Pit bull raised with family mauls baby... and mother feels need to address "negative and incorrect stigmas surrounding pit bulls"

SOUTH AFRICA -- A Richards Bay toddler whose face was ripped by his family’s “gentle” American pit bull, lost two teeth and received more than a 100 stitches after the brutal encounter.

The toddler’s father had to stab the dog with a penknife (pocket knife) before it would loosen its grip. It died of its injuries.

While 14-month-old Sebastian Strecker is on the mend after the attack at his home on Saturday, his parents are still traumatized.

Sebastian was rushed to the Bay Hospital, where he spent two hours in theatre after sustaining serious injuries to his face. The left side of his face had a deep gash from his jawline to his eye socket.

He received 64 stitches on the inside of his face and another 64 on the outside, as well as six in the gum.

Two of Sebastian’s teeth were ripped out in the attack. He was placed in a temperature-controlled room to prevent infection and spent five days in ICU.

“It has been a very traumatic week for all of us, but he is now at home and is the same baby we love. He is walking around and doing the things he loves,” said his mother, Karien Strecker.

“My husband is still struggling to get the picture of Sebastian looking so lifeless out of his mind.”

Dwayne Strecker had been sitting on the porch with his son when he turned away “for a second” to answer his phone.  When he heard the boy’s cries, he turned around and could not believe his eyes.

“My husband answered his phone and within seconds our American pit bull, Max, jumped on to him (Sebastian) and attacked him,” said Karien.

Recalling the harrowing incident, mom Karien says they are still haunted by the abrupt assault.

‘I want to set the record straight, as well as addressing the negative and incorrect stigmas surrounding pit bulls,’ said Karien.

‘Max was never aggressive and Sebastian used to hug him all the time. We have two daughters, aged five and seven, who have also been very close to Max with no previous incidents or signs of aggression shown towards them.

‘Our dog was our other child and we all loved him dearly. Losing him to save Sebastian was not, and is still not, easy for us.’

However, Karien said once Max ‘entered that state of mind’ and grabbed hold of their son, their attempts to remove the injured baby to safety was met by further hostility.

‘The attack happened with my husband standing only two steps away and he had just turned around to answer his phone.

Mas was well-loved by this family yet turned on them

‘Dwayne immediately jumped in to save Sebastian and found him passed out with his head hanging back. We thought Sebastian was dead.

‘Max then came after both Dwayne and me as we tried to get the baby to the car and to hospital. Dwayne tried to kick him off and even punched him in an attempt to snap Max ‘out of it’.

‘But he continued to attack us and that was when my husband eventually grabbed his Leatherman knife from his belt where it is stays attached for his work.’

Karien said only a few minutes had passed between the attack and herself running into the hospital cradling her child.

‘Everything happened so fast and when I arrived at the hospital, the staff immediately jumped into action and stormed off with Sebastian to casualty to stabilize him. It was only then that I looked down and saw I was covered in blood from top to bottom.’

“Max was a part of the family, he was always very gentle with our children – our two daughters – and with Sebastian. He often lay next to Sebastian as if to protect him.

“We had him for three years and not once was he aggressive to any of us. I believe he could have become jealous of my husband’s relationship with Sebastian and saw an opportunity to set the record straight.”

Kathy Clayton, chairwoman of the Animal Behavior Consultants of South Africa, said pit bulls where genetically bred to attack and be vicious.

“I believe that in this case, the dog probably saw the child as another dog and wanted to let him know that he was the boss.

“Pit bulls can be fantastic dogs, but it’s always a question of maybe... Every dog has the potential to attack, but that chance is greater with pit bulls because that’s just how they are. Their behavior can be very good and very caring towards people, but they only become attached to one person and do not like it when any other dog or person moves in on their territory.”

Caroline Smith, marketing manager at the Durban and Coast SPCA, said they did not find new homes for pit bulls left in their care.

“When we get pit bulls we do not re-home them because we consider them risky,” she said.

(Daily News - Jan 31, 2014)