Life 2-year-old mauled to death by wild dogs after falling into Pittsburgh Zoo exhibit - Page 19

Deberg_1990 · 11-05-2012, 09:18 AM

Wow...horrible. RIP

A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death today after falling into the African painted dog exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.

Pittsburgh police Major Crimes Lt. Kevin Kraus said the boy's 34-year-old mother placed the child in a standing position on a wooden railing overlooking the enclosure.

"Almost immediately after that he lost his balance, fell down off the railing into the actual pit and he was immediately attacked by 11 dogs," Lt. Kraus said.

The incident occurred at 11:48 a.m. at the Highland Park complex, according to an emergency dispatch supervisor. The zoo was shut down within a half-hour of the incident and will remain closed indefinitely.

Zoo President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Baker said at a news conference shortly after the incident that the child fell over the wooden railing and off of a mesh barrier where the painted dogs were on display. A zoo spokeswoman and police said the wooden railing is 4 feet in height and the lower mesh barrier is 11 feet 4 inches above the open exhibit space.

Lt. Kraus said zoo personnel responded within minutes. The first personnel on scene were able to lure seven of the dogs away from the victim and into a secure and separated area. A second set of personnel began "throwing objects and some other techniques that they use" to secure three more dogs.

He said the final dog, which was acting very aggressively toward the victim and zoo personnel, was shot multiple times by two Pittsburgh police officers and died.

Lt. Kraus said none of the people who observed the child fall into the enclosure made an attempt to go after him. The news release from zoo officials noted that keepers attempted to enter the yard but were unable to reach the child.

One ineffective technique used by zoo personnel to lure the animals away from the child was to fire "dummy tranquilizer rounds," Lt. Kraus said.

Information released from the zoo indicated that "unfortunately, the dogs were in pack mentality and not responding."

The child was pronounced dead at the scene 12 p.m.

The incident is under investigation by police and the zoo. Lt. Kraus said it would be inappropriate to speculate on potential charges at this time and the bureau will continue to investigate to determine if anything could have been prevented.

Police said the boy and his mother are from Pleasant Hills and were visiting the zoo with relatives, an adult and another child, at the time of the incident.

Ms. Cinti described a horrifying scene that lasted a little more than 5 minutes but seemed like hours.

"We were on our way to the polar bear exhibit when we heard the most horrible piercing screams. ... Someone was begging for help, asking someone to do something," she said. The couple ran back in the direction they came from, passing the bear exhibits. The screams continued.

As they reached the painted dog exhibit, she saw a small crowd of distressed onlookers. "One woman with a baby in the stroller was screaming that someone needed to do something," Ms. Cinti said. She said she could see the little boy's apparently lifeless body lying on the hill inside the exhibit. "There were three dogs: one at his head, one on the left side of his neck and another one down by his leg. ... A [zoo employee] got there and hopped over a fence with a rake and he was banging ... trying to distract the dogs but they wouldn't move," she said.

Ms. Cinti, a student at Community College of Allegheny County, tracked the time frame with her cell phone, saying she made a call at 11:49 a.m. when she and her boyfriend first headed toward the commotion. She said her cell phone shows that the call was ended five minutes and five seconds later, when a half-dozen zoo employees arrived and dispersed the crowd.

Bart DePasquale, who was at the zoo today with his two children for a birthday party, was near the tiger exhibit when he heard screams coming from the direction of the African painted dogs exhibit.

"People were yelling 'Get away,' and 'Stay away,' and it wasn't just one person, it was an entire group of people," said Mr. DePasquale, 29, of Fox Chapel. "The screams sounded heavily distressed and the people were using profanity. They were shouting to zoo employees."

Mr. DePasquale and Ms. Cinti said they were told to go inside the nearest buildings where they were kept there for about a half hour.

"We were locked down in the building and told to stay inside. ... We thought it was a problem with one of the animals that got loose. Then we were told it was an incident with the wild dogs and that a child had been hurt."

When patrons were told the zoo was closed and they needed to leave, Mr. DePasquale said, "On the way out, I saw a mother who was distressed and crying and other people who couldn't even talk about it. ... People and anyone who had been close were almost in tears, were walking out glassy-eyed. That's when multiple people told me the dogs attacked a young child."

Ms. Baker said the zoo initially declared a "code blue," meaning an accident involving a human had occurred. That was followed with a "code red," meaning that there was a serious human emergency.

Ms. Baker said no decision has been made about the future of the exhibit.

The African painted dog exhibit debuted after the October 2009 birth of the pups. A surrogate mutt was drafted into service for the nine pups after their natural mother died of a ruptured uterus. In the spring of this year, nine of the 11 painted dogs escaped a section of their enclosure causing a brief shutdown of the zoo.

Ms. Baker said at that time on May 5 that the dogs got into a 1.5-acre "backup yard" not visible to the public, but the dogs were not out of their exhibit.

African painted dogs are an endangered species.

In September, the zoo announced that it had again been accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums after a review of its animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety.

AZA is a nonprofit organization with a team of professionals that inspect and review each zoo or aquarium seeking accreditation. Currently 224 facilities have been recognized and approved by the organization, including eight in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh zoo has been recognized by AZA since 1986.The accreditation commission evaluates every zoo and aquarium to determine if they meet accepted standards for safety policies and procedures, security, physical facilities, animal management and care, health and nutrition, veterinary programs, involvement in conservation and research and education programs.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...#ixzz2BMUJWMyp

Pablo · 11-05-2012, 10:53 PM

He's right guys. If another child is dropped into the pen with these dogs they will kill again.

We better erase them and replace them with brand new, non murderous dogs. That way if a child falls in they'll all be like "oh shit, better not eat that kid since the last dogs that did that got put down".

Oh Snap · 11-05-2012, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Also, Wikipedia says their main meals are impalas and gazelles. Those things aren't fierce at all. It does say they hunt bigger game, like humans and zebra from time to time but their success rate isn't good. It says it takes a seriously coordinated effort in which the biggest male latches onto the nose while one hangs on the tail and the others try to dismember it.

I've seen videos of lions taking an hour to kill a wildebeest (they go for strangulation so it's a bit different, but still). If you could at least hurt a couple of them and make them think twice, you might be able to buy time for the trainers to get there.

Several years back I was watching animal planet....it was a special on these dogs. They cornered a wildebeast and about 10 of them went for its belly. They shredded through its abdomen like tissue paper. The wildebeasts guts and intestins were on the ground while the wildebeast was still trying to get away. These dogs are spawns from satan!

Sorter · 11-05-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PostRockPablo

He's right guys. If another child is dropped into the pen with these dogs they will kill again.

We better erase them and replace them with brand new, non murderous dogs. That way if a child falls in they'll all be like "oh shit, better not eat that kid since the last dogs that did that got put down".

Sorter · 11-05-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh Snap

Several years back I was watching animal planet....it was a special on these dogs. They cornered a wildebeast and about 10 of them went for its belly. They shredded through its abdomen like tissue paper. The wildebeasts guts and intestins were on the ground while the wildebeast was still trying to get away. These dogs are spawns from satan!

They are not friendly.

Pablo · 11-05-2012, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh Snap

Several years back I was watching animal planet....it was a special on these dogs. They cornered a wildebeast and about 10 of them went for its belly. They shredded through its abdomen like tissue paper. The wildebeasts guts and intestins were on the ground while the wildebeast was still trying to get away. These dogs are spawns from satan!

Obviously the wildebeest should have put on some shoes and stomped the dogs down like a CP bauce would have. Maybe a pair of hiking boots for extra weight and traction.

Demonpenz · 11-05-2012, 11:02 PM

To the windowwwwwww to the maul..... kids drop off that wall skeet skeet skeet

jspchief · 11-05-2012, 11:22 PM

If it dines on human flesh, it dies.

Except soccer teams stranded in the Andes.

**Easy 6** · 11-05-2012, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PostRockPablo

Obviously the wildebeest should have put on some shoes and stomped the dogs down like a CP bauce would have. Maybe a pair of hiking boots for extra weight and traction.

It took a minute but,

ThaVirus · 11-06-2012, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PostRockPablo

Obviously the wildebeest should have put on some shoes and stomped the dogs down like a CP bauce would have. Maybe a pair of hiking boots for extra weight and traction.

**** you but that's some funny shit right there.

**Rain Man** · 11-06-2012, 10:21 AM

This is why we have leash laws. Those dogs should never have been running loose in their enclosure.

tooge · 11-06-2012, 11:51 AM

I wonder if the kid was dressed like this?

tooge · 11-06-2012, 11:57 AM

Can any of the dogs play Qb or cornerback?

frankotank · 11-06-2012, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iowanian

It's too bad there weren't some parents there exercising their right to carry concealed weapons.

I thought the same thing. I carry and would have 7 shots.
I now know more about these animals than I ever did before.
split second decision....it's my kid....I'm going in. I'm not super brave or anything, I just love my kids so much I'd die fighting for them. after reading a lot of these posts I realize it's a foolish and probably fatal decision to go in, but split second decision and it's my kid...I'm going in, not a doubt about it.
I'd pop a few of them and then probably get killed I guess, but maybe not...maybe the sound scares them off....I don't know, but split second decision would be, I'm going after my kid.

hell, as somebody in here stated before, maybe other dudes jump in to help me....

WilliamTheIrish · 11-06-2012, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankotank

I thought the same thing. I carry and would have 7 shots.
I now know more about these animals than I ever did before.
split second decision....it's my kid....I'm going in. I'm not super brave or anything, I just love my kids so much I'd die fighting for them. after reading a lot of these posts I realize it's a foolish and probably fatal decision to go in, but split second decision and it's my kid...I'm going in, not a doubt about it.
I'd pop a few of them and then probably get killed I guess, but maybe not...maybe the sound scares them off....I don't know, but split second decision would be, I'm going after my kid.

hell, as somebody in here stated before, maybe other dudes jump in to help me....

Good on ya. Again, it's the "fight or flight" thing. If you're carrying, then it's an entire different dynamic. A few loud cracks from a gun are probably going to disperse the animals and maybe it's a different story.

But in this case, the likelihood of the child being alive after 60 seconds is remote at best.

Sorter · 11-06-2012, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooge

Can any of the dogs play Qb or cornerback?

Definitely corner. They are more Cleveland's scheme though. Dog-pound and all.

11-05-2012, 09:18 AM
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	2-year-old mauled to death by wild dogs after falling into Pittsburgh Zoo exhibit Wow...horrible. RIP A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death today after falling into the African painted dog exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Pittsburgh police Major Crimes Lt. Kevin Kraus said the boy's 34-year-old mother placed the child in a standing position on a wooden railing overlooking the enclosure. "Almost immediately after that he lost his balance, fell down off the railing into the actual pit and he was immediately attacked by 11 dogs," Lt. Kraus said. The incident occurred at 11:48 a.m. at the Highland Park complex, according to an emergency dispatch supervisor. The zoo was shut down within a half-hour of the incident and will remain closed indefinitely. Zoo President and Chief Executive Officer Barbara Baker said at a news conference shortly after the incident that the child fell over the wooden railing and off of a mesh barrier where the painted dogs were on display. A zoo spokeswoman and police said the wooden railing is 4 feet in height and the lower mesh barrier is 11 feet 4 inches above the open exhibit space. Lt. Kraus said zoo personnel responded within minutes. The first personnel on scene were able to lure seven of the dogs away from the victim and into a secure and separated area. A second set of personnel began "throwing objects and some other techniques that they use" to secure three more dogs. He said the final dog, which was acting very aggressively toward the victim and zoo personnel, was shot multiple times by two Pittsburgh police officers and died. Lt. Kraus said none of the people who observed the child fall into the enclosure made an attempt to go after him. The news release from zoo officials noted that keepers attempted to enter the yard but were unable to reach the child. One ineffective technique used by zoo personnel to lure the animals away from the child was to fire "dummy tranquilizer rounds," Lt. Kraus said. Information released from the zoo indicated that "unfortunately, the dogs were in pack mentality and not responding." The child was pronounced dead at the scene 12 p.m. The incident is under investigation by police and the zoo. Lt. Kraus said it would be inappropriate to speculate on potential charges at this time and the bureau will continue to investigate to determine if anything could have been prevented. Police said the boy and his mother are from Pleasant Hills and were visiting the zoo with relatives, an adult and another child, at the time of the incident. Ms. Cinti described a horrifying scene that lasted a little more than 5 minutes but seemed like hours. "We were on our way to the polar bear exhibit when we heard the most horrible piercing screams. ... Someone was begging for help, asking someone to do something," she said. The couple ran back in the direction they came from, passing the bear exhibits. The screams continued. As they reached the painted dog exhibit, she saw a small crowd of distressed onlookers. "One woman with a baby in the stroller was screaming that someone needed to do something," Ms. Cinti said. She said she could see the little boy's apparently lifeless body lying on the hill inside the exhibit. "There were three dogs: one at his head, one on the left side of his neck and another one down by his leg. ... A [zoo employee] got there and hopped over a fence with a rake and he was banging ... trying to distract the dogs but they wouldn't move," she said. Ms. Cinti, a student at Community College of Allegheny County, tracked the time frame with her cell phone, saying she made a call at 11:49 a.m. when she and her boyfriend first headed toward the commotion. She said her cell phone shows that the call was ended five minutes and five seconds later, when a half-dozen zoo employees arrived and dispersed the crowd. Bart DePasquale, who was at the zoo today with his two children for a birthday party, was near the tiger exhibit when he heard screams coming from the direction of the African painted dogs exhibit. "People were yelling 'Get away,' and 'Stay away,' and it wasn't just one person, it was an entire group of people," said Mr. DePasquale, 29, of Fox Chapel. "The screams sounded heavily distressed and the people were using profanity. They were shouting to zoo employees." Mr. DePasquale and Ms. Cinti said they were told to go inside the nearest buildings where they were kept there for about a half hour. "We were locked down in the building and told to stay inside. ... We thought it was a problem with one of the animals that got loose. Then we were told it was an incident with the wild dogs and that a child had been hurt." When patrons were told the zoo was closed and they needed to leave, Mr. DePasquale said, "On the way out, I saw a mother who was distressed and crying and other people who couldn't even talk about it. ... People and anyone who had been close were almost in tears, were walking out glassy-eyed. That's when multiple people told me the dogs attacked a young child." Ms. Baker said the zoo initially declared a "code blue," meaning an accident involving a human had occurred. That was followed with a "code red," meaning that there was a serious human emergency. Ms. Baker said no decision has been made about the future of the exhibit. The African painted dog exhibit debuted after the October 2009 birth of the pups. A surrogate mutt was drafted into service for the nine pups after their natural mother died of a ruptured uterus. In the spring of this year, nine of the 11 painted dogs escaped a section of their enclosure causing a brief shutdown of the zoo. Ms. Baker said at that time on May 5 that the dogs got into a 1.5-acre "backup yard" not visible to the public, but the dogs were not out of their exhibit. African painted dogs are an endangered species. In September, the zoo announced that it had again been accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums after a review of its animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety. AZA is a nonprofit organization with a team of professionals that inspect and review each zoo or aquarium seeking accreditation. Currently 224 facilities have been recognized and approved by the organization, including eight in Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh zoo has been recognized by AZA since 1986.The accreditation commission evaluates every zoo and aquarium to determine if they meet accepted standards for safety policies and procedures, security, physical facilities, animal management and care, health and nutrition, veterinary programs, involvement in conservation and research and education programs. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...#ixzz2BMUJWMyp
Posts: 66,914

11-05-2012, 10:53 PM	#271
Pablo Ultrabanned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: KCMO Casino cash: $2059356	He's right guys. If another child is dropped into the pen with these dogs they will kill again. We better erase them and replace them with brand new, non murderous dogs. That way if a child falls in they'll all be like "oh shit, better not eat that kid since the last dogs that did that got put down".
Posts: 40,235

11-05-2012, 11:02 PM	#276
Demonpenz I got Rice cookin in the micro Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $3162136	To the windowwwwwww to the maul..... kids drop off that wall skeet skeet skeet __________________
Posts: 54,266

11-05-2012, 11:22 PM	#277
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	If it dines on human flesh, it dies. Except soccer teams stranded in the Andes. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
Posts: 27,207

11-06-2012, 10:21 AM	#280
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3358491 VARSITY	This is why we have leash laws. Those dogs should never have been running loose in their enclosure. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
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11-06-2012, 11:51 AM	#281
tooge MVP Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Liberty, MO Casino cash: $3984112	I wonder if the kid was dressed like this? Attached Thumbnails
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11-06-2012, 11:57 AM	#282
tooge MVP Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Liberty, MO Casino cash: $3984112	Can any of the dogs play Qb or cornerback?
Posts: 14,976