Five-week-old baby killed by staff after dog ripped boy from mother's arms

A mother who woke up to find her five-week-old son ripped from her arms and killed by the family's American Staffordshire terrier shouted to her husband: “The dog has the baby.”

The harrowing scene was told on Monday at the NSW Coroner's Court in Sydney's west, where an inquest is being held into seven fatal dog attacks that occurred between 2019 and 2021.

Coroner Carmel Forbes is investigating the circumstances of the attacks, including the breeds of animals involved, as well as the responses of councils and regulators to such incidents.

The first death under consideration resulted from an attack on a five-week-old boy in regional NSW in 2021.

Court orders prohibit the publication of the victim's name or any information that could identify his parents.

Counsel assisting the coroner, David Kell SC, told the court that the baby's father had owned a six-year-old dog which he believed to be an American Staffordshire terrier.

He had purchased the dog as a puppy for $500 in June 2015, after it was advertised as one of a litter of seven of that breed.

The dog was microchipped and registered as an American Staffordshire terrier, but the court heard there were suggestions it was at least partly an American pit bull.

In June 2021, five weeks before the boy was killed, the dog was responsible for the death of a cocker spaniel on a neighboring property.

There were no witnesses to that incident, but Dr. Kell said a ranger who responded to the attack suspected the staff had pulled the cocker spaniel through a hole in a fence and killed him in the backyard.

The ranger also believed the staff may have been a pit bull or pit bull cross, based on its yellow eyes, liver-colored nose and white tips on its paws.

The parents, who were considered “great tenants” by their landlord, were not home at the time because the mother had given birth to their first child just days earlier.

The light brown dog, who slept in the family's bedroom, had no previous record of attacking other animals or people.

The council ranger told the court the mother's mother had described the pet as 'a human dog'.

“I thought that meant he wasn't good with other dogs,” she said.

Based on suspicions that the Stafford was at least part pit bull, the owner received a notice to declare him a restricted dog.

Such a declaration would require the dog to be kept in a secure enclosure and muzzled on a leash, chain or cord when outside that cage.

The owner was given 28 days to prove the animal was not a restricted breed and was given a two-week extension after the birth of the cubs.

Five weeks after the cocker spaniel's death, mother and father were watching football and listening to music at home.

The father fell asleep in the lounge and the exhausted young mother fell asleep in a rocking chair while holding the baby in her arms.

The father later told police he woke up to find his partner in tears and shouting, “The dog has the baby.”

[‘She’s] woke up and realized the baby wasn't there,” he said. “She walked in and found the baby on the floor in the nursery.”

The mother had said to the father: 'Call the ambulance, call the ambulance'.

Paramedics arrived but were unable to revive the boy, who had suffered multiple stab wounds.

Police saw the dog in the backyard with blood on its snout. It appeared that the dog had grabbed the baby from the seat.

When asked if the family had ever had any problems with the dog, the mother told police she had been “on edge” since bringing her newborn son home from the hospital.

“I don't trust the dog around him,” she said.

The dog was euthanized and the boy's cause of death was determined to be chest trauma, consistent with a dog attack.

A death certificate for the dog stated it was a pit bull, but that was changed to American Staffordshire terrier the next day after information was received from the council.

The ranger told the court she had not considered confiscating the dog after it killed the cocker spaniel.

“I didn't have to deal with irresponsible dog owners,” she said.

The ranger also said she had seen little difference between American Staffordshire terriers and pit bulls in their propensity to attack, or the severity of the injuries they could inflict.

Ms Forbes will explore issues including how the breed of dogs is determined and how that affects restrictions on their ownership.

Dr. Kell emphasized that the purpose of the investigation was not to determine legal liability for the deaths, but to prevent further similar tragedies from happening.

NSW legislation did not define how a pit bull was to be distinguished from similar dogs, while Victoria had established the physical characteristics of pit bulls.

He said questions would arise about identifying whether a dog belonged to a restricted breed

The investigation continues.