A puppy chewed off four of a baby girl’s toes next to her sleeping parents, who were then booked on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence, police said.
Mary Shannon Hansche (22) and Christopher Wayne Hansche (26), of Bossier City, Louisiana, told police they woke to the baby’s cries, found her mangled foot and took her to the hospital early on Sunday.
Police said on Monday that they were sleeping on a mattress and that the month-old girl was in an infant seat beside them when the six-week-old pit-bull terrier began chewing on her toes.
”They did not see the dog injuring the child,” police spokesperson Mark Natale said.
The puppy might have been trying to nurse on the toes of the baby, a veterinarian speculated. ”I know that sounds a little far-fetched, but that’s the first thing that comes to my mind,” Michael Dale said.
The girl underwent surgery on Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana. There was no way to reattach her toes, Natale said.
The puppy has no record of receiving shots and has been quarantined for 10 days while it is checked for rabies. Natale said he did not know what the animal’s fate would be after that.
The child will be placed in a foster home until the case against her parents is settled, officials said. — Sapa-AP