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Boy, 5, nearly loses ear after new dog bites him
By Carole Cloudwalker


This document was published online on Friday, January 02, 2009

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Hayden West plays with his dad’s 7-year-old Labrador “Paige” after he was attacked by a different dog on Christmas Day. The youngster had to have more than 50 stitches on the left side of his face and left ear. (Photo by Sara Loven)

On Christmas Day Hayden West, 5, was sitting on the floor by his twin brother and the family’s newly adopted dog, setting up a checkers game, when a quiet moment turned ugly.

The dog “ a black and white male mixed breed that was half-Labrador and either half pit bull or half boxer “ apparently jumped up from his nap and attacked Hayden, narrowly missing his left eye and tearing part of his left ear.

By the time Anjie McCreery, the girlfriend of Hayden’s father, Jeremy West, reached the scene, young Hayden “was standing on the couch screaming that the dog bit him,” McCreery said.

She saw the little boy dripping blood, with bite marks on the left side of his face and his left ear dangling.

The dog, “Buddy,” had retreated to a spot near a bedroom door.

“I’m not sure what happened,” said McCreery, who is a CNA at West Park Hospital. “Buddy was lying on the floor by Hayden’s twin, sleeping. Then I heard screaming.”

Buddy, whose age is estimated at 2-3 years old, was new to the household, having been adopted about two weeks before Christmas.

“He was good, but he was getting protective of the family,” McCreery says. “But he was awesome and we took him everywhere with us.”

The dog has since been euthanized and sent to the state veterinarian’s laboratory, where professionals checked for the presence of rabies.

Oakes said Wednesday she received word from the state vet that the dog had tested negative for rabies.

The only problem McCreery noticed with Buddy was that until the dog got to know a stranger, “he’d stand between him and the kids ... but he was really good with all the kids.”

The household at times includes a total of six children, including Anjie’s and Jeremy’s. Four of the children were taken to the sanctuary to meet Buddy before he came into their home, McCreery said.

The large family may have been part of the problem, according to Nancy Oakes, founder of the Loving Hearts Animal Sanctuary through which Buddy was adopted by McCreery.

She said though the shelter always does a home inspection before allowing a dog to be adopted, she only had met McCreery and one child, not the entire group.

“We need to know if it’s a good fit,” Oakes said.

She added that if there was anything that could have been done differently, it would have been to make sure everyone who would be in contact with the dog would be known to the sanctuary, so a sound decision could be made about whether or not to allow an adoption.

Oakes said this situation is “our worst nightmare “ we never want anyone to be injured,” she added. “But I don’t think anybody could have done anything differently” in this case.

McCreery and West hold no grudge against anything done by the sanctuary.

McCreery said Oakes “presented the dog to us as a good family dog,” which they thought was true until the attack occurred.

In addition, Oakes “came to see if our house was good enough for her dog,” said McCreery, whose son Jacob, 9, volunteers at the sanctuary by reading to the cats and sometimes assisting with the dogs, a task he hopes to continue.

“This is all becoming a weird deal,” McCreery said. “Any animal is unpredictable” and therefore the attack is understandable and not anyone’s particular fault, she added.

Meanwhile, Hayden “is not hurting and says he has forgotten what happened during the attack,” McCreery said.

The boy spent about two hours at West Park Hospital and received more than 50 stitches, which are scheduled to be removed New Year’s Day.

The family has incurred medical expenses exceeding $3,000 plus $50 for having the dog euthanized, all of which McCreery hopes will be paid by Oakes’ organization.

She said Hayden is “tough,” but still was lucky, since one bite came within about one-half inch of his left eye.

If his luck holds, his ear will heal completely.

“If everything goes right, he won’t have to have anything else done to him except to have his stitches removed,” McCreery said.

“This was some Christmas for him,” she added.

Oakes fears the incident will wrongly discourage people from adopting pets.

“When you go to adopt an animal, let the adoptive agency know who’s going to be in contact with the animal,” she added.

(Carole Cloudwalker can be reached at carole@codyenterprise.com.)
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Reader Comments

Leigh wrote on Jan 9, 2009 8:10 PM:

" This is worth reading.
http://www.dogsbite.org/dangerous-dogs-pitbull-owners.htm "

butchandlisa wrote on Jan 6, 2009 7:36 PM:

" I would also like to add that this was the first time that my children were with this dog in their father's house and that they had only met him once before at the sanctuary. They played with the dog at the sancturay and the dog was very friendly to them. The comment that was stated earlier about children needing to understand how to behave, but they were not even given a chance to bond with the dog at their father's house before the attack. "

butchandlisa wrote on Jan 6, 2009 7:26 PM:

" I would like to explain the boys and the dog situation. I am the mother of Hayden. Whether the dog is a pitbull or lab or any other kind of dog, this should not happened. Hayden and his two brothers were only at thier father's house a couple of hours before this happened. Hayden is a very quiet and shy child and would never harm any dog. If the dog was a "family dog" as the sancturay said, then the dog should have not attacked Hayden no matter what. I have two dogs at home and one is a puppy and I have never seen him do any harm to the dogs. This was a freak accident and my child is not to blame. The dog was not a family dog as Hayden's father and his girlfriend were told. "

Eliza wrote on Jan 4, 2009 2:15 PM:

" Not all pitbulls should be shot. I have seen several pitbulls and to be honest they are friendly dogs once you get to know them. I have also seen fighting pits and those are the ones that should be kept at a place like Dogtown and rehabbed.
There are people out there who love dogs, the ones that are broken and have been betrayed by humans.
A dogs training is the MOST important aspect of a dogs life.
I have a feeling that there is something missing with this story. I have not known many animals to do something like that unless they were startled or someone accidently stepped on their foot or tail.
Accidents do happen, so lets hope that these parents will be bit more vigilant with their children - and get to obedience classes too. "

Ruggie wrote on Jan 3, 2009 7:28 PM:

" I've raised labs and pitbulls and never had a problem with them attacking anybody. people need to teach there children not to make fast movments around any dog and adopting any animal from any shelter you should use caution for you dont know what type of life its had in the past. As far as shooting and animal any body who thinks that should get nthe same treatment. That's cruel and inhumane! "

boxersrcool wrote on Jan 2, 2009 1:10 PM:

" I agree with "old grouch," something is missing from this story. Children need to be taught how to behave around animals- not shop around until you find an abuse proof dog. Children like to poke, get in the dogs face, pull, pinch and tug and although a good dog will tolerate all such nonsense, it should not be allowed by the adults in the household. "

Melissa wrote on Jan 2, 2009 12:10 PM:

" Of course it's not the boys fault, and it's horrible what happened, but some dogs will bite if you startle them while sleeping. Occasionally I test my dog for that, if I bump my dog while he's sleeping, he just rolls over on his back. "

jmg wrote on Jan 2, 2009 10:31 AM:

" Flintknapper sounds like he should be shot on sight.! "

old grouch wrote on Jan 2, 2009 8:50 AM:

" Something is missing from this story. No dog jumps up from a sound sleep and simply attacks a child. "

concernedcitizen wrote on Jan 1, 2009 4:15 PM:

" This is what happens when "good intentioned" people open so called "humane societies" to save all the dogs. To the best of my knowledge, these shelters do not properly screen these dogs. There are superb courses for temperment testing! Many seem to blame people instead of the dog but blame should lie with both. Once a dog comes to a shelter, if the dog has ever acted aggressive in any manner it should be euthanized. It's a difficult decision but a right one not only protecting children & other citizens but decreases the possiblity of the aggressive dog living in a kennel or on a chain for the rest of its life. For the record, I own a rescued Pitbull and she's a lover but I know what I own. And don't assume it's the Pitbull that is going to attack...it just may be your Lab or Retriever that's a little possessive. Oh, should't we now require that all of the shelters in Park County require temperment testing and if the pet doesn't pass it be euthanized. This isn't the first bite from an adopted dog, just the most horrific in our area! "

AmandaC wrote on Jan 1, 2009 1:26 PM:

" I beg to differ!!11 All pitbulls should NOT BE SHOT PERIOD!!!! How can you say something like that? They have a heart also and are just like any other animal-I have threee pitbulls and six children all different ages-and never have any of the three pitbull's attacked my kids or there friends for that matter! IT IS HOW YOU RAISE THEM that causes them to react to certain things...just like with any other animal! "

Peggy Snyder wrote on Jan 1, 2009 1:20 PM:

" Even a good, loving dog can have nightmares and become confused. You should never leave children next to a sleeping animal. How unfortunate and sad for all of them, but it's wonderful that people will open their homes and arms to a dog that needs love. "

suhlig wrote on Jan 1, 2009 9:36 AM:

" Pitbulls are not the angry, mean dogs everyone thinks they are.. the way in which they are treated can makes ANY dog vicious.
sound like this dog just woke up and forgot where he was, was startled and lashed out. "

FFAgirl wrote on Jan 1, 2009 12:40 AM:

" I know this boy he is very nice and i can not belive that something would happen to him. I know him because he rides my bus. "

doglover wrote on Dec 31, 2008 9:16 PM:

" It is not the animal, but how you as a human and the master, choose to raise the animal, that causes incidents like this. We don't know how this animal was raised, where it came from a shelter. Properly raised pitbulls are very friendly. Don't knock the breed just because of one dog. There are some unfriendly labs also, so should they all be shot as well??? "

Pearl Williams wrote on Dec 31, 2008 8:14 PM:

" Sometimes kids cause dogs to bite as they startle them or tease them. I have found 96% of the time a kid has done something to the animal to cause their own trouble. "

flintknapper wrote on Dec 31, 2008 5:52 PM:

" All pit bulls should be shot on sight. Period. "

 

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