.
Two of the dogs -- a collie named Coco and a rottweiler -- belonged to the family.
Yesterday, news of Cody's death left neighbours overcome with emotion in this bedroom community an hour's drive east of Vancouver.
A family friend emerged in the afternoon to say the boy's mother was too distraught to speak. While the female friend showed reporters a photo of the youngster, the mother left the house and got into a waiting ambulance.
"I knew something tragic had happened," said Bob Greer, who often saw Cody and his siblings playing in the neighbourhood. "The police car was out front all day."
Mr. Greer said the woman moved into the bungalow with her four children after breaking up with her husband. He said she was a good mother who waved to neighbours when she took the children to school in the morning.
"She's always with her kids," Mr. Greer said. "It's just tragic."
However, others said the family's dogs were a source of irritation. Tom Lloyd said he called the city many times to complain that the dogs were off leash in the unfenced backyard. Mr. Lloyd said the rottweiler was often chained to a tree. "I was worried he would get me."
All around the modest bungalow were telltale signs of a household inhabited by children. In the cluttered backyard was a trampoline and a tree fort, and three small two-wheelers were lined up in a bike rack.
There were also indications that intruders weren't welcome. On the back door was a sign with the image of a pistol that read: "We don't call 911." Another sign warned of a guard dog on duty.
Mr. Greer said many homeowners in the community have guard dogs because the break-in rate in the modest neighbourhood is high.
The mauling, the second serious dog attack in British Columbia's Lower Mainland in two years, renewed the debate about the wisdom of owning dogs that are often bred to attack.
Two years ago, 14-year-old Shenica White of Vancouver was attacked and disfigured by two rottweiler-pit bull dogs.
Carson Wilson, branch manager of the Maple Ridge and Coquitlam Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said rottweilers possess tremendous strength and are notoriously aggressive with strangers.
Mr. Wilson said it's "highly regrettable" that the visiting dogs were permitted within striking distance of young children.
Dog experts say it's extremely rare for a dog to attack a motionless person, but say rottweilers can be bred to be lethal weapons. The animals have a bite strength of about 2,000 pounds per square inch.
"Rotties are like dobermans on steroids," said Stanley Coren, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. "So this is a dog who, if he makes a mistake, that mistake can be fatal."
Prof. Coren agreed that rottweilers should never be left alone with children -- especially if the dogs are strangers. Approximately half of all fatal dog bites involve children.
"Part of that is simply because of the way kids move. A kid moves in a awkward way, and often runs and looks like a wounded animal to some dogs."
Yesterday, the SPCA euthanized the two dogs belonging to the mother. The owner of the visiting rottweilers also signed a form permitting his dogs to be put down as well, Mr. Wilson said.
