When dogs kill humans, II
A group of dog lovers is working to persuade officials in Henderson, Nevada, to spare the life of a mastiff-Rhodesian ridgeback mix who bit and killed a 1-year-old boy last week.
Onion, six years old, is scheduled to be euthanized next week.
“This dog will never harm another soul,” said Les Golden, a Chicago-area dog rescuer who is leading the campaign to spare Onion. “The dog deserves to be saved.”
Golden told the Las Vegas Review Journal that he hopes a flood of supporters calling and emailing Mayor Andy Hafen will persuade him to stay the execution, which could happen Monday or Tuesday after the dog’s 10-day quarantine.
Onion’s family voluntarily gave their pet to animal control officials for euthanization. “For what he did to my son, he deserves to be punished,” father Christopher Shahan said. “I’ve already accepted the fact that he’s dead.”
Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan was attacked by the dog on April 27 after the family had finished celebrating the boy’s first birthday. He crawled over to Onion and grabbed onto the 120-pound dog to help himself stand up, as his family said he had done many times before
Jeremiah’s grandmother, Elizabeth Keller, was leaning over to pick him up when Onion suddenly attacked. Jeremiah’s father and others freed the child about 30 seconds later and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. He died the next day at University Medical Center.
Henderson animal control officers declared Onion vicious, which requires euthanization following the state-mandated quarantine.
“The dog attacked and killed a child,” animal control spokesman Keith Paul said. “It would be irresponsible of us to allow this dog to be adopted out.”
Lisa Kavanaugh, said she would welcome Onion to her 35-acre ranch near Denver called Blue Lion Rescue, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
“If it’s an accident, why not give him a chance?” Kavanaugh said. “He’s never, ever going to get a chance to hurt anybody else.”
Onion had been with the family since he was a puppy and helped Keller through her battle with lung cancer. The dog had never shown aggression toward anyone, family members said.
“I would love him to be in a sanctuary the rest of his life, but what sort of punishment would that be for killing a human being?” the father said.
Posted by jwoestendiek May 7th, 2012 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animal control, attack, baby, bites, blue lion rescue, calls, campaign, child, dangerous, dog bites, email, euthanasia, euthanized, group, henderson, infant, jeremiah eskew-shahan, killed, les golden, mastiff, mix, nevada, onion, quarantine, rhodesian ridgeback, sanctuary, save, shahan, vicious
Comments
Comment from did
Time May 7, 2012 at 1:02 pm
The family should have watched that child more closely the child should never had been using the dog as a crawling post at all Even if this dog was a toy poodle it could still have done some harm animals react to situations The dog could have gotten spooked or maybe hurt in someway people need to be more responsible with their pets The father is an A_____________hole
Comment from vida
Time May 7, 2012 at 6:43 pm
My sympathies for the loss of their child, that must have been so devastating. I’m hoping that the grief is why the man is so…umm, unhinged? I mean, makes as much sense to say..What kind of reward is kibble for helping someone make it through lung cancer? Hope the dog is saved.
Comment from Tina
Time May 7, 2012 at 6:49 pm
I feel for the family who lost their son, but I, too, am confused at the response by the father… the son probably loved and trusted the dog, the dog had at least tolerated the son’s behavior in the past… so what was the trigger? Loud party? Lots of people around, extra noises, stress, anxiety, and then grandma reaching over the “take” the baby from the dog? Might have been a protective instinct? Definitely not a good response, but still, I would want to understand what happened to make sure it never happened again.
Very sad.
Comment from Amber @ Pooch&Puddy
Time May 8, 2012 at 8:35 am
I have to agree that the father is a scary man. Onion did something that is not acceptable in the human world- but perfectly acceptable to a dog. He told off a little puppy who was finally losing his “puppy license”, when another person made him uncomfortable. Likely, he was never taught bite inhibition, just not to bite things ever. It IS tragic… But he’s just a dog. He has no foresight that what he was doing would kill his people.
Comment from Anonymous
Time May 10, 2012 at 2:59 pm
dont kill the dog
Comment from MB
Time May 14, 2012 at 11:43 am
Sad. Bt also sad that the dad wants to kill the dog. The guilt of the father will live in forever. Someday, if the dog lives, he will visit the dog and forgive him, and only then will he be able to forgive himself. sad all around.
Comment from KateH
Time May 7, 2012 at 10:10 am
That father scares the crap out of me. Where does he get the hideous idea that the dog could possibly understand that he deserves to be punished? It’s not as if the dog came up with an evil plan, gathered the items needed to accomplish it, laid in wait for x amount of time, and then attempted to hide his ‘crime.’ When those things happen, that’s when we know that a punishment could be considered. Otherwise, it’s an accidental killing, and obviously not something to be punished for, since we expect that a human would feel remorse, which is the ‘fair’ kind of ‘punishment’ they get. Dogs aren’t people, and only an idiot would think the dog planned to do that. I would think the trigger may not have been the kid, but the grandmother looming over the dog at the same time. Obviously, she wasn’t thinking the dog was a killer with a plan or she wouldn’t have allowed the dog near the child or gotten close to it herself.
I hope that man is never allowed to own an animal of any kind ever again. His mindset is not right.