Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
LWASHINGTON – (WMAL) The close-knit community of Lusby, Maryland in Calvert County is mourning the loss of an 8-month-old baby who was mauled to death by its family’s dog Thursday afternoon.
“This is one of the worst tragedies that our community has suffered in such a long time. It’s almost unspeakable,” said Calvert County Commissioner Tom Hejl at a press conference Friday afternoon.
A babysitter was in the home on Prancer Court with the child and the pit bull when the dog attacked unprovoked. The woman tried to intervene. When her efforts were unsuccessful, she called the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office for help.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home one minute after getting the call, and shot the dog to stop the attack. Unfortunately, it was too late. The baby was already dead.
“They’re distraught because they felt helpless after that matter. They could see right away that the baby was beyond any medical attention,” said Sheriff Mike Evans.
The deputies were so traumatized that they spoke to counselors about what they saw.
The babysitter was treated for minor injuries.
The sheriff said this is there is no evidence the dog was ever violent in the past. Evans estimated the companion animal was between 6 and 8-years-old, and the family, who asked not to be identified, had the dog since it was a puppy.
Nobody will face any charges in connection with this incident.
Hejl stirred up the controversial debate over whether pit bulls are inherently dangerous or whether their behavior is dependent on training. He believes the former is true given that the attack was unprovoked. He hoped this incident would spur state legislators to pass restrictions on the animals.
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