A mother who woke up to find her five-week-old son had been snatched from her arms and killed by the family’s American Staffordshire terrier and screamed at her husband: “The dog has taken the baby.”
The harrowing scene was recounted on Monday at the New South Wales Coroner’s Court in western Sydney, where an inquest is underway into seven fatal dog attacks that occurred between 2019 and 2021.
Coroner Carmel Forbes is investigating the circumstances of the attacks, including the breeds of animals involved, as well as the responses of local councils and regulatory bodies to such incidents.
The first death considered was due to an attack on a five-week-old child in regional New South Wales in 2021.
A mother who woke up to find her five-week-old son had been killed by the family’s American Staffordshire terrier and screamed at her husband: “The dog has taken the baby.” File image of an American Staffordshire terrier
The court orders prevent the publication of the victim’s name or any information that could identify her parents.
Counsel assisting the coroner, David Kell SC, told the court the baby’s father had a six-year-old dog which he believed was an American Staffordshire terrier.
He had purchased the dog as a puppy for $500 in June 2015, after it was advertised as one of a litter of seven of that breed.
The dog was microchipped and registered as an American Staffordshire Terrier, but the court heard there were suggestions it was at least part American pitbull.
In June 2021, five weeks before the baby was killed, the dog was responsible for the death of a cocker spaniel on a neighboring property.
There were no witnesses to that incident, but Dr Kell said a gamekeeper who responded to the attack suspected staff had pulled the cocker spaniel through a hole in a fence and killed it in the backyard.
The ranger also believed the cane could have been a pit bull, or pit bull cross, because of its yellow eyes, liver-colored nose and white tips on its paws.
An inquest into seven fatal dog attacks that occurred in New South Wales between 2019 and 2021 is underway at the New South Wales Coroner’s Court in western Sydney (above).
The parents, whom the landlord considered “wonderful tenants,” were not home at the time, as the mother had given birth to her first child just a few days earlier.
The tan dog, who slept in the family’s master bedroom, had no history of attacking other animals or humans.
The council’s gamekeeper told the court the mother’s mother had described the pet as “a people’s dog”.
“I took that to mean he wasn’t very good with other dogs,” she said.
Due to suspicions that the staff was at least part pit bull, its owner received a notice declaring it a restricted dog.
Such a declaration would mean that the dog would have to be kept in a secure enclosure and gagged with a leash, chain or cord when outside that cage.
The owner was given 28 days to prove the animal was not a restricted breed and was granted a two-week extension after the child’s birth.
Five weeks after the cocker spaniel’s death, the father and mother were watching football and listening to music at home.
Coroner Carmel Forbes will examine issues including how the breed of dogs is determined and how that influences restrictions on their ownership. Stock images of American Staffordshire terrier
The father fell asleep in the living room and the young mother, exhausted, fell asleep in a rocking chair while holding the baby in her arms.
The father later told police he woke up to find his partner crying and screaming, “The dog took the baby.”
[‘She’s] “I woke up and realized the baby wasn’t there,” she said. “She came in and found the baby on the floor of his room.”
The mother had told the father: ‘Call the ambulance, call the ambulance.’
Paramedics arrived but were unable to revive the boy, who had suffered multiple puncture wounds.
Police saw the dog in the backyard with blood on its nose. It looked like the dog had snatched the baby from the chair.
When asked if the family had had any problems with the dog, the mother told police she had been “on alert” since she brought her newborn son from the hospital.
“I don’t trust the dog around him,” he said.
The dog was euthanized and the child’s cause of death was found to be chest trauma consistent with a dog attack.
A death certificate for the dog listed it as a pit bull, but the next day it was changed to an American Staffordshire terrier after receiving information from the local council.
The gamekeeper told the court he had not considered taking the dog after he killed the cocker spaniel.
“I wasn’t dealing with irresponsible dog owners,” he said.
The ranger also said he had seen little difference between American Staffordshire terriers and pit bulls in their propensity to attack or the severity of injuries they could inflict.
Ms Forbes will examine issues including how the breed of dogs is determined and how that influences restrictions on their ownership.
Dr. Kell emphasized that the goal of the investigation was not to attribute legal responsibility for any of the deaths, but rather to prevent further similar tragedies from occurring.
New South Wales legislation did not define how to distinguish a pit bull from similar dogs, while Victoria had published the physical characteristics of pit bulls.
He said questions would arise about identifying whether a dog belonged to a restricted breed.
The investigation continues.