KANSAS CITY, MO -- A Jackson County judge has agreed to a bond reduction for a Grain Valley couple charged with felony child endangerment after a pet ferret chewed off seven fingers of their infant son.
Ryan and Carrie Waldo appeared before Judge Jeffrey Bushur who ordered the couple have no contact with their children.
"Any time a ferret chews off your child's fingers, you're a risk," Bushur told the couple and the attorneys involved.
The Waldos' son was 4 months old when he was attacked by the pet ferret while he was sleeping.
The mother told police that she was asleep in a nearby chair and her husband was in bed upstairs when they heard the baby cry.
A statement from the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said they have cell phone records that show that the Waldos were not only not sleeping, but they were also not in Grain Valley.
Bond was set at $5,000 each. A preliminary hearing is set for July 13.
Residents said they agreed with the prosecutor's decision to charge the couple.
"They ought to be charged. People don't watch their kids like they should any more," said Betty McCall.
"I think it's a good thing," said resident Joy Starr. "They shouldn't have that child, you know?"
John Plummer questioned the couple's decision to have a pet ferret around the baby in the first place.
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| The father says he killed the ferret by slamming it onto the dishwasher. |
"I wouldn't have that thing around my kids," he said. "If it was a dog, I wouldn't have it around my kid."
Earlier Story:
Police: Ferret Bit Off Baby's Fingers
GRAIN VALLEY, MO -- Grain Valley police said a pet ferret bit several fingers off the hands of a 4-month-old boy early Monday.
Officers said they were called to a home in the 200 block of Young Street at about 2:30 a.m.
Investigators said the boy had severe damage to his hands from the pet.
"The family ferret had actually gotten into where the baby was asleep and began to take off the fingers of the child," Police Chief Aaron Ambrose said.
Ambrose said the child's father killed the ferret after discovering what happened.
"The boy ends up with seven fingers lost, three left, being the thumbs and on one hand a pinkie left," Ambrose said.
Sharon Cannon of the Kansas City Ferret Hotline, a ferret rescue and care group, said ferrets are not recommended in homes with babies.
"If you get a ferret who's just exploring, and they bite the baby and the baby cries, it might see that as play," Cannon said.
Ferrets are domesticated, but their play can be rough. Cannon questions how this could have happened.
"(I want) to know why the ferret was not locked up properly, secured, especially with an infant in the household," Cannon said.
Police want to know the same thing.
"It's safe to say we're looking at this more intensely than we would just your average animal bite," Ambrose said.
The Grain Valley Police Department and the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said they're investigating the case.
