Baby girl mauled to death by pet dog Zeus as ‘horrified parents desperately tried to pull raging animal off her’
A BABY girl was mauled to death by her pet dog as her parents desperately tried to pull the animal off her, an inquest heard.
Elle Doherty suffered a “catastrophic” head injury after being bitten by the Belgian Malinois called Zeus at home in Coventry.
An inquest heard how the seven-month-old was sitting looking out of a window when the 31kg dog attacked.
In CCTV stills shown to the court, her parents Sean and Natasha Doherty were seen rushing over to pull the three-year-old pet away.
The couple could then be seen cradling and protecting their daughter during the attack, which lasted less than one second.
Detective Inspector Anthony Hibbert said: “It appears from when you watch the footage, maybe baby Elle slightly leant on Zeus and that is when Zeus attacks baby Elle.”
Baby Ellie was rushed to hospital but tragically couldn’t be saved and died a short time later.
In a statement submitted to the court, dad Sean told how the family had got Zeus as a puppy from a breeder in Gloucester in October 2020.
He said he at first thought the dog, who had previously been trained by two separate experts, had “pinned” down a second family pet – a 15-year-old French bulldog.
Recalling the attack, the dad added: “We were just chatting and suddenly (Natasha) shouted, ‘No’. I grabbed him (Zeus) – I think it was his collar.
“I chucked him outside. Elle was on the floor crying. Everything happened so quickly.”
The dad told the inquest Zeus was “good around people, good around other dogs“.
He said the only thing the pet disliked was being “surprised by another dog” but claimed he “never showed any signs of aggression”.
His comments were echoed by mum Natasha, who told said Zeus had never really shown “any interest” in Elle.
Police confirmed the dog was a Belgian Malinois, a type of Belgian Shepherd which is not classed as a dangerous breed.
The animal was removed from the home and humanely destroyed.
Officers said at the time they were “satisfied” that no criminal offence had been committed.
Coroner Delroy Henry described the attack as “sudden and unanticipated” as he recorded a narrative conclusion.
He said: “The dog has shown no signs of aggression to baby Elle or, indeed, any of the occupants of that home. Baby Elle brushed against him. I find as a fact that the dog bit the head of baby Elle.
“Sadly, baby Elle died a short time later the same day. The death of baby Elle was caused by a sudden and unanticipated behaviour of a large dog in a family home.
“This is certainly a tragic incident – a family changed forever. I really don’t think there are any words that I could say to console the family of Elle save to re-iterate that my heart goes out to the Elle’s parents and family.”