Puppy Kills Baby Boy

TULSA, OK -- A baby boy was mauled by a dog on Monday morning in south Tulsa.  Police say it happened while the parents left the child in a baby swing unattended inside their home.  The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports they believe the dog was just a puppy.

Tulsa Police have a lot of questions yet to be answered about what happened, but they believe a 6-week-old black lab bit the baby numerous times.  It was unclear how long the baby had been dead when an ambulance was called Monday morning, said police.

A family member made the 911 call at 10:19 Monday morning.  When paramedics arrived, the eight and a half-week-old little boy was dead.  A forensic examination of the body is pending, but Tulsa Police say it was obvious the baby boy was mauled by a dog.

"Let's just say it was apparent the wounds came from the dog, and we don't know what caused the death of the child, but at this point it appears to be dog bites," said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham.

Animal Control officers removed a small pug from the home, but police believe it was a 6-week-old black lab puppy which killed the baby.

The child's father was consoled by neighbors who gathered at the scene.  The child's 17-year-old mother was visibly distraught.  She was taken by ambulance to Saint Francis hospital to be checked out.

"The parents were home.  There were several people home, three people at the time of the incident, obviously that's part of the investigation to determine how this tragic event unfolded," said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham.

Police are not sure how the baby was killed without the parents realizing it was happening.  Police say the child was unattended in a baby swing for an undetermined amount of time.  They were questioning the child's grandmother, who was also in the home.

The first responders were shaken by the scene.

EMSA relieved both the paramedics who responded and the dispatcher who took the call for a stress debriefing.

"All the investigators and firefighters, the paramedics, many of us have children of our own, so when you see something like this occur, that was a defenseless child, it really strikes deep," said Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham.

The neighbors were shocked by the news.

"You never think of it happening in your yard or neighborhood," said Tulsan Heejin Davies.

"It's really sad," said neighbor Hod Johnson. "We have dogs of our own, always have.  We raised three boys of our own, and we have our grandchildren, and I can't imagine this happening to one of our children."

The black lab was taken to the Tulsa animal shelter for observation.

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