A baby's first
birthday party turned tragic when he was killed by the family's dog
during the celebration.The Las Vegas Sun reports that the 120-pound
Mastiff/Rhodesian mix had never displayed any previous signs of
aggression toward people, according to the family who lives in
Henderson, Nev.
The baby crawled
over to the dog to pet him, the police reported. The Daily Mail writes
that Chris Shahan, the baby's father, believes his son tried to grab the
dog’s fur to stand up when the dog reacted.
From the Sun:
The dog ... latched his jaws around the boy's head and began shaking
him, police said.
The grandmother
attempted to pull the boy from the dog while other family members rushed
to help, police said.
Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Shahan said, "I got the dog off the
baby ... I tried to save my baby."
According to the reporter in the My News 3 KSNV video below, Shahan
"wants to be clear that this was an accident, not some kind of vicious
attack."
According to
KLAS-TV, the dog will be observed for rabies, and will then be
euthanized.
News of the baby's tragic death comes just a few days after the
Associated Press reported on a two-month old who was killed and
dismembered by a dog in South Carolina.
