Family dog attacks baby 2 days in a row
CONCRETE, Wash. - A 9-month-old baby was attacked and severely bitten by the family dog in separate incidents on two consecutive days, and now deputies are recommending that charges be filed against the infant's grandmother.
But the grandmother disputes those charges, saying the dog had never shown such an angry side before.
Sheriff's deputies and medics initially responded to the home, in the 8000 block of Russell Road, on Aug. 2., said Will Reichardt, chief criminal deputy with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office.
There, they found 9-month-old Olivia DeZarn with multiple puncture wounds to the face, scalp and eye, along with a depressed skull fracture, where it had been bitten and chewed by the dog.
The infant was rushed to Children's Hospital for what investigators said was treatment of the life-threatening injuries by neurosurgeons, eye surgeons and plastic surgeons. The child was in pediatric intensive care until Monday evening, when the family said Olivia was released.
The grandmother, DeEtta DeZarn, said the 3-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback and Labrador mix named "Hercules" showed an angry side she's never seen before.
She said Olivia was crawling on the floor and probably got too close to the Hercules' food bowl and that could have aggravated him.
But detectives also discovered that the baby had been bitten by the same dog less then 24 hours earlier, and that the first injury had required stitches to reattach part of the infant's ear.
The family says Olivia's prognosis is good, and that the severity of her injuries has been overstated.
On Friday, detectives with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office referred a third-degree assault charge to the prosecutor's office for the baby's grandmother, a 46-year-old Concrete-area woman.
Hercules was confiscated and is currently under quarantine at a local veterinary office.
There was no previous history of problems with the dog, but Skagit County Animal Control is working on declaring the dog as dangerous following the attack on the infant.
But the grandmother disputes those charges, saying the dog had never shown such an angry side before.
Sheriff's deputies and medics initially responded to the home, in the 8000 block of Russell Road, on Aug. 2., said Will Reichardt, chief criminal deputy with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office.
There, they found 9-month-old Olivia DeZarn with multiple puncture wounds to the face, scalp and eye, along with a depressed skull fracture, where it had been bitten and chewed by the dog.
The infant was rushed to Children's Hospital for what investigators said was treatment of the life-threatening injuries by neurosurgeons, eye surgeons and plastic surgeons. The child was in pediatric intensive care until Monday evening, when the family said Olivia was released.
The grandmother, DeEtta DeZarn, said the 3-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback and Labrador mix named "Hercules" showed an angry side she's never seen before.
She said Olivia was crawling on the floor and probably got too close to the Hercules' food bowl and that could have aggravated him.
But detectives also discovered that the baby had been bitten by the same dog less then 24 hours earlier, and that the first injury had required stitches to reattach part of the infant's ear.
The family says Olivia's prognosis is good, and that the severity of her injuries has been overstated.
On Friday, detectives with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office referred a third-degree assault charge to the prosecutor's office for the baby's grandmother, a 46-year-old Concrete-area woman.
Hercules was confiscated and is currently under quarantine at a local veterinary office.
There was no previous history of problems with the dog, but Skagit County Animal Control is working on declaring the dog as dangerous following the attack on the infant.