The call came in to 911 around 11:00AM Sunday morning. According to Ryan…
(file photo:)
Smokey Barn News
Sunday March 23, 2014
Coopertown, Tenn.
Five Month Old Boy Attacked In The Face By Ferret
A five month old Coopertown infant boy was Lifeflighted to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital after he was attacked in the face by a neighbors pet Ferret, according to Police Sergeant Steven McDougal of the Coopertown Police department.
According to McDougal, the infant did not sustain life threatening injuries but did have lacerations to the face and may lose vision in one eye.
According to Robertson County Emergency Medical Service, Assistant Director, Russell Gupton, the child had numerous lacerations and abrasions to the face, an avulsion to the nose and significant eye and eyelid injury as well as significant bleeding from his wounds. Gupton also said the child was conscious with age appropriate responses.
According to PJ Duncan, Fire Chief for the Pleasant View Volunteer Fire Department the incident occurred at a home near the intersection of Battle Creak and Old Coopertown Rd. EMS and Pleasant View fire transported the infant to a field adjacent to the home where LifeFlight was standing by.
The call came in to 911 around 11:00AM Sunday morning. According to Ryan Martin, the Public Information Officer for the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement will be following up on the incident. Martin also said the case will likely be forwarded to the Department of Children’s Services (D.C.S) for further investigation.
According to a police report Smokey obtained from Coopertown Police, the baby’s father stated that the child was put down for a nap and he did hear the child crying but thought he was “just fighting his sleep like he usually does at nap time.” According to the report, the father went to check on the baby and saw the ferret on the child’s face, the father then removed the Ferret and (to summarize) threw the animal down and killed it. The animal was collected by a veterinarian and kept on ice until it could be tested. The father told police that the ferret is usually on one end of the house and the child on the other.
UPDATE: Tuesday March 25: Though we don’t have any official word from the child’s parents, Police Sergeant Steven McDougal of the Coopertown Police department indicated that the baby was doing better than expected.
Out of respect to the parents Smokey made no attempt to contact the parents of the child. We did however feel that it was in the best interest of the public to be aware of the potential danger that a Ferret can present to a child. According to Sergeant McDougal, the police were contacted about some aggressive news agencies wanting to make contact with the family.
Ferrets are illegal to have as pets in some states but are legal in Tennessee. Ferrets are common pets in the US and are generally friendly. They are often compared to cats in that they sleep a lot and can be trained to use a litter box.
Thoughts and prayers of the staff at Smokey Barn are with the family.
RELATED STORIES:
News Channel 2 reports: Ferret attacks 5-month-old’s face in Robertson County
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Ferret was thrown on the floor and stomped to death! Hope the man
gets cited for animal cruelty and abuse!
And you are an idiot. How do you think the ferret got to the baby long enough to hurt it? Do you think that the ferret escaped its home and broke into the neighbors house? NO, Some human either took the baby to the ferret or the ferret to the baby. So YES, a human is to blame. But heaven forbid in today’s society that any one ever be held accountable for their own stupidity.
It also doesn’t say anywhere that the child was being supervised. The neighbor could have brought it over to their house. It doesn’t say how it happened. I feel bad for the child but this one is on the parents. I have 5 ferrets and not once has one “attacked” anyone.
This is so terribly sad – but also incredibly puzzling. Ferrets are extremely intelligent, affectionate animals. They recognize their owners and seek human contact and engagement. Young, untrained ferrets will nip like puppies, and as with any animal, ferrets that have been abused or are terrified for some reason will bite. But regardless of the reason, no ferret could inflict the injuries described in this article without prolonged contact. That’s why several people here have commented about leaving a baby unsupervised with a pet.
Yet according to the article, this was a NEIGHBOR’S ferret. Clearly there is more to this story than has been told.
Prayers to the child and his family.
To the sanctimonious people who think the parents left the baby with the ferret, you might want to check your reading comprehension. Education is so very important in helping you not look like complete idiots. The ferret belongs to the NEIGHBOR. What makes you think the parents just left the child alone with the NEIGHBOR’s animal? Not a single thing was mentioned about where this happened. But, hey, way to blame the victim, and the victim’s family, Kudos to you both.
This child was left unsupervised with an animal. Where were the parents or caretakers of this child? They must be very stupid to leave a child unsupervised.
Before making a decision on ferrets, do some research. Ferrets are the third favorite pet in US. They are also very misunderstood and education is a very important part of ferret ownership. I hope this child is ok and Child Services takes a good look at this child’s homelike. Hopefully the ferret does not pay the price for the parent’s idiocy.
What idiot leaves a ferret unattended around a baby? Ferrets love to play bite and will try to drag off many small items. There’s a very good probability that the ferret was just trying to play, and didn’t mean to harm the baby. People shouldn’t own animals that they do not understand.
I have two ferrets who are completely tame and have never hurt anyone. Its all by the way theyre raised and types of people theyre used to being around, my three year old cousin plays with them all the time and adores them.. And they dont carry diseases that can harm humans if they’re vaccinated yearly.this is very unfortunate that this has happened to this young child, and I pray for the family. You just can’t judge an entire type of animal by a few of them.