Pitbull-type family dog mauls 15-month-old baby girl to death, injures two kin who tried to prevent attack
EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: A 15-month-old girl died after she was mauled by her family's "pitbull-type" dog in their Rhode Island home on Thursday, July 16, police said. The attack also left two adult family members injured when they tried to stop the child from getting hurt. When the police responded to a disturbance call at the toddler's grandparents' house in East Providence around 2:45 pm, they found that the victim had been badly injured after being bitten multiple times by the pet. According to a statement released by cops, the animal, responsible for the attack, was described as a "pitbull-type breed."
"The family had sat down for lunch outside," said East Providence Police Chief William Nebus, 10WJAR reported. "The baby was on the ground roaming freely and the dog, in the fenced-in backyard, was also roaming freely. As far as we know, it was an unprovoked attack. There was no food on the ground both of them were going for, there was no hair pulling, no tail pulling, anything of that sort." Authorities found the dying child with “significant” injuries and that two adults had been injured while attempting to rescue the baby. "Police immediately began life-saving procedures," cops said in the statement. The East Providence Fire Department also arrived to aid in the "life-saving care". The child was rushed to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Upper South Providence where she later died, the police said. "Sadly the baby succumbed to her injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital."
The injured were taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, the police added. Names of the victims were not released. The dog, which too was injured when the family members tried to stop it from attacking the child, had been contained in the backyard of the residence when the police arrived. Officers and Animal Control later tried to capture the animal and it was euthanized on the property. As they continue their investigation into the incident, the cops said there were no prior incidents with the animal that the family faced. "People might say this was just because it was a pitbull, but be careful of all breeds when you're introducing children," Nebus said. "There was no fault here to throw around, whether it was the parents or grandparents, maybe the dog didn't even know this was a child and didn't realize the extent of what it was doing. I'm not trying to make excuses for that, but, the message is, be careful with all dogs and children."
Tracy Couto, a neighbor of the family, expressed shock after learning about the incident. "We were shocked," she said. "We wanted to know what was going on up the street. We saw people getting transported into an ambulance. We knew something horrific happened at that house. I'm just shocked and I'm saddened by the loss of the family. I feel terribly for that family right now. I just wish I could go over and give them a hug."