WINSLOW, Maine — Police say a Winslow man won’t face charges for killing the family dog after it attacked his 14-month-old granddaughter.
The girl and her father were letting two dogs outside on Sunday evening when the 4-year-old black Labrador retriever bit the girl on the head and wouldn’t let go, according to Animal Control Officer Charles Theobald.
The girl’s father and grandfather pried the dog off the girl.
The grandfather took the dog outside and shot it when it continued to be aggressive and he feared for the family’s safety.
Police tell the Morning Sentinel the girl was treated at a hospital for lacerations to her ear and head. The dog had been aggressive toward the girl before but the reason for Sunday’s attack was unknown. Rabies is not suspected.
The gentleman was acting with-in the law regarding a dangerous dog and also in the best interest of his family considering the animal’s assault on the child……a tough thing to do though with a family pet but sometimes very necessary……
People seem to think Labs don’t have to be watched around kids, ( I’m not saying this was the case in this story) all dogs have potential to be killers even little ones. I tell my husband all the time, dogs are animals, 1st last and always.
I’ve owned Labs my entire life, and presently own three, but you are absolutely right that dogs and small children need to be watched closely when together. I do think it’s going a little far to say that all dogs have potential to be killers. All of my dogs are very typical Lab in most every way. My oldest one I wouldn’t worry about in the least, but the two others, even though they are loving and extremely friendly, I would watch very closely in that situation. The grandfather did the right thing.
Dog’s kill to eat, and if we don’t feed them, they go back to that. I had a Lab, that would kill a kitten any time she could, she got to the point, I couldn’t trust her with little kids. I had to have her put down.
I agree, but you’re giving an extreme situation in regard to withholding food from an animal . What are humans capable of if they don’t have food and shelter? I mean we can play what if all day.
Why weren’t you feeding your dog?
My dogs are well fed, to well fed if you ask my vet. My point was that dogs are animals, and one that kills instinctively;
Just following your own logic. “Dogs kill to eat, and if we don’t feed them, they go back to that” So why was your lab eating kittens if he was well fed?
I don’t think I sad she ate them, she killed them, and left them. Dogs are animals, they are not people they do what they know to do, the dog hated cats.
All dogs do not only kill to eat; some kill in packs as sport.
“The dog had been aggressive toward the girl before.”
So why was the dog allowed to remain in the toddler’s presence?
My thought, exactly. Just one time of showing aggresssion should have been enough for them to give up the dog before it actually bit someone. What were they thinking?
Stop and think if this had been a coyote instead of a dog. World news, for sure. The phobia addicted coyote haters would have gone berserk and posted 1000 or more reader comments.
Your comment is only slightly random.
the same reaction would have occurred if it had been a pitbull instead of a black lab….pitbulls have such a bad rep all because of people who raise them to be mean dogs
Yes, I agree totally. My wife has been a manager of a veterinary hospital for 35 years and she knows a lot about the nature of dogs – most of which are lovable. I’m the one with a criminal justice degree and know much more about the nature of men and their inate violence.
I certainly hope you do not practice law with you prejudiced attitude.
Pit bulls have a bad rep because some of them have earned the bad rep. There are way more attacks by pit bulls than any other breed. I am terrified of them and do not understand why people would have one.
Read through this report and see how many of the fatalities in 2012 caused by dog have been caused by Pit Bulls. Almost all of them.
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2012.php
Pit
bulls cause one-third of dog-bite related fatalitieshttp://www.dog-bite-law-center.com/pgs/stats.html
http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-study-dog-attacks-and-maimings-merritt-clifton.php
There may be more fatalities due to Pit Bull bites, but they do not qualify for the ‘more attacks than any other breed’ award. It is actually the Daschund, followed by Chihuahua, then the Jack Russell Terrier.
http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2008/07/the-3-most-aggressive-dog-breeds-revealed-pit-bulls-rottweilers-youll-be-surprised/
We just hear more about the Pits, because of the fact that their jaws are stronger, and when they do bite, cause more damage. ANY dog can bite, under the right circumstances. Some have a higher tendency, due to the way they are raised, but you should never completely trust any dog completely with a small child.
Thank you. A good analogy would be the difference between a semi and a volkswagon. The semi would do more damage in an accident than if you were hit by a volkswagon, most usually.
We DO hear more stories about pits because the media has and does showcase them for sensationalism. After all, isn’t it the sensationalism of any story that actually gets you to pay attention and read it??? Doesnt sensationalism ‘sell’ the news?
Now, if the headline said something like “small child bit by chihuahua” would you read it, or would you bypass it for the story that said “small child bitten by pit bull”?
Just a thought to all those against a dog for their breed, think about it the above, really. If you wouldnt want one because it CAN do more harm than a chihuahua, that’s okay. It’s your right and you are not wrong. BUT, if you think they ALL deserve to die because they COULD, I have to say that is where you have gone wrong.
Everything that is larger, bigger, sharper, heavier, taller than something else, has the possibility of creating a more serious injury. Regardless of whether it is a dog, a feline, a ladder or a foot stool, a semi or a volkswagon, or a human.
I am very sorry to hear of this incident and very sorry for the little girl and her grandpa. I DO think he did the right thing. The dog was agressive and it appears from the article, continued to be agressive. There was probably not much more he could have done to save those around him from immediate attack as well.
I like your analogy. I will have to remember that!
I didn’t state it in my original post (as I was responding to the Pit Bull comment) but I also agree that shooting the dog was the right move for that exact moment. I think that the BEST move that could have been made for everyone around would have been to find a new home for the dog after its first signs of aggression towards the girl. Since that didn’t occur to the owner, he did the right thing during the situation he found himself in.
I hope the little girl doesn’t fear dogs after this. There are so many good ones out there, and she may miss out on faithful companions later in life if she fears them. If she doesn’t fear them on her own, I hope that the adults in her life don’t instill a fear of dogs on her. Sometimes well meaning adults cause more harm than good after an experience like this.
In addition to being inherently dangerous themselves (pit bulls), it seems like every human who shouldn’t be trusted to care for a pet rock wants to own one. Not alleging that every pit bull owner is irresponsible, just that a disproportionate share of the irresponsible population wants to own pit bulls.
I would think you are correct in your statement that “a disproportionate share of the irresponsible population wants to own pit bulls. ” and again, that is because of the sensational headlines and the light that the media has portrayed this dog in. Criminals dont want a small nice-cuddly dog. It doesnt look good for their image. Tough guys and gals dont either. So on and so forth. But that does not mean that ‘good’ people dont own them or want them. They are just more responsible with them and you dont see them as often because of it.
World news? Anyone can google coyote attacks and see many that never leave the local. Your attempts at portraying anyone that kills an animal as sociopaths sure loses it’s effectivness when it’s clear you place the same value on the life of a child as that of a dog.
Good work, keep it up!
I’ll try to use small words for you. A dog might attack a child but because it is domesticated (supposedly), it is assumed that it will not. A coyote WILL attack a child if it perceives it as food and perceives a relatively easy kill, because it is a wild animal. It’s really too bad you don’t live in a area where you can witness this personally as I do. Maybe then you could understand the difference.
I don’t get it;
“Winslow man won’t face charges after killing family dog.” why would he? its his dog, a dog is considered personal property. If I spend ten years training and working with my dog, then somebody kills it, all I can get is what I paid for the dog. I can’t bring a wrongful death suit aginst anybody. It stands to reason you should be able to, but no its just personal property–Dosen’t make sense.
I think he did the right thing.
Agreed. The idea he could even potentially face charges is absurd.
seriously. why would he face charges? the BDN never fails to amaze me…
It is illegal in the state of Maine to shoot a domestic animal.Not my law..
§3951. Killing for assault permitted
Any person may lawfully kill a dog if necessary to protect that person, another person or a domesticated animal during the
course of a sudden, unprovoked assault.
“during the course of…”
hence, why he *could* have been charged. They pried the dog off the girl, then later decided they couldn’t trust the dog and shot it.
Though, if I were in his shoes, I would’ve done the same.
There are also laws regarding euthanasia. Generally it must be performed by a vet, however there are exceptions. An adult owner of a dog may kill an animal with a gun with a single shot to cause instant death and no undue suffering and not restrained as to cause suffering. A law enforcement officer may also euthanize a dangerous dog. There are also emergency euthanasia laws if people feel threatened by the animal. Generally, you have to kill the animal quickly and with minimal suffering. You can kill your own pets, but it must be done according to law.
Not anybody’s law apparently.
Please read the article again. It was submitted by the Associated Press via the Morning Sentinel and was not written by a Bangor Daily News reporter. Sigh, if people would only read and then comprehend what they read.
Bangor Daily posted it here and bangorayuhsaid is never amazed by BDN. I’m not aware that bangorayuh said that it was written by a BDN reporter. Where did you get that from?
The right thing would have been to prevent the attack in the first place.
I’m sorry that man shot his dog, only for the fact that he’s going to remember it in his dreams. I wish he’d gotten rid of it when it first started showing aggression towards the child instead of waiting til it attacked her, but I also understand why he didn’t/couldn’t. I hope for a full recovery for the child, and I hope these traumatizing events can fade from dad’s and grampy’s memories.
I think the memory of his granddaughters head IN THE DOG’S MOUTH will be a more traumatizing memory than putting the dog down by his own hand.
Very true. Sad story. So glad the little girl is okay…sounds like it could have been a much different outcome.
Hence why I stated “events” in plural.
I was referring to the first sentence of your post implying the thought of shooting the dog would haunt the man’s dreams.
It’s the human beings that you have to be careful of and not the dogs and other animals. There are usually 30 murders per day in our country (20,000 per year) and thousands of violent assaults many of which are men assaulting women. Yes, dogs bite about 60,000 people per year in our country but they only kill a human being now and then. Men are THE problem around the world. Dogs don’t use bath salts.
Just men are the problem???
Of the 2.4 million people currently in America’s prisons, 98.2 percent of them are men.
Check your math bill. 2.1 million males and 200k females = ~90%.
As my question eluded to, men are not just the problem as you stated.
My information came just the other day from Pastor Stan Moody of Manchester who works at the Maine State Prison in rehab. He is up to date with the numbers since prison rehab is his current expertise. I was merely addressing the men/female problem issue of violence in a general sense and not trying to be picky, picky, picky.
You come up with a broad BS statement that men are the problem around the world, and then say picky, picky, picky? You should not make such prejudiced statements if you do not want to be picked apart. If you are the problem, why are you not in jail? I assume that “Bill” is a man’s name.
Bill, you’re not too careful with your numbers. 30 murders a day is just under 11,000 a year, not 20,000. And the prison population is hardly an accurate representation of society at large. And as seamus37 pointed out, you are WAY off topic.
Pastor Stan Moody? He has been named in the BDN before? If I remember correctly, he got into some kind of pushing match with the state prison, are you sure he still works there? I think it got messy and he had a lot to say at that time.
Bill, this is a story about a dog that bit down on the head of a 14 month old girl and was justifiably killed. Try as you may to make it about the evil humans in the world, it ain’t.
What are you ranting about? You took a simple fact – that an aggressive dog bit someone – and turned it into a completely different story.
Very unfortunate that this ocurred. I think the owner made the right decision to take care of the dog right then and there. I am also happy to know that he won’t be charged. My thoughts and prayers for his family – such a terrifying ordeal.
I think most people would assume that he would face animal cruelty charges if they didn’t know the whole story. I know some people might even still disagree with his decision. I definitely feel he made the right decision and I definitely hope the girl recovers well! I myself have a toddler, and a male black lab that is also really still just a puppy. I might not be able to do the job myself, but I wouldn’t hesitate to euthanize my dog if it harmed mine or someone else’s child.
“The dog had been aggressive toward the girl before”….end of story. This attack shouldnt have occured in my opinion. Any responsible adult would remove the dog at the 1st sign of aggressiveness but thats just me standing on my soap box.
Ironically, I am just back home from my weekly run to the town dump. I have in my hand a book titled “Man Bites Dog” by Max Alexander. The book was thrown away in the book disposal box and apparently destined for me. Yes, beware of men – not dogs.
Unless the dog bites down on the head of a toddler. Your animal rights have gone off the deep end.
I feel so sorry for the little girl in this story. Granddad you did the right thing. It must have been had to deal with, knowing your own dog bit your granddaughter but, you did the absolute right thing. Hope you all heal from this experience.
OK, I’ll play Devils advocate DevilDude. Change the story to 4 year old boy attacks 14 month old. Shoot the boy? I’ll take the position that the dog owner was not being responsible with his dog around children. The reporter said the owner knew the dog was aggressive, yet the owner failed to remove the dog from the situation. Man bred Labrador Retrievers to recover items in its mouth. It is now instinct for labs to “grab” things, and if not trained, they will not let go. There are alternatives to killing an animal. Just think if we lived in a world where homicide was justified against humans for every wrong they did.
The difference here is that a dog doesn’t have human rights. They have the right not to be tortured or killed for no reason. When a dog bites someone, say goodbye.
They dog had shown aggressive traits in the past and even when the grandfather took the dog outside the dog continued to be aggressive and that’s why he shot . a dog that shows aggression toward it;s family is not to be trusted. It’ s a ticking time bomb.
I am as big of a dog advocate as you will find but and this is a BIG BUT when a dog (any dog) bites the head or neck, brakes skin and will not release, it is a “kill” bite.
People come first. I’d have shot the dog, too.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!!!! Animals are not on the same level as humans. Stop humanizing them!!!! They’re animals, so they have animal tendencies and cannot be trusted, ever!!!! I like animals, but when one of them attacks a person, it’s done. That animal cannot be reasoned with as a person can, so you have to put it down in order to ensure the safety of others. Yes, animals should be treated kindly, but this whole animals are the same as people thing is ridiculous.
Should have got rid of the dog the first time it showed aggression toward his grand daughter.
agreed
The granddaughter has a grandfather who thinks the world of her. The fact that anyone would debate this issue is beyond me. This is a no brainer.
He’s a good grandfather. I’d do the same thing for my grand children.
What I would have done for my grand children is find the dog a new home without children the first time it showed agression.
I agree, if they won’t raise the dogs right it is safer to shoot one or both. Happy dogs don’t bite.
Sad for the child, grandfather and the dog. I’m glad it wasnt a pit bull they have recieved enough bad press
I’m glad it wasn’t a pit bull, too! Poor girl would probably have an even longer recovery, if at all. Sad but true.
dogs are property yes you can shoot your dog anytime for any reason IT IS THE LAW
Why is this news?
The lives of people matter more then animals. This is a no brainer for anyone with any common sense.
Thats your opinion. I like my dogs more than 99 percent of the people I know. They are more important to me and smarter than 99 percent of the people I know. The answer here is humane euthanization people. I am not saying a dangerous dog should be kept alive, but shooting it is just plain barbaric. Every day I read the BDN, I become more ashamed to be a Mainer.
You’re pathetic!
Bad deal for all involved.Especially the poor child who will likely fear dogs forever now. I absoloutely agree that the dog should have been shot. Dogs are way too easy to come by to keep one that has dangerous tendencies, but it is hard when it is a family pet.
On another note, I have decided that the best part of any BDN article is the comment section! It is so funny to see how far the topic strays from the article in such a short amount of time. I bet before the comment total hits 75 it will have been Obama’s fault, which of course means someone else will blame Bush.
I have a small dog who hates children. We adopted her when she was just a few months old, but has never reacted well to kids. She has NEVER attempted to bite one, instead she prefers to run away and avoid them at all costs. If they come too close, she gives a warning growl and runs away. I love my dog…I adore my dog, but am always SUPER cautious when there are children around (which isn’t often around here). She’s doing much better than she used to do around them (with LOTS of training sessions and interventions). As much as I adore her, if I ever saw her react in a way that made me think she WOULD bite a kid, I would have no choice but to put her down. I won’t take a chance on a child’s life. Great job grandpa. I’m sure that was a horrifying decision for you. I know it would be for me.
See and its not a pitbull!!! Thank you BDN for finally posting on other dog attacks, its about time PUNISH THE DEED NOT THE BREED