LEE COUNTY, VA (WJHL/CNN) - An 8-day-old baby was mauled by a Virginia family’s pet Wednesday and died the next day.
The dog was a massive 3-year-old wolf hybrid. It was euthanized Thursday.
"I think it's reckless to have a child that small in a room with any type of animal. But like I said, that's something that will be determined by the commonwealth," Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons said.
Parsons described the case as one that has left both his staff and this entire southwest Virginia community disturbed.
"The child, according to the statements, was in a bassinet. There was blood in the bassinet where the dog had attacked the child. It was very serious injuries to the upper body and the head. I mean, the child had been seriously mauled by the animal," Pearson explained.
Parsons said the dog had been in that family for three years.
“It was a wolf hybrid, fairly large dog," he said.
According to Parsons, the baby's father had already taken her to the hospital by the time deputies arrived at the home. But just hours later, that baby girl died from her injuries.
"I'm concerned about whether that child was protected. So, the tough part of it for me is who is in the right and who's in the wrong. You hate to charge parents that are grieving over a child, but at the same time, you have to consider the rights of the child," Parsons explained.
The decision of who and if anyone will be held responsible will ultimately lie in the hands of the commonwealth's attorney.
"We are investigating in coordination with Lee County Department of Social Services and Lee County Animal Control and we will get all of our information together and present it to the commonwealth attorney to see if there are any charges of endangerment or neglect to the child," Parsons said.
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