Dog Kills Baby: Husky Mauls 3-Day-Old Howard Nicholson In Pittsburgh

A Pittsburgh mother may be charged in the death of a 3-day-old baby who was mauled by the family husky while she was in the bathroom Thursday morning, WPXI-TV reports.

Police in McKeesport, Pa., said the infant, Howard Nicholson, was attacked around 9:30 a.m. and died around two hours later after being flown to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, according to WPXI-TV.

The mother, 21-year-old Brandy Furlong, told police that she left Nicholson alone in the living room for mere minutes while she used the restroom Thursday morning, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The baby's father, a 26-year-old man whose name has not been released, had already gone to work, and Furlong's two other children, ages 3 and 6, were not at home.

Furlong told police that when she returned from the restroom, she found her son bleeding badly from the head while the family's pet husky -- one of four dogs she had in the house -- hovered above. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, police found blood on the dog's muzzle.

"We knew it was a very, very traumatic injury," McKeesport police Capt. Tim Hanna told the Post-Gazette.

Neighbors told the paper they could hear Furlong screaming into the phone and then ran out to the porch "crying" and "hysterical" while swaddling the baby in a bedsheet.

"It's a terrible tragedy," county police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said, explaining that Furlong often took dogs into her home that she felt had been abused.

Court records show that she was cited last October for failing to have her dogs vaccinated, according to The Post-Gazette.

Ron Filo, a neighbor who saw parademics rushing to save the baby, said the tragedy puts him at a loss for words.

"I just don’t understand how things could have gone so wrong. I just feel so bad for the whole family." Filo told WXPI-TV. "They were so happy to bring him home."

Animal behavior expert Jennifer Shyrock told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that dogs should never be left alone with newborns, even if they have shown themselves to be the friendliest family pets.

"Whenever a newborn comes into the home, they are unfamiliar to the family dog. This is the biggest risk factor. This is heartbreaking, there's no way around it," Shryock told the paper. "But it is preventable."

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article indicated that the husky was wearing a muzzle at the time of the attack, citing The Pittsburgh Tribune Review. In fact, the paper did not say whether the dog was wearing a muzzle during the attack, only that police found blood on the dog's muzzle. Thanks to Huffington Post commenters for pointing that out.

Comments

[Jamie Reed]

10:55 AM on 10/06/2012

i am sorry this dog attacked a child it needs put down. and the mother needs to go to jail. what i want to know is where were her 3 year old and 6 year old??

[SaveTheHusky]

09:42 PM on 02/29/2012

What some of you that are not close to this case do not understand is that this mother, so far, and most likely never, will be charged with ANYTHING! Which to me is outrageous! So, they are quite willing to return the dog to the negligent owner, but then turn around and re-seize the dog when said owner sells her dog to someone with experience with huskies? On what grounds was the dog seized from the new owners? This appears to be just another case of a D.A.’s office flailing about trying to appear to extract justice for the baby’s death and being too cowardly to seek a conviction against the real culprit (hint: it isn’t the young dog). The baby is not dead because it was mauled; the baby is dead because it’s mother (grieving or not, let’s be honest here) was negligent and stupid. It is also my understanding that this 21 year old mother of a 6 and 3 year old, also, does not even have custody of those two children! She also did not have her 4 dogs licensed or vaccinated. They were not being fed properly, and this husky had an untreated broken leg! One of the toys provided to these dogs to play with was a naked baby doll. HELLO!!!! The area where she lives limits dog ownership to 2 per household, yet she had 4. She never responded to her citations. And, when the pitbull that was also seized,..

[starrynights]

01:26 PM on 08/09/2012

I agree! Fanned and Faved.

[mass maritimer]

08:36 PM on 02/26/2012

The dog was malnurished and had an unattended broken paw

[kr3kell]

09:51 AM on 02/23/2012

I had 2 large dogs when my son was born and as we allowed them to be around him when we were around and I was always on guard for my baby and if I left the room they came with me or I put them downstairs. My dogs were gentle giants but they were animals and you can't trust them expecially with someone new that lets out little squeaks. She should have known better. RIP little one, three days wasn't long enough.

[shawnacy]

02:16 AM on 02/21/2012

I heard the parents are not going to be charged - this is insane. You are responsible for your animals and if they murder someone you are liable. Just because the child was yours does not make it any less of a life. This family had 4 large dogs. They are 100% responsible for the death of their child, and the news says they are not being charged and they want their dog back. Are the insane? They must be. To think they live less than a mile from me makes me sick. I need to move.

[Artemesian]

10:28 AM on 02/21/2012

This kind of thing happens all. the. time. There're plenty cases and precedent where mothers who have left their children unattended with dogs and the children have been hurt or lost their lives, and they have been charged with negligence or neglect, or even worse. What is so different about this young's woman's case? I feel for her, I truly do - but she's got the duty of care here.

[NJBill]

11:07 AM on 02/24/2012

There is NOTHING the law can do to punish her more than she is probably already punishing herself for the loss of her baby. There is nothing they can do that can put her in more anguish than she already is.

[mathamgri]

09:26 PM on 05/18/2012

I agree. She is not a danger to society and she has to live with this tragedy for the rest of her life.

[lcr999]

08:40 PM on 02/20/2012

21 years old, 3 kids, 4 dogs......duh

[Kommonman]

03:23 PM on 02/20/2012

A terrible misfortune that will haunt the mother and family forever and here you folk sit castigating the mother for the catastrophic mistake...Be careful of the stones you throw as odds are you too have made serious mistakes in the raising of your children and only by greatest luck missed having your child perish from said mistake. Did she err in judgment..certainly....was it her intent that her child be mauled to death...absolutely not...She will pay for this mentally in ways not one of you can comprehend unless you to have lost a child...So sit back on your ample backsides and push back your pundit texting board and consider for a moment the tortures of the soul that young mother will put herself through for the loss of her child by what she considered a harmless animal she sought to aid.

[Artemesian]

03:52 PM on 02/20/2012

Very few people make mistakes of this magnitude. I should hope she learns something from it and thinks about it for the rest of her life after she gets off scott free for contributory negligence.

[mathamgri]

09:34 PM on 05/18/2012

I disagree with you. People leave their children unattended with dogs frequently. They are just lucky that it usually turns out okay. I can't tell you how many times kids have run up to my dogs (Standard Poodles) wanting to pet them. I always put my hand on my dogs muzzle and take a moment to try to educate the kids about asking permission first and the adults about assuming that a dog is okay with kids. Are my dogs okay with kids? I don't know, I don't have kids. I suspect one would do great and the other three would run away. I'm always very careful. This woman doesn't belong in jail and a significant portion of the population could use some education about dogs and kids.

[Artemesian]

09:36 AM on 02/20/2012

The other thing is I was greatly disappointed to listen to the local news report sensationalizing the story. The reporter said "It's been found....(cue melodramatic music) the dog has killed before!" :( The media has a great responsibity that it oftentimes abuses. Spreading misinformation and fear about the dog is unethical, when it is the incompetence of the owner(s) that is the reason, however much sympathy we feel for them too.

You would think from this "catch phrase" that another child had been attacked. It was the owner's family cat, which is bad enough, but again - the owner is being negligent by not keeping the animal away from her children and pets. Some dogs have a strong prey instinct and it is terribly irresonsible of the owner to not take this into account before leaving him unattended or no keeping him leashed. Plus, he's getting out into the neighborhood and other people's pets and children at risk. She has no business taking in dogs because she can't handle them. Her children are her primary responsibility and she doesn't seem to have the means nor the additional time and patience it would take to care for abused dogs. Small children require enough means, time an patience! I'm sure the young woman meant well and loves animals, but the dog deserves to go to a shelter or sanctuary or home where someone does have the time and patience and room to take care of a large breed of dog.

[Candide33]

08:32 AM on 02/20/2012

I had a friend who often put her children at risk for the sake of animals. I can't even recall how many times they had to move when landlords discovered that she had a zoo in their house. Once they even moved to the most notorious street in town because they had been thrown out of so many places because of those animals. So many animals in the house the hair would completely clog the air-conditioners and burn them up, the smell of urine so strong that you could smell it before the door was opened.

She was a good person but she was insane when it came to animals, she has even been homeless and living in her car with them but still refuse to give them up.

Lots of people have that warped thinking when it comes to animals, they just cannot make good decisions when it comes to animals, you see it on those hoarding shows all the time.

Maybe that was why she started having babies at 15 or 16, that attachment disorder or whatever it is.

[ChoppyBob]

10:00 PM on 02/19/2012

I kinda don't believe this woman's story.

I absolutely love animals and, just for the dirt factor alone, I would not have left a baby on the floor with a strange dog.

Without *knowing* the dog, I would not have left a baby in the reach of a dog.

I don't believe a rescued stray would be jealous of an infant.

She also had a pit bull. If she had had that dog for years, and brought home an infant, I hate to say it, but that's the more likely attacker. They're very sensitive and jealous.

I think she's either covering for the other dog, or for herself.

[Kali03]

10:55 PM on 02/19/2012

Look at the news clip that's linked. That dog is ragged and miserable looking. It apparently jumped out a window to attack another animal and broke its leg and it was also underfed. You can just see the misery in the poor beast's expression.

They actually want the dog returned to their house--they want to keep this animal even after it killed their new baby.

The mother is 21 and she has three kids, the oldest of which is six. There are four dogs in that house.

And she leaves a three-day-old on the FLOOR with these animals?

I agree with you--something is not right here and I do not think that she's a fit parent.

I feel sorry for the dog but I do think it should be put down. It looks too far gone to be rehabilitated, and if it is not put down...then it needs to go to a rehab place for life, where people who really know what they are doing will take care of it. It in no way should go back to that family, with their three other dogs and their children and such a young and irresponsible woman at the helm.

[ChoppyBob]

11:38 PM on 02/19/2012

If everything known about this dog is coming from the "mom," it should be treated with suspicion.

I hope they are truly investigating and not just taking the woman's word for everything, because she's crying and screaming.

[Daisy Kent]

08:18 PM on 01/19/2013

Oh yeah, I was wondering when blame the Pit Bull or likely culprit would come in,it's always the scapegoat...Why can't you put the blame where it belongs,on the negligent mother's shoulders,where it BELONGS!

[Hoss42O]

06:07 PM on 02/19/2012

She left her newborn child alone on the floor with stray dogs she had been taking in... Let me repeat that for everyone, "SHE LEFT HER NEWBORN CHILD ALONE ON THE FLOOR WITH STRAY DOGS SHE HAD BEEN TAKING IN"!!! I wouldn't even leave my favorite pair of shoes alone on the floor with stray dogs I didn't know, and she leaves her child?! If you do not think this is neglect, I would hate to see what you think is...

[Sumocat]

07:54 PM on 02/19/2012

Your inference is wrong. "...Furlong often took dogs into her home that she felt had been abused." If they'd been abused, then they had owners that did the abuse. Strays don't have owners, abusive or otherwise. Still a bad idea to leave a baby in range of formerly abused animals, but nothing indicates they were strays.

[Hoss42O]

08:23 PM on 02/19/2012

EVEN WORSE! Stray dogs usually have owners too, and you are assuming they weren't strays... It doesn't say anything about them not being stray (which basically means they wander around, a dog around my house is like that. He has a home but chooses to break out of the yard and roam around, I refer to him as stray as well...) Stray to me is a dog that wanders around. Taking in a stray is one thing, but stealing someone's dog because you think they are being abused is just plain crazy... There are people who get paid to take care of problems like that, they are called the animal control.

[ChoppyBob]

10:24 PM on 02/19/2012

Do you know anyone with three toddlers who has time to properly care for them, plus four dogs and several cats?

This 21 year old needs to be interrogated.

[pab08]

06:05 PM on 02/19/2012

And another example of bad parenting.
You need a license to catch a perch. But anybody allowed to raise a child.
At least in this case, our tax dollars won't be paying for the inevitable welfare and incarceration.

[Hoss42O]

08:24 PM on 02/19/2012

Exactly, and dogs like this because of irresponsible owners...

[sparkybrown7877]

05:38 PM on 02/20/2012

Never mind a license to catch a perch... let's talk about the "questionnaire" that you have to answer when you want to rescue and adopt a dog, I didn't get a dog once because I had a job!

[Artemesian]

04:45 PM on 02/19/2012

It doesn't matter why she wasn't there watching her newborn son - the fact is she wasn't there, and her not being there resulted in his death. It's no different than leaving her baby in a car alone, or in a house alone - she put her child in danger. Except in this case, she left her newborn son alone with neglected dogs as well. We actually don't know what she was actually doing. I hope she is capable of understanding the magnitude of what happened, and
t no doubt she'll bring more unfortunate children into the world.

It's not an accident - an accident is something unforeseen and unpredictable. This was very forseen and very predictable. This was neglect. I wish she had someone in her life who could have helped her when she brought a newborn into the house.

[Hoss42O]

05:02 PM on 02/19/2012

I find it hard to believe more people do not feel the same way as we do, I see it just the way you do...

[Artemesian]

05:08 PM on 02/19/2012

I know, I really feel badly being so harsh, I usually have much empathy. But in these types of cases, I am so tired of reading the endless stories of children and animals being abused and either getting a slap on the wrist or nothing at all. We'll see what happens when all is said and done. I try to give advocacy to those who cannot speak for themselves, such as animals and children. Children sometimes have a voice, but animals never do. I was just outside earlier and a more mature couple was out walking with their malamute, and what a beautiful, happy animal he was. They can be very happy dogs, that's what I love about them; but this husky looked miserable.

"But, any animal, for a variety of reasons, is capable bringing harm."

Including human beings, the worst kinds of harm of all.

[DeanWormer]

04:10 PM on 02/19/2012

PETA is advocating that the dog be charged with murder.

[lcr999]

08:44 PM on 02/20/2012

The mother should be charged with someting

[mathamgri]

09:49 PM on 05/18/2012

PETA must have lost their mind.

[rosasturtles1]

03:33 PM on 02/19/2012

the young woman tried doing a good deed, butit back fired on saving these dogs..as for the baby may he rest in GODS Gentle Hands....