A three-week-old baby has died of a severe dog bite to the head after being left alone with three pit bulls in her family home.
The infant, Susannah Jean Murray, had been placed in a bouncer in a room with the family pets by her mother, who then went out onto the porch of their Michigan house with a number of other adults, according to local news outlet WWMT.
Police said the newborn was found less than five minutes later badly mauled by at least one of the dogs.
“When the incident occurred one of the three Pitbulls had blood around its mouth. The other two did not,” Grand Rapids Police Department Sargeant Terry Dixon told WWMT.
Despite seven hours of surgery at the local children's hospital, unfortunately, the girl could not be saved and passed away on Thursday evening.
"Our sweet baby Suzie, a mere three weeks old, joined the angels in heaven," her obituary read.
One neighbour told the Detroit Free Press she believed the dogs were "vicious".
"I’d be scared, because when the dogs get out the fence, they used to chase us," Hawa Abdi said.
However, other neighbours said the dogs had never caused problems in the past.
At this stage, no charges have been laid but the dogs, Devlin, Rhino and Mommas have been removed from the home and quarantined.
Police warned parents not to leave children unattended with pets.
"When you have an infant or children who are unable to defend themselves, basically defenceless, an adult should always be in the company of a child especially a 3-week-old," Sgt. Dixon told WWMT.
Top Comments
In my limited view of course; no sane person would even consider having a pitbull as a pet certainly not AROUND CHILDREN! The same goes for rottweilers .Their is something lacking in the man of the house's self confidence when he chooses these breeds as pets.
Certainly these parents are definitely a sandwich short of a picnic.
All pit bulls should be euthanised. They are in their DNA too unpredictable and dangerous., one breed that really needs to become extinct