Pet dog mauls toddler to death, injures mother and his 22-month-old sibling
London: A pet dog killed a toddler after snatching him from his mother’s hand, just moments after attacking his 22-month-old brother in Chelmsford city in Essex county, England.
According to a report in Daily Mail, the incident took place on October 13 at the woman's sister's house. The dog was of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed.
The mother, Jade Rogers, 24, was at home with her two sons when her sister’s pet dog attacked her 22-month-old son, Daniel. Shocked by what had happened, Rogers, who was holding her 4-month-old baby Archie in her arms, rushed to save her elder son.
But the dog, called Bailey, snatched Archie from her hands, shook his head violently and killed him instantly.
However, Rogers was successful in barricading the crazed dog and save Daniel, who fled to the living room.
Rogers and her boys had moved into her sister’s house just a week before. Her sister, 31-year-old Clare Ferdinand, a police officer, lives with her husband John, 36, and their dog.
Recollecting the incident at the Essex Coroner's Court on Friday, Rogers said she was ‘Face Timing’ with her husband when the attack happened.
Detective Inspector Gary Biddle said that Rogers had done a ‘heroic job’ fighting against a crazed dog to save her sons.
He said, “At the time she was alone in the house with her two children... Jade was in the living room with Archie in her arms. Daniel was playing in the living room, very close by".
"The dog came into the living room and there was immediately a change in his behaviour. It growled and immediately attacked Daniel. Jade got up to take the dog out of the room, it went straight for Daniel's head, biting and shaking his head. Jade tried to intervene and pull the dog off Daniel," Biddle said.
“He shook Archie around the room and then dropped Archie and it is at that point that she knew instantly that Archie was dead. She had to save Daniel so she ran into the kitchen with him and made a 999 call from the kitchen. Ms Rogers placed Daniel on a work surface but the dog then struck again 'grabbing' the petrified boy and dragging him off. On the 999 call you can hear the dog attacking Daniel and you can hear Jade shouting and screaming and trying to get the dog off Daniel,” he added.
No one answered the front door when the ambulance crew arrived. When they looked through the window they saw the toddler’s lifeless body on the floor and Daniel on the sofa with head injuries.
Both the children were rushed to the hospital but Archie was declared dead soon after arrival at 4:00 pm. A post-mortem carried out by Great Ormond Street Hospital in London reports the cause of death to be severe head injuries.
Daniel is currently undergoing treatment and it is known that he is making a good recovery after a surgery. Daniel is to turn two this weekend.
The inquest states that the dog has been living with Ferdinand and her husband for four year now, after getting him from a rescue centre which has now closed down. The dog had never shown any sign of aggression before, police said.
The officers managed to track down Bailey’s previous owner. She said she had to give him up because Bailey was often attacked by her other dog, a Jack Russell.
The Crown Prosecution Service said they were satisfied 'no offences had been committed by anyone'.