Mother held over baby killed by dog

[Kimmikins]

Story here

A mother is under arrest on suspicion of manslaughter after her 11-month-old daughter was mauled to death by a dog.

Ava Jayne Marie Corless was in bed at a house in Emily Street, Blackburn, at around 11pm yesterday when she was savaged by what police described as an American pitbull-type dog.

Police and ambulance staff attempted to resuscitate the girl but she was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later.

The girl's mother has been named locally as Chloe King and the man in custody, her current partner, was named as Lee Wright, who is not the father of the child.

Police have not confirmed the names of those under arrest.

They were downstairs when the attack took place, police said.

Locals claim to have made previous complaints about the dog's behaviour to police .

Chief Superintendent Chris Bithell of Lancashire Police said: "This is an absolutely horrific incident in which a baby girl has lost her life and I would like to take this opportunity to express my own personal sympathy to the wider family of baby Ava."

Mr Bithell said police were first alerted by the ambulance service who were called to reports of the girl being mauled by a pet dog.

A post mortem will take place to find out the exact cause of death.

Mr Bithell added: "The dog is believed to be an American Pit Bull type, it has been destroyed and tests will be carried out today to establish the exact breed of the dog and inquiries into the history of the animal.

"I'm told its quite a large pit bull type dog."

Both suspects were initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, before being re-arrested this morning on the more serious charge of manslaughter and will be questioned by detectives today, Mr Bithell said.

"The lady in custody is the baby's mother and the male in custody is the mother's current boyfriend," he added.

"The baby was upstairs in a bed in one of the front bedrooms and the two people who are currently in custody, they were downstairs when the attack took place."

Asked about claims from neighbours reporting dangerous dogs at the address he added: "As part of the investigation we are making inquiries to see whether there have been previous issues with this particular dog and I think at this moment it would be too early to speculate on that."

"believed to be an American Pit Bull type" - I wonder whether this will end up being stereotyping by police? I originally saw a photo claiming it was crossed with a mastiff!

[crinklecats]

Whatever the breed it is the type of dog that is kept by thugs and drug dealers. These poor dogs are kept as macho status symbols by people who want to appear tough and encourage the dogs to be vicious as a form of protection for themselves. In the area I live which is not far from Blackburn I usually pass several of these type of dogs with their stereotypical owners whenever I go out. In fact there have been police raids on properties as some of the dogs are used in dog fights. It's pretty unusual to see pampered pets around here.

[Kimmikins]

That's such a shame that dogs are used as status symbols there, CC The stereotype is unfortunately propagated because of people like that, who use these status dogs to project an image, but I'm always sceptical bout reading when a "pit bull type" dog is in the media, because so often they turn out to be completely different breeds and this media negative propaganda only hurts those pets that ARE pampered.

It's just a sad situation all round.

[sparks01]

Hate these reports I really wish the press would get the dog type correct in the first reports. The last dog attack they reported on was totally incorrect.
And I hope they prosecute the owners

[crinklecats]

This article is from the local paper in October 2013


More than 35 dangerous dogs have been put to sleep in Hyndburn since the start of the year, shock figures have revealed.



Hyndburn Council has received dozens of complaints about dangerous dogs in 2013 - with a reported surge in the popularity of ‘pitbull-types’ and American bulldogs across the borough.



Council bosses said the dogs that have been destroyed are from the list of banned breeds, which includes animals such as Pit bull terriers, Japanese Tosas and Dogo Argentinos. Once a dog is identified as being a banned then police dog legislation officers are called from Preston to make a formal identification. The dog is then signed over to the police who pursue a destruction order under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.



Dog warden Gordon Farmer warned the dogs have become ‘the latest fashion accessory’ for youngsters with some owners training them to ‘attack on command’. He said that 35 dogs had been out down since the start.



He also revealed:



- A woman was taken to hospital requiring stitches after a dog bit her in the stomach at her home.



- Two guide dogs worth £50,000 each have been attacked by dangerous dogs in Hyndburn.



- Teenage owners are training dogs to fight by making them hang from trees and branches and hold on with their teeth’. At a meeting of Baxenden area council, Mr Farmer called for legislation to be introduced, in a bid to curb attacks on people and other animals.



He said there had been 68 complaints about dangerous dogs already this year, while more than 200 dogs have been kennelled.



Mr Farmer said: “It's getting popular for people to have these types of dogs and quite prevalent at the moment is the America bulldog. They are massive dogs, very very powerful, they are normally non-violent but certain people are trying to get them to be that way and with a dog that way it’s extremely dangerous.



“We had one which I had to take out of a house four weeks ago after it bit a woman in her stomach and put her in hospital with stitches. In an ideal world I would like there to be legislation which says dogs should be on a lead in a public place as it would solve a lot of problems.”



Illegal dogs include pitbull terrier or pitbull-type, Japanese Tosa, Fila Brasileiro and the Dogo Argentino.



Mr Farmer said all these dogs are ‘bred for fighting’ but cross-breeding with other dogs is making identification more difficult.



He said: “We know people are breeding pitbulls with Labradors and other such breeds to try and disguise what they are.



“At the moment it seems to be the latest fashion accessory to have these things.



“If they are around 16 or 17 years of age they want one of these dogs and they want them to be able to attack on command.



“Some of them are trying to get them to do that by getting them to hang from trees and branches, getting them to bite hold and it's very dangerous.”

[Adrianne]

On my last pack walk, We encountered a young lad with two Stafford on their leads - technically his were on leash and ours were all off leash
There was no problem at all as the dogs all passed by - ( a lot of my pack walkers have had reactivity to other dogs before treatment)
the youth on the other hand started kicking out and swinging his arms around as if to keep his dogs at arms length to suggest they were a threat
I may have perhaps accepted he had reactive dogs but for the fact that cupes popped over and had a little hello with them - and they were all waggy and squirmy

The lad wanted us to believe they were tough and dogs to be wary of!
Burk

[kristina]

Omg another child lost to the stupidity of dog owners,child and dog upstairs mother and partner downstairs?? doesn't make sense to me.Kristina

[kristina]

 

Loved that Adrianne.Kristina

[kristina]

Thats awfull but believable too I see many a dog these days of which I have no idea of what breed they are all shapes and sizes and some in the hands of people who do not understand the ways of dogs and are just using them in the most awful way.Kristina

[Kimmikins]

When I was looking to adopt, I'd say 70-80% of the dogs in the local rescues were Staffy, Pitty type breeds. I've nothing against them, in fact I love the "smile" that these breeds have...but in the area I lived, or rather near where I lived, they were classic status dogs, and I'll admit I didn't want to be tarred with that brush. Now I've moved, I'd be less averse to rehoming one, if only to show it the life it deserves!
Those statistics are heartbreaking, CC, for all the people injured and the dogs that lost their lives. You don't see many status breeds where I live. It's definitely labrador, Westie and spaniel central!

Adrianne, that little tool was definitely a prat! Why on earth would you willingly try and make your dogs look in any way dangerous? Good on Cupes for showing those dogs some friendliness...I wonder if it will be the only kind of nice doggy meet 'n' greet they get for a while

[Dani]

There s just no words,and again it is the dog paying the ultimate price . . . . I reckon the owners of the dog should be PTS ,lets see how many dog attacks there will be then !! 



Oh golly Adrianne,if I would come across a pack of loose dogs I would freak   and if a dog would come over to us,I would always call out that my boy is not very friendly  . . . . ( soon to be changed,fingers crossed)  . . .  . I am worried that people will get p*ssed at me when Dodge does his usual,I dont want him to look hard,do you know what I mean ?  Maybe he was worried that his dogs could hurt one of yours ? He should ve asked for your help 

( that is of course if I would not know who you are    )

[Adrianne]

that's why we use the area that we do - its remote and not suitable for families or children. the only people that use it are dedicated dog walkers runners and cyclists, it has views to the forth road bridge in one direction and Lanark in the other - if you 'bumped into us' you would have to have had your head in your mobile phone ..there are so many paths that no one would have to pass by us if they don't want to, we often find that anyone who chooses to pass us, joins in - we also stand still and wait on people if they want to put their dog on a lead etc. Our dogs would much rather play with each other off lead than bother with a dog on its lead (they quickly learn to work out which is more rewarding - and with time and practice they ultimately learn how to ignore other dogs)
wish I could get my hands on Dodge! Alfie was a lunging, snarling, pulling, growly boy 30 minutes before sharing his stick with Cupes and he had no recall either..but he learned in situ from playing with a 'safe' dog. Before the end of his walk he also greeted another dog on his own.., I really want Dodge to have that. xx

[Dani]

(crying smiley aint working  )  I sooooooo want to life closer to you !!!!!!! Alfie is a lucky boy to have his owner and she is so lucky to have you 




Gotcha,ok this lad was a prick 

[Adrianne]

I've been training an Am. bulldog x Mastiff, he is owned by a young lass, she is early 20's, I love it when a youngster takes responsibility to get training and advice, when they have a dog that other people are wary of, He is massive, he is boisterous, and very strong - but he is adorable, gentle and walks perfectly to heel now, listening and waiting on his owners every word...
much as I condemn the bad owners, there are some that want to let the world see that they are lovely dogs and that some in that age group are responsible...she is doing modelling and her dog models with her.
I see more and more 20 somethings picking up the phone than ever before these days, .. I have to say ..sometimes the older generations are more stuck in their old training method ways - or no training methods at all.
education is the answer ..but it needs to be directed in the right places - not preaching to the converted..just as with children

[kristina]

I take that last post all on board Adrianne I admit hand on heart that I am still in old school training methods BUT have also been following a lot of your new ways and have been putting them into practice basically most of it is just common sense for the likes of me I am never too old to learn either.Kristina