Family Dog Kills 3-Week-Old Baby in Georgia Home

A 3-week-old baby has died after being bitten on the head by a husky mix dog in a family home in Georgia.

According to local reports, the baby—who has not been named by authorities—was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The infant died in the hospital.

“The incident occurred inside the home, in a bedroom where the infant was resting, according to initial information gathered by deputies on the scene,” Hall County Sheriff’s Office 1st Lt. Chris Dale wrote in a news release, reported the Gainsville Times.

The child died at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, according to local fire officials.

“Hall County Animal Control and Enforcement also responded and took custody of the dog, which belonged to the family at the residence,” Dale said.

According to Now Habersham, the dog had bitten the child on the head in the family home on Gillsville Highway.

So far no charges have been filed, according to WSBTV, which reported that officials said the dog was a husky mix.

Husky Attack Statistics

Huskies were responsible for 3 percent of fatal dog attacks, according to statistics (pdf) covering the 13-year period between 2005 and 2017.

That puts them seventh on the list, but far behind the 76 percent of fatalities caused by pit bulls and Rottweilers alone.

Those statistics alone, however, do not tell the whole story about exactly how dangerous any given breed is, since they do not account for the total number of dogs of each bread.

In other words, if certain breeds are more popular, it will push up the number of attacks.

In the United States, around 30 to 40 people die each year from dog attack injuries, according to Richard Polsky, an animal behavior and dog-bite expert in Los Angeles. Polsky told Live Science that there an estimated 100,000 are injured badly enough to require plastic surgery or extensive suturing.

Husky attack victims tend to be younger than average.

“Of the 13 fatal attacks inflicted by huskies, 62 percent (8 of 13) were infants less than 11 months old and 92 percent (12) were over 5 years old,” according to DogsBite.org.

By comparison, overall fatality figures for dog attacks in 2017 show that just 38 percent (15) of victims were 8 years old and younger.

Earlier this year, a husky bit off the hand of a 4-year-old when he put his arm under a chain-link fence.

According to Salt Lake City station KUTV, the unnamed boy was playing in his backyard when he approached a fence that separated his yard from a neighbor who had two huskies.

The boy had stuck his hand through the fence when one of the animals bit him in the mid-forearm. The boy apparently lost his arm and hand in the attack.

The boy had a sock on his arm, according to Jessica Nusz, who describes herself as a best friend of the owners.

Nusz set up an online petition, hoping to stop the dog, called Bear, from being put down.

“Bear … was playing with what he thought was a toy,” she wrote on the petition page.

“He bit down too hard and didn’t see that there was a child on the other side of the fence.”

Authorities decided not to euthanize the dog, but he will spend the rest of his life in a sanctuary, reported KUTV.

DogsBite.org says that “each day, about 1,000 U.S. citizens require emergency care treatment for serious dog bite injuries. Annually, about 9,500 citizens are hospitalized due to dog bite injuries.”

In a 13-year analysis, the website says that of 433 fatal dog attacks in the United States, pit bulls contributed to 66 percent or 284 deaths.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.