A child of McCormick County South Carolina was mauled and killed in a dog bite attack caused by a Japanese Akita on Saturday according to the McCormick County Sheriff’s department. The dog was purchased just 3 short weeks ago by the grandfather as a gift to his grandchildren. The animal was meant to be a family pet.
Nine year old Kristen Lee Dutton was alone outside when the attack occurred. Her brother saw her lying in the sand and alerted the grandfather. Little Kristen suffered puncture wounds to her neck and was pronounced dead at a local hospital in McCormick South Carolina.
The dog was picked up on Monday by authorities. The animal was put to death and tested for rabies, said Crawford-Rivers. The picture shown below is an image of a 98 pound Akita.
The Japanese Akita was originally developed as a guard dog, then as a hunting dog and finally as a police dog. Today the dog is used as a family dog and a companion. While this dog is used as a family dog, there are precautions experts advise. This dog requires a lot of attention and cannot be ignored otherwise they will become resentful and even problematic with children. The article goes on to say that the dog should always be supervised around small animals and children.
In a related story a 2 year old toddler in the UK was left scarred for life after the family dog; a Japanese Akita attacked the child in their home in January 2011.
It is important that before purchasing a new family dog that you research the breed and how they will react around children and other pets.
For information on protecting children from dog attacks, click here.
