Russian grandmother kills self after dogs maul baby to death

[News_Editor]

Russian grandmother kills self after dogs maul baby to death

2011-10-03 10:21:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEZHDURECHENSK, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- A grandmother committed suicide in southern Russia on Saturday after two dogs mauled a one-year-old baby to death, local media reported on Monday.

The tragedy happened on Saturday at a home in Mezhdurechensk, a city in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast, when a one-year-old baby boy was left alone at a home. He is believed to have walked or crawled to a room where two dogs, a Staffordshire terrier and a pitbull, were kept.

The Russian ITAR-TASS news agency, citing police, reported that the boy's grandmother committed suicide after she found the lifeless body. It was not immediately known if the boy was in the care of the grandmother or how long and why he was left alone.

Governor Aman Tuleyev has taken personal control of the investigation and questioned whether certain dogs should be banned. "This country has seen of late a wave of accidents in which dogs attacked people and such situations are especially appalling when small kids are victimized," the governor said.

He added: "There is a need for revising the legislation on the management of dogs of the fighting breeds. We must tighten the responsibility of dog owners whose pets attack people and even introduce criminal punishments for this."

Tuleyev noted that fighter dogs are banned in a number of countries around the world and questioned why this is not being done in Russia. "We have a ban on selling and possessing guns, and fighter dogs are in no way different from weaponry," he explained. "To keep a dog of this kind at home an owner should obtain special permission and pass serious checks."

It is unknown how many people die every year worldwide as a result of dog attacks. The website Dog Bite Law reports 34 people died of dog attacks in the United States alone last year. It said more than 1,000 Americans are treated every day as a result of dog bites.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-03