Dog Drags Newborn From Family Home

A 4-day-old boy was listed in critical condition at University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington on July 21 from the personal injuries he suffered when a family dog carried him from his crib to the heavily wooded backyard. The infant reportedly suffered two collapsed lungs, a skull fracture, broken ribs, and various cuts and bruises.

On the day of the incident, the boy’s father, Michael Smith was already on the phone with 911 to report that the child was missing when he spotted him, bleeding from the mouth and clutched in the dog’s jaws.

Smith said doctors were optimistic the child would survive his injuries, but the day before, they braced the family for the worst had to use resuscitation paddles to get a heartbeat.

According to Smith, on July 20, he and his wife, Chrissie Smith, had just placed the baby, Alexander James (A.J.) Smith, in his crib. He said the incident took place as he was preparing to go to the store to buy several items for the child, including a video monitor he now believes could have prevented the incident.

When Smith’s wife returned to the bedroom minutes after going downstairs to check the shopping list, she noticed one of the doors was open and both the baby and the family’s Native American Indian dog were missing.

Smith initially began searching in the backyard, as he knew the dog, Dakota, loved to take items from the house and deposit them in the backyard. He searched for 10 minutes before spotting the child and the dog. He then took the child and rushed toward the house, where he handed him over to the emergency workers that had just arrived.

Smith said the dog was not being vicious with the baby; rather she was treating him as a puppy. But he still says he doesn’t want the dog back in the house.