Charges unlikely in dog-mauling death

LEAVITTSBURG — Police are treating the fatal attack of a 3-day-old baby by the family dog as a “tragic accident” that most likely won’t lead to any criminal charges, police say.

“There is no appearance of criminal charges at this time unless something changes,” Warren Township Police Chief Thomas Rush said.

The chief said the Siberian Husky that took the baby from her bed in her parents’ bedroom Monday morning and fatally wounded her is in the Trumbull County Dog Kennel in Howland.

Rush said at some point, when the investigation is complete, he and a prosecutor from Warren Municipal Court will determine what should happen to the dog.

He said he doesn’t foresee any need to talk to the prosecutor about criminal charges, however.

Rush declined to give specific information about the attack, such as the type of bed the girl was in, saying such information would only bring more pain to the grieving family.

Atty. Mark Finamore, legal adviser to Warren Township, said the decision on what happens to the dog are left up to the family unless police determine that the dog is involved in a criminal matter.

If the dog was deemed vicious by legal standards, for instance, then police might ask the court to order that the dog be euthanized, Finamore said.