A family dog that was a wolf hybrid was euthanized Thursday after it mauled and killed a newborn.
According to NBC4’s sister station WJHL, the attack happened at the family’s home Wednesday morning. The police report says the parents of the 8-day-old baby girl heard her crying, and when they went into her bedroom, they found the dog standing over the bassinet.
“There was blood in the bassinet where the dog had attacked the child,” Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons told WJHL. “It was very serious injuries to the upper body and the head. The child had been seriously mauled by the animal.”
The baby was taken to an area hospital then transferred to University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville, where she passed away several hours later.
The dog was a 3-year-old wolf hybrid. Officials euthanized the dog on Thursday. The family has two other children and two other dogs.
Sheriff Parsons told WJHL the sheriff’s office is working with animal control and the Lee County Department of Social Services before presenting the case to the prosecutor to see if child endangerment charges are necessary.
“I’m concerned about whether the child was protected, so the tough part for me is who is in the right and who is in the wrong,” Parsons said. “And you hate to charge parents that are grieving over a child, but at the same time you have to consider the rights of the child.”
(Story from WCMH)