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More detailed story on baby AJ & Dakota

I saw this article on the archives on ABCnews.com today. It's a much more detailed story involving the newborn baby AJ who was taken from the home by their family dog and was a featured news story on zootoo. I've attached the story, along with the Good Morning America interview, but in case it doesn't work, you can access it by googling "family dog drags baby from crib." Once again, I think the lesson learned is to never leave an animal, even a beloved pet, alone with a baby.

68.71.208.15/GMA/story?id=8145058&page=1

Family Dog Drags Baby From Crib
Newborn's Father Says There's 'No Way' Dog Will Come Home
By GITIKA AHUJA and SARAH NETTER
July 22, 2009

A Kentucky couple, excited about bringing home a new baby boy, are still reeling from their premature newborn's life-threatening injuries suffered after the family's beloved dog dragged him from his crib.

AJ had been home for less than 24 hours Monday when his parents, Michael and Chrissie Smith, went to check on him and found his crib empty.

Frantically, they searched the house and surrounding woods, calling 911 when they couldn't find him. Ten minutes later, Michael Smith found the family's dog, Dakota, with AJ in her mouth.

"We were downstairs for two minutes," Smith told "Good Morning America" today. "And my wife had an instinct. She just went upstairs."

Baby AJ is now at the hospital in critical condition. Born three weeks early, he suffered a cracked skull, broken ribs and two punctured lungs when Dakota took him from his crib.

"The priority is rest and just keep getting the meds in him," Smith said, adding that his son is as stable as he has been since the incident.

When the family first got to the hospital, it was a much different atmosphere.

"They took us to a consulting room with a pastor and gave us one more chance to see him," Smith said. "That was hard. I had a really, really, really, really, really bad feeling coming up to the hospital."

Smith said AJ's heart stopped at the hospital and emergency room attendants had to use tiny paddles to resuscitate him.

"When the doctor comes in and the doctor's pretty much crying, you know, you think the worst," Smith said. "But then, you just fight through it. He's a fighter. He's fought the whole way."

The family has had Dakota, a mixed breed Native American Indian dog, for four years. Smith said he completely trusted her and she was part of the Nicholasville family.

Did Fear Prompt Dog to Take Baby From Crib?

Smith said his family believes Dakota thought AJ was a doll and wanted to play with it. But experts say fear is one of the biggest reasons a pet may turn on a new baby.

"A baby could be something that a dog fears," Dr. Kat Miller of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said. "It feels trapped, it feels cornered, it could possibly try to drive the baby with aggression."

It's a kind of aggression that has been seen in headlines before -- an 8-month-old boy was killed in his New York apartment by the family Doberman. And, in San Francisco, a 9-month-old was bitten in the face and neck by the family's boxer.

Although Dakota is no longer with the family, Smith isn't calling what happened to his son an "attack."

"That wasn't the case," he said. "It was more of a snatch and grab. It was like, 'Here's my toy.'"

"I don't feel angry at the dog," he said, "But there's no way that dog could ever come back in my house."

He called Dakota "mild-mannered." The family's other dogs, including a black Labrador retriever, will remain in the house.

Dakota is at a shelter and no decision has been made about whether to euthanize the dog, according to a local newspaper.

Experts said these kinds of incidents can be prevented by keeping a close eye on both the dog and the baby and helping the dog accept the arrival of a new baby by familiarizing the dog with the sounds and smells of an infant.

"Dogs and cats, no matter how friendly and social they are, still have big teeth," Miller said. "Keep your baby safe by separating completely your dog and your baby when you are not immediately there to supervise."

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8 comments found.
MaxxieBrown
Posted by MaxxieBrown
1 month ago
I don't care how friendly a dog is. They should never be left alone with an infant. That it just plain neglectful on the parents part. Pets have feelings and I think it is more jealously rather than fear that causes a dog to do such a thing.

I hope Dakota finds a home.

kavykeeper
Posted by kavykeeper
1 month ago
I think the original speculation was that the mother said the door was closed. This story (and the father's comments) say nothing about the door even being closed. I find it odd that they would let the dogs have the run of the house. I agree that a dog should never be let with small children unsupervised.

Debby
Posted by Debby (zennla)
1 month ago
oh I thought this was an update.. I hope they found the dog a home.. but since we haven't heard anything about it since.. I am guessing Dakota's outcome wasn't so happy

kavykeeper
Posted by kavykeeper
1 month ago
It sounds like Dakota was a wonderful pet and a friendly dog. It's just a good example of why babies and animals need to be supervised together. It was an awful accident, but it could have been avoided.

MICHELLE G.
Posted by MICHELLE G. (CHELLEO543)
1 month ago
The sooner they place the dog the better. Its not helping that Dakota is in a shelter. Like I said when the story was first out not allowing the pets to be alone with the baby would of avoided this terrible accident. I sure hope the baby is fine.

kavykeeper
Posted by kavykeeper
1 month ago
I would love to read an update to see how AJ and Dakota are doing.

daryl b.
Posted by daryl b. (darylob)
1 month ago
this story when i heard it brought tears to my eyes. we can only guess what the dog was thinking but in my heart i want to think he thought it was a doll. i hope they try to find a home for him with now children instead of killing him

kavykeeper
Posted by kavykeeper
1 month ago
daryl, I agree 100%. I tried to find a recent update, but the last I saw was that they were optimistic about finding a new home for Dakota.

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