It is a very sad situation. I feel bad for the owners and the dog. I can only imagine how confused the dog will be when adopted off to a new home (or considering the "urgency" of the email, a shelter....) I hope they can resolve the situation. I know they are just devastated.
One way to hopefully avoid this situation is to begin with the right breed of dog, check out The Best Family Dogs-10 Breeds For Homes With Children. (cited below) and remember kids: all living things deserve respect.
Check out what Cesar has to say:
http://www.cesarsway.com/askcesar/phobias-and-fears/Babies-and-Dogs
Sources and links :
To avoid dog bites in the home here is some advice:
1. Properly socialize your puppy. BEFORE the age of 16 weeks, your puppy must encounter all of the things he'll see in his adult lifetime. If he doesn't, then, in all likelihood, he'll be terrified of those things later when he encounters them. You must introduce him to friendly adults, children, old people, noisy teenagers , disabled people, people with beards, hats, bald heads, abnormal gaits, canes, cars, bicycles, veterinarians, loud noises, other animals, toddlers, stairs, water, noisy kitchen instruments and other strange things. If the dog is not afraid of it, he won't try to attack it to defend himself. A well-adjusted dog is not a biting dog. Dogs must learn to use teeth properly as part of behavior development. Dogs normally learn bite inhibition by 4 and a half months of age.Bite inhibition is a learned response in which the dog consciously inhibits the full force of his biting ability. When pups bite while nursing, the mother dog will train them by standing up and walking away. When pups bite too hard during play with siblings, the bitten pup will yelp and stop playing with the rough pup or knock the rough-housing pup over with a loud bark or growl. This teaches a puppy that playtime ends if he bites too hard. People can use the same idea to teach their puppies bite inhibition. No matter how hard you try to socialize a dog to people or other dogs, there may be times when it is not sufficient. For example, someone shuts the dog's tail in a door, or your dog is attacked by another dog. In these cases, your dog will instinctively respond by biting, whether it's out of provocation or self-defense. Whether or not your dog does damage depends on the level of bite inhibition that was established, usually before he reached age four and a half months.
2. Teach your children to respect life. Show them how to properly pet, and handle a dog. Young children should not be allowed to carry puppies. They want to, because they see you doing it, but they don't know how to yet, and they lack the coordination to properly support the dog and keep him from falling. This terrifies the puppy, and if you want the puppy to grow up thinking, "When I get my adult teeth, kid , you’re MINE!" You must teach the child that handling the puppy in this way is not comfortable for the puppy, and the child must not try to hurt the puppy.
3. NEVER leave a young child alone with your puppy: No matter how good you think your child is, when you're not looking, the child wants to do all of the things you won't let him do when you're around. The child is usually "low man on the totem pole" in the household, and if he can have control over the dog, it makes him feel less powerless. This means poking pens into him, pulling his tail etc. You may not realize your child is pestering the dog until the day he comes running to you, dripping blood, saying, "Doggie BITE!" At this point somebody's in trouble, and its usually the dog. He can't defend himself and he didn't have witnesses.
4. If you have toddlers, create a safe "haven" for your dog. Create a place where the dog can escape to when the dog does not want to be bothered with the child. If the dog is not able to get away from the thing that terrifies him he will try to make the child go away by lip lifting, growling, snapping, or biting, all of which are proper social signals to avoid REAL aggression, by communicating that the dog wants to be left alone. However, children do not understand this language, so it's important to give the dog a place to go where the child absolutely cannot follow.
5. Don't tie your dog out. Tied dogs are frustrated dogs. This tends to make them hyper and testy. A child entering the area where a dog is chained could be easily knocked down or bitten. If one or more of your neighbor’s ties a dog out, don't let your children go near these dogs. They are an accident waiting to happen.
6. Some people think it's cute to tease dogs by pretending to beat up another family member in front of them, or by playing "games" like "slap-boxing" ,wrestling or tug-if –war with the dog. These mindless ways cause the dog to become aggressive, or at the very least, teach him to snap at hands. He won't always understand the difference between play and real-life situations.
7. Establish yourself as the leader and teach the dog a few commands. You can have him "go away” or "lie down" when company arrives, so that he doesn't go into a barking frenzy at the door. Stop your puppy from chewing your hands and teach him that gnawing on your body parts is "off limits." Do not allow guarding behavior to develop. Resource guarding means the dog might growl at someone walking near his food dish, or might not let you take a bone away from him politely, or might even guard YOU so that other family members can't get near. Start looking for a trainer where you will desensitize your dog to the things that are "triggering" his behavior now.
8.Get your dog used to having you touch, groom and restrain him at an early age. If your dog does not allow you to touch him in certain ways or in certain places, this problem must be addressed. He may only be warning you with a growl, now, but if you let it be, there will come a time he's liable to bite. From an early age , accustom him to having you hold and touch his paws, stroke him and hold him on his side. By teaching him that this contact is not-threatening and not harmful, he will accept it without a second thought.
9. DON'T pass on your fears to a child. Don’t gasp, cry out, or shriek when you see a dog; children learn by example, and these behaviors can startle or frighten a dog into snapping or biting. DON'T ever allow your child to tease, hurt, confine, challenge, growl at, bark at, or otherwise confuse, frighten, or threaten any dog, including your own. Many "unprovoked" attacks on children are in fact provoked by the cruel or at least ignorant and behavior of children to dogs. Do not allow children visiting your home to treat your dog this way, even if your dog will tolerate it; the next dog the child meets may not. DO teach your child to approach a dog in a calm and friendly manner. Children and dogs are naturally friends, and letting them get to know each other in a quiet, gradual way is best
When do the stray dogs bite? When the females are on heat and the male dogs stray outside their own territories and into other territories following the smell of the female. In the excitement of their frustration and the heat generated by the fear they have by stepping into unknown territory, a dog may (and even then its very rare) bite a human being that threatens it.
The second reason is when the female dog has had puppies and is scared of people killing them. Anyone who comes near , specially children , whom she knows from experience , will harm her or her puppies will first be warned by her snarling. If they get closer she will bite.
Sterilisation does two things --
a) a sterilized animal has been seen to live a longer and healthier life.
b) spaying prevents male animals from getting into fights with each other. Sterilized animals show no aggressive behavior due to frustration either to female animals or to humans. Local administration of a city and the colony associations must understand that the solution is not killing them because more will come, but in sterilisation.
Spay or neuter your dog. Dogs who have NOT been spayed or neutered are three times more likely to bite than are dogs who HAVE been spayed or neutered
"The Best Family Dogs-10 Breeds for Homes with Children." Web Log post. Dog Reflections. 5 May 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2010.
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