An Airdrie family is mourning the loss of their young child after the family dog attacked the infant.
It happened on Wednesday morning at a home in the Kingsland area.
The child was rushed to the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary but succumbed to his injuries around 10:30 Wednesday night.
The family dog, a Husky, is being quarantined for 10 days. During that time, his future will be determined by the family and Airdrie bylaw officers.
The Husky has no previous history of attacks. There is another child, a toddler, in the home, who authorities say has never been hurt by the pet.
Behaviour specialists, Barbara Walmer, with the Calgary Humane Society, says it's actually incredibly rare for any breed of dog to attack.
"It's a very low statistic children are far more likely to have concerns with crib type interaction or being dropped by a parent rather than a family pet doing that kind of damage."
Meanwhile, dog owners in the area, like Dave Carmanico, in the area are in disbelief.
"Like people there's some dogs that might snap and who knows which dog that would be, unfortunately. What makes a dog jump somebody?" says Carmanico.
"That's pretty horrific," says Steve Belcher. "You never wan to hear a story like that because they do put down the animal after an incident like that. I don't know, your heart goes out to the family."
Police say no charges are being considered against the owners at this time. The name of the family has not been released.
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