Toddler Attacked by Family's Cocker Spaniel

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.ktla.com/landing/?blockID=241945&feedID=171



Toddler Attacked by Family's Cocker Spaniel

March 17, 2009

LONG BEACH -- A 2-year-old Long Beach girl was hospitalized after she was attacked by the family's cocker spaniel.

The attack occurred around 11:30 p.m. Monday inside a home at 1850 Gardenia Avenue in Long Beach, Long Beach Department of Animal Control Officer Jaime Precado.

The toddler was bitten in the face and suffered deep lacerations, Precado said.

Cocker spaniels were originally bred for hunting but are regarded as friendly.

The animal was taken to a shelter and would likely be quarantined for 10 days to see if there are any signs of rabies, according to Animal Control.

If there are no signs of rabies, the animal will be returned to the owner, if the family wants it back.

It was not immediately known what prompted the attack.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. I believe it.

Our cocker spaniel bit the shit out of my ass when I was two years old.

He was given away promptly thereafter.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. But they are so cute

[Uncle Joe]

12. Cute! Since when is an exhibitionist cute! All he needs is a raincoat!

:grr:

[Liberal_in_LA]

41. lol n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. It's finally time we pass a law banning toddlers.

I'm sick and tired of reading these stories about the latest toddler attack.

[MineralMan]

6. Hear, Hear!

:evilgrin:

[bermudat]

7. Funny

[Lost in CT]

33. Plus they invariably punch adult men in the balls... you can't tell me thats not on purpose. nt

[MineralMan]

4. Cocker spaniels can be snappy sorts of dogs.

At one time, they were America's most popular breed. No longer.

[SCantiGOP]

13. therein lies the problem

They were so popular, because they were so gentle and protective, that they were seriously interbred and it's made them unstable.

[Arkansas Granny]

32. I think popularity has ruined many breeds of dog.

I have been around dogs all my life and have owned many during my adult life. My favorite breed is mixed.

[Maru Kitteh]

67. My favorite breed is rescue/shelter dog mutt.

You're exactly correct, Granny. :-)

[originalpckelly]

22. We had a psycho fucking cocker...

That was one weird ass dog, but we kept him for life because he was so cute.

[GreenPartyVoter]

49. Yes, very snappy.

[flvegan]

5. This is why all 2 year olds should be armed to the baby teeth.

[MineralMan]

8. Damn Straight!

A nice little .25 auto is just the right size for a two-year old. An unarmed toddler is a defenseless toddler, I always say.

[flvegan]

11. Custom Spongebob holster for the PullUps.

[MineralMan]

18. Or, if it's a girl toddler, a Dora holster.

¡Fuego, niños! ¡Fuego Ahora!

[KansDem]

31. Maybe not a .25 auto...how about a little taser?

Could be marketed as a "Two-ser?" Pink for girls and blue for boys? Hmmm, let's run this up the flagpole and see who salutes...

[MineralMan]

37. But that's not lethal. MOLON LABE, You Cocker!

[TBF]

68. You must live here in Texas. Heh. ;) nt

[LisaM]

9. Cockers were overbred for a while

I have seen some the last few years, though, that seem much more mellow.

[distantearlywarning]

10. That's it! Ban Cocker Spaniels now!

Vicious, dangerous dogs, every one of them!

:sarcasm:

[LaurenG]

14. I was bitten by a cocker as well but I was nine

it bit me twice, once on the inside of the knee and when I turned to get away from it it bit me on the back of the knee. :(

[greguganus]

50. I was bitten by a Cocker at a music festival.

He was wasted and his name was Joe.

[shanti]

15. that's the SAME breed of dog

that jumped up and bit me in the chin when i was about 3 or 4. apparently, i was told to stay away from it, but kids will be kids.

[Fleshdancer]

16. We gave our cocker spaniel away after she got snippy with our daughter

We found her a wonderful child-free family with a big yard so I'm sure it was harder on us than on her, but for us, giving her up was the only option.

It was our fault. We took her in before doing any research on her breed so we didn't realize how snippy CS's can get. I always grew up with shelter mutts though which is why (crazy as it sounds) it never really occurred to me to do the research in the first place. Now I know.

[RebelOne]

17. My son has 4 pit bulls and a cocker.

The pit bulls are sweet dogs, but that cocker is a holy terror. I won't even pet him.

[tangent90]

21. No kidding...I wouldn't even pet your son!

:rofl:

[Arugula Latte]

19. Reason #683 I'm glad I have cats instead of dogs.

[MineralMan]

24. Cats are smart enough to make themselves scarce

when toddlers show up. They know...they know!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

28. lol! Tell me about it! Years ago, a beloved cat of mine lived most of the time

in a closet because my older son would chase him into the ground.

[Soylent Brice]

43. no shit.

[MiniMe]

78. I was clawed pretty badly by a cat when I was a child

I hadn't done anything, but the owner turned on a vacuum cleaner and the cat "climbed" me to escape. I don't even remember the circumstances. I don't think it was vicious, it was fear. However, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[uppityperson]

20. Ban these dogs, fine the owners, make them take classes to learn how to deal with this dangerous bre

breed! All dogs are capable of biting. I hope the child heals quickly. I am glad that this made the news, helping balance out the fact that all dogs can bite.

[vaberella]

57. It's a two-year old kid. You don't think the two year old was provoking the dog?!

As a kid I used to torment my aunt's cat, until the cat scratched me up. You don't think the dog was the one being tormented to the point of attacking the kid. Automatically the dog is going to attack. Don't get me wrong, animals are animals. But you don't know what the kid was doing.

[uppityperson]

59. 2 things, sarcasm and wtf

I posted what gets posted if the dog is reported to a "pit bull", sarcastically. Perhaps you haven't read "OMG!!!111 PITBULL11111!!" threads. that was what the omg ban them part was in reference to.

And wtf about what you wrote since it doesn't seem to apply to what I wrote, the important non-sarcastic part was : All dogs are capable of biting. I hope the child heals quickly. I am glad that this made the news, helping balance out the fact that all dogs can bite.

[vaberella]

64. 3 things, I don't "get" sarcasm, never read the pitbull thread, and get your last point.

When it comes to sarcasm, I have a deficiency. If it doesn't explicitly have an emoticon there or something like an emoticon then I don't get it. I find it hard to understand over the net.

As for the "pitbull" thread, you can't really expect everyone to be aware of every thread around the board to know when you're being sarcastic...right?! I was taking your post in line with many of the others that I assumed was serious by their tone.

Lastly, I wrote in response to your comment. You said to ban them because of some violence the dogs committed and I said that, because others have said similar but it now could be in relation to some "pitbull thread, they should look at how the kid plays a role considering that animals do act up when they're pushed.

[uppityperson]

75. I thought you might like to understand why the posts saying "ban them".

I thought you might like to understand more since obviously no one (most likely) reads all the posts.

As you say, I do not know it the 2 yr old pushed the dog or not. Neither do you. Monitor kids and dogs.

[davsand]

23. One of my pals was an animal control officer and she swore cockers were a nasty breed.

Pit Bulls and Rotties never bothered her a bit, but she hated cockers. She swore they were the meanest breed of dog on the planet and never understood why so many families got them as pets.

Just sayin...



Laura

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

25. I was bitten by a cocker spaniel when I was four

It was our neighbor's dog. It was eating and I tried to take a bone out of it's dish right in front of it, (I thought I was "playing" with it and was planning on tossing the bone to play fetch). Not surprisingly, it bit me on the hand.

My parents and the neighbors were right there and everyone was completely unsympathetic about my bite. It wasn't too bad, really. They fixed it up and put a bandaid on it and said "Next time you won't tease the dog, will you?" NO ONE blamed the dog, but that is because they all clearly saw why the dog bit me.

(I am NOT saying that the toddler that was bitten provoked the dog - I have no idea what happened or why or how)

[alphafemale]

73. Yeah. That was one of the first things I learned growing up around a dog.

Don't mess with them when they are eating. If you do and you get bit it was your own damn fault and you will get scorn not sympathy. It pisses me off and breaks my heart that food guarding is a death sentence on some of those Animal Cop shows.

[distantearlywarning]

26. A childhood playmate was bitten by my grandmother's cocker-sheltie mix

Any breed of dog can bite.

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. Cats also. Cats will suddenly decide they need to bite your head off. Just a part of having animals

with teeth

[DS1]

27. We need to make babies helmeted at all times, with rocket packs and retractable skis

[MineralMan]

35. I'm thinking more like one of those gerbil balls...

sized up to fit the toddler. Then they could roll all over the place and not get bitten by dogs and other mammals.

[Cali_Democrat]

29. My family had a Cocker Spaniel when I was about 8

Before we gave it away it had bitten my brother and sister and killed 3 birds.

The people we got the dog from didn't train it very well as it would snap and bark all the time.

It was not a puppy when we had it. That was a nasty little dog with a vicious temper.

[Mari333]

30. 2 year olds can be real stinkers, and around the wrong dog

it can be dangerous. My 1 1/2 yr old grandson has learned to cuddle with his dogs (English mastiff and bulldog) and they cuddle back..but when I bring my little mixed terrier to visit, he tries to grab the dog around the neck and my terrier growls..my dog has never ever bit anyone, but hes not used to grabby babies..so I just keep those 2 apart until grandson reaches the age where he is less like a wild toddling monkey and more civilized.

[PeaceNikki]

34. BAN THEM!!!

Oh, wait... I thought this was a pit bull thread.

Carry on,

[suston96]

36. Children torment dogs....then the dogs snap back.....

I had a cocker spaniel that snapped at the next door neighbors kids. Their mother came over and said: your dog better stop snapping at my kids.

I replied: your kids better stop trying to mount my dog and ride her like a horse.

Never had another problem with the neighbor's kids or the mother.

[vaberella]

56. FINALLY someone speaking sense. I see a lot of posts about the Dog. It's the KID.

That's a two year old. She's going to poke the dog, she's pulling on them especially the tails. The Dog is going to strike back. It's not the dogs fault.

[uppityperson]

61. You miss background on several of the posts. They are mocking the

"omg pit bulls are a Dangerous Breed (since they are the ones who get in the news when they bite)" people.

And, as you wrote to me above "But you don't know what the kid was doing." It might be the dog's fault, if unprovoked.

[vaberella]

65. Obviously...now people need a history book on the GD thread before participating.

I'll put that on my things to get list for the near future. Or my sections to stay away from in future list.

[uppityperson]

74. Excuse me for explaining. I thought you might like to understand more.

I guess I assumed wrong.

[vaberella]

76. Maybe I'm confusing the tone...in the first part. I understood your statement and just responded.

Did you want a thank you? Thank you. I just notice that I've needed this sort of manual for a few other threads some on DU, some not.

[Maru Kitteh]

71. Your experience illustrates very well what the problem often is - parents who suck.

Children who are brought up well and have adequate supervision do not torment animals.

LAZY parents and parents who believe that animals are merely dumb but amusing accoutrement will not teach their children that the animal companion that shares their home has feelings, gets hurt, gets scared, and deserves to be treated with the same kindness as everyone else.

[Donnachaidh]

38. WHERE were the parents?

You *don't* leave a toddler alone near ANY dog. Two year olds can be grabby and stupid, and drive even the most docile dog to distraction. Not ONE single mention of where the parents were?

Sorry -- I'm a dog owner AND a parent, and I made damned sure my kid wasn't left alone, or even got close to the dog with supervision, at times. I'm not one of those parents who think it is *cute* when their sloppy, screamy little rugrat pulls ears or skin. Or pops the dog in the head.

And I certainly wouldn't let a 2 year old try to *give kisses* to any dog.

[hamsterjill]

44. Thank you!

I feel the same way.

Pets are not babysitters. Children should be taught to respect animals. I realize this child is too young for this, but that's why the parents need to be supervising any interaction between the child and the dog AT ALL TIMES.

[Jennicut]

53. Totally agree. I had a rescued black lab who charged at my 4 year old

one day. I never left her alone with the dog. My husband stopped the dog from attacking our daughter. We decided to bring the dog back to the rescue organization we adopted it from. The dog was abused by its previous owners and we could not trust it around our kids with its aggression issues.

[Control-Z]

39. My cocker went for my baby's throat

when she was just a crawler. I just happened to be there and threw the dog off before she could do any damage. We gave her to a nice home within days. No messing with babies and dogs.

[October]

48. Myotjer-in-law's cocker spaniel is nippy

She's alwUa going ok about how great this dog is, but my 11 and 18 year olde disagree. Not only is this dog
Hyper and nervous, but she hides and then goes for you. Yikes! Mom is oblivious! It's totally insane.

We have cats. Some are afraid of them, and I respect that.

My son has a healthy fear of dogs now - especially when owners (granotjers!) claim how wonderful their dogs are and well, they're not! Weird.

[bikebloke]

42. Encounter with one in Argentina.

Last Autumn, I went south on holiday. Stray dogs roam all over Argentina, and most are friendly and docile. I was walking along a road, and a couple dogs approached. Suddenly, the spaniel started barking and lunging at me. The other dog hung back. So I did the trick of reaching down for a rock (never had to throw one) and it ran off a bit, but kept up the harangue. The other zipped away. Finally, another dog I had stopped to pet earlier in the day, stood up and barked back in my defense until the spaniel ran off.

[foxfeet]

45. Cockers have long been known to have problems with aggression.

It even has a name; Cocker Rage Syndrome
More at:http://www.dogstuff.info/cocker_rage_syndrome.html

Although most cockers do not have the full-blown syndrome, milder forms of the disorder may turn up in individuals with the genes for it.

[Butch350]

46. Ah...the kid probaly had it comin

[anonymous171]

47. Ban them! nt

[crim son]

51. Our neighbor at the old house had a cocker spaniel, Sam.

Sam was cute, but mean as hell when he encountered you on YOUR OWN property.

I feel badly for the family. Nobody expects this to happen.

[SoCalDem]

52. Dogs WILL bite small children.. any breed..any child

SMALL CHILDREN MUST ALWAYS BE SUPERVISED WHEN AROUND FAMILY DOGS...and CATS..

Animals are REACTIVE.. child pulld dogs hair/..dog lashes out.. small children are close to the same size, so they get bit on faces & hands..Where is the surprise here?..

If you have a "nippy dog" (like many, if not most small dogs) and you have a toddler, you may just have to find a new home for the dog & wait until the children are older to get another pet..

Children have an unstoppable urge to "hug" or pick up small pets (we give them stuffed animals to play with) and most small pets fear this..especially when they get dropped accidentally or picked up in a way that it hurts..

It's not rocket science..

[TBF]

70. Exactly right. Happened to our family recently. Tried to adopt a puppy

but our 23 month old was just too crazy around it. I didn't want the beautiful great dane puppy to hurt him by accident (and I know full well it would be my toddler accidentally provoking her) so I found her a home with other dogs and no small children. Our kids were fine with our old lab (passed away last year), but she was very old. A puppy is a very different thing and you can never leave them unsupervised (the puppies or the toddlers).

So sad that some adults just never figure this out.

[PopSixSquish]

54. My Dear Departed Cocker Spaniel

Bit a friend of mine when the friend grabbed the dog's toy away in order to throw it. Another time, I was holding him in my arms and my date went to pet him and the sound that came from the dog could have come from the bowels of hell...

They are devoted to their humans and very, very protective. My little fella could be quite fierce and intimidating, that is if you didn't fall over laughing first...

With regard to children, I've always thought that a dog considers a small child another member of the pack and as such is to be put in their place if they (the child) gets "out of line".

[rollingrock]

55. Any dog larger than a terrier can be dangerous,

regardless of breed. all canines have strong jaws that are designed to tear into flesh and bone, are territorial animals, and if provoked or what the dog perceives to be a provocation will sometimes use those powerful jaws either in defense or attack. and some breeds by their nature are more aggressive and prone to more readily attack than others (rottweilers, presa canarios, dobermans, pit bulls, etc).

[QueenOfCalifornia]

58. Cocker Spaniels

are known biters. (I trained dogs for many years)

Any dog can be dangerous. Was the toddler killed? Nope.

I have taught my kids how to treat animals. Too bad more dumb ass people do not do the same.

[WillieW]

60. What was the kid doing to the dog? And where were the parents?

Cocker Spaniels do not attack for no reason. The kid probably didn't know any better and hit the dog.

[alfredo]

62. Take it from an ex mailman, Cockers are bat shit crazy and will bite. At

one time they were responsible for the most bites in the US. Cockers were the only dogs where I had to use physical force to protect myself. My route was in a crime ridden area, so there were a lot of Pit Bulls and Rottweillers. Some were friendly, some not. There were three Cockers on my route, none of them were friendly. Two of them I had to fight off to keep from being bitten. The third one was behind a fence.

[ShortnFiery]

63. Any parent who leaves children under 10 y.o. unsupervised around ANY canine is BAT SHIT CRAZY.

The responsibility lies with the dumb-assed adult dog owners, not the animal/breed itself. :thumbsdown:

[alfredo]

69. True. Dogs reflect their owners.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

66. in other news...

toddler NOT torn to shreds and found spread all over the backyard in this attack...

[BlooInBloo]

72. I wonder where Cocker Spaniels are on the list of most common dog attacks?

[FourScore]

77. I was bitten in the face when I was two by a cocker spaniel.

I was rushed to emergency and got stitches. The scar completely faded away by the time I was an adult, but I still carry an unnecessary fear of dogs. Everytime my children want to play with a dog, I have to suppress this absolute terror that grips me.

[DemBones DemBones]

79. I was bitten in the throat by a collie when I was 2.

It was a gentle dog and knew me, nobody understood why she snapped at me. It wasn't a bad bite but because it was in my throat and I was so small, they gave me rabies shots while the dog was held for observation. I hope this child doesn't have to go through that, though it beats getting rabies.

Added on Edit: My parents and I were at the neighbor's house when the collie bit me, to answer questions about parental supervision.

I've never been afraid of dogs but it took me many years to get over my fear of needles. :scared:

[MedleyMisty]

80. Glad they're not killing the dog

[TwilightGardener]

81. One of the nuttiest, most neurotic dogs I knew was a friend's cocker spaniel, back

when I was in high school. I'd go over her house, and the dog would just piss all over me as a greeting--I assume that was submissive urination (I had a dog who used to do this sometimes), but the spaniel didn't act submissive while pissing--it was IN MY FACE! They were really overbred and effed up as a fad in the 70's and 80's, I think. Maybe being less popular now means that breeders can get the bad traits bred back out. I still don't care for them. If I had to pick a spaniel as a pet, I'd go English Springer.