poor kid, hope he recovers, prayers....

shoot the dog.

Shoot u. Must hate animals.

The dog is just a pawn... the owners of the dog should be arrested and the owners of the child who let there child into the backyard knowing there was a vicious dog living next door... my thoughts and prayers go out to the child

Clamdigger your an idiot... you know nothing about canine behavior.. you jackass

OK there Cesar Milan ... your so knowledgeable.... maybe the owner should be shot.. the dog can be saved and trained... the dog was trained to do that .. family dogs don't have the instincts to hurt if they have love and boubdaries... I have rehabed numerous dogs that were trained to fight... plus with a name like clamdigger you shouldn't be allowed to have an opinion..

Sounds like a Pit to me.

I wish you were my neighbor clamlicker you would change your tune real quick...

Funny how when it is Lakewood there is just limited amount of information either released or printed. There is more to this story I am guessing because of the limited reporting.

I was wondering the same...seems like someone is not telling the entire story.

Buddy, it's Lakewood, we know potential Gang members have pittbulls, there's much more to this story! we are not being told. What about the Latin Knights and Latin Kings - with all the dog fights that have been going on ? hasn't anyone notice the dog thefts that are up! isn't funny, how dogs are suddenly missing from people yards? During the spring and summer, gang member drive around or work for contractors, to see who has a dog, then they come back later that week to take your dog to be ysed as feedser for dog fights. go to petfinder .com, look at where those dogs are missing from,, notice the roads are heavly travled and close to near by Lakewood. This is all public knowledge - people keep reading and start asking a lot of questions about this,, you will begin to find out a lot more, as we have. I agree with Suz + WMS826 - there is a lot more to this.

I am a Vet. I do know dogs. A dog who goes for the throat once, will do it again. They are animals acting on a primal instinct. They cannot be rehabilitated. And yes, Pitbulls are the most likely breed to do this. May not have been, but that is behavior characteristic to a Pit.

The sad part, maybe jake you'll agree - Not all Pits, are bad dogs,, they have a locking jaw that resets it's self to clamp down when engaged in holding it's prey upon instinct. The problem, is, usually when living in a city enviroment, urban development. these dogs are or may not be trated well. They may have been bread for fighting. I know a few people with Pitts,Boxers, Rotties, and they are the most lovable dogs,, just a big mush,, Only because those families and owners constanly show the dog love and attention,, eventhought deep down, those dogs have an instinct, yet were breeded over many years to be a defferent behavior. I have a feeling the Lakewood dog ( yet to be determined) was constanly mis-treated, birth from a puppy mill or local off spring. I wonder what else they will find when they begin to search. you have to ask, if you are living in poverty, how can you afford to keep feeding a dog at $100 - 200 a week ? if your collecting food stamps, welfare, how can you afford a pet and be responsible.? hmmmmm folks any suggestions here..?

I hope the child is ok. Bob it does not cost $100 - $200 a week to feed a dog. My pittie (pit/lab) weighs about 65-70lbs and eats one can and one package of moist dry food a day. The total cost to feed him for the month is about $50.00.
I am really starting to believe that since we have not had any confirmation on the breed that it is not a Pit. Oh but I forgot if someone wound up in the hospital after a dog bite - it has to be a Pit.

My daughter lives in Fl. And has the sweetest pit bull I have ever met. This dog will lick anybody to death that comes into the house! She also has a daughter that is 1-1/2 years old and although Rosco let's my granddaughter sit on him, pull his ears and his tail, my daughter is also very cautious when the baby is around the dog because whether anyone wants to believe it or not, it still IS a dog! A responsible dog owner will ALWAYS keep that in mind.

Pits would be banned by law. Anyone who says these dogs are safe is an idiot. I don't want to hear about the one you know that was nice. All I read about is the many who are killers.

Mark, I think you are the idiot! All I read about is people shooting little kids down or going to the mall to use people as target practice. If you train a dog to be a killer, he will be a killer. If you take a dog into your family and show him love and kindness, he will show that in return. BUT, like I said in my last post, you always should be on your toes with ANY animal, NOT just with a PIT. A golden retriever could attack a child also because after all is said and done, they are still an animal.

Hey Ann maybe you should share this with your daughter and her cuddly pit bill. It has nothing to do with training...pits are killers and will turn on their owners and family for no reason.

From 2005 to 2012, pit bulls killed 151 Americans, about one citizen every 19 days. Of these deaths, 52% involved a family member and a household pit bull.4 Notably, in the first 8 months of 2011, nearly half of those killed by a pit bull was its owner

There is a reason why people usually swim with dolphins instead of sharks...the level of risk. People have cats as pets instead of tigers....iguanas instead of alligators. Someone choosing to have a Pit as a pet is taking on a greater risk for the mere fact of the dogs primal nature and deadly jaw. To deny that there is a greater risk is simply ignorant.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I really cannot belive that you are all adults on here, an innocent beautiful little baby is in the hosptial fighting for her life.... the life her mother saved from the mouth of the dog.... and yes i do know them, they are family..... if you dont know the story of the situation keep your comments to yourself!!

where were the parents?

Holden - where did you get your figures from? Checked several sights and none of them match your numbers. BTW Holden on Wikipedia it also shows that a Labrodor Retriever killed a child.
Does anyone remember when German Shepards were killers and Dobermans went crazy and would kill their owner because their brains outgrew their heads? Pit Bulls were around back then - it's more the overbredding and use by people in dog fighting that has caused problems.