John Jefferson
A babysitter in Texas has been arrested and charged with felony injury to a child after she reportedly left a toddler and a teenager in her care alone, and then the children were attacked by the caregiver’s dogs.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said a 1-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl were being cared for by Heather Rodriguez, 36, in the Central Texas town of Converse. Salazar said a preliminary investigation led them to believe Rodriguez left the children alone with her four XL American bullies.
Salazar said that Rodriguez left the home for unknown reasons and left the children in a bedroom, away from the dogs since they were “known to cause damage.”
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The dogs eventually broke into the bedroom by destroying a connecting bathroom door that they’d already previously damaged, Salazar said.
Salazar said the dogs began biting the toddler once they got into the room.
“The 13-year-old was able to maintain control of the baby, but at this point, and what’s being described to me, it was almost a tug of war for the baby between at least one of the dogs and the little girl,” the sheriff said.
The additional dogs joined the fray, and the teenage girl spent “several minutes trying to fight them off,” Salazar said.
“At a certain point, she had to break away and physically left the baby behind in the bathroom,” the sheriff said. (She was) being attacked while she went to go get her cell phone to call for help.”
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The girl called 911, safely got the toddler into another room and barricaded themselves in there. She had to push against the door to prevent the dogs from compromising that entrance.
Deputies arrived and took control of the scene, which included rendering first aid to the 1-year-old child before taking him to the hospital.
“From what we understand about the baby right now, he’s definitely in critical condition,” Salazar said Monday at a news conference, according to USA Today. “I’ve actually seen some pictures of the baby from our body camera video… it’s heartbreaking to see anybody in that condition.”
Salazar said the baby sustained “pretty severe head injuries” and that he couldn’t breathe normally after damage to his throat and airway.
The sheriff said the children’s parents were unaware that Rodriguez had “problematic” dogs and that he believed “they would not have let (Rodriguez) care for their baby the way that they did had they known that these dogs were unsafe.”
He added that the teenage girl’s quick actions likely prevented a situation that could have turned out much worse than it is.
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“I’ve got to be honest, the 13-year-old in this instance, I’m considering her a hero,” Salazar said. “I think her actions led to the baby not being mauled even more seriously, or even killed as a result of this savage dog attack.”
Child Protective Services has been called to monitor the welfare of both children, particularly for the physical well-being of the toddler and the mental well-being of the teenager.
Rodriguez, in addition to her felony injury to a child charge, has also been cited for letting her dogs run freely without a leash. The sheriff said it’s clear that two of the dogs participated in the attack, but perhaps all of them were involved.
“Obviously, for me, any dog that took part in it needs to be put down,” Salazar said. “As heartbreaking as that sounds, the life of a little baby is much more important.”
Salazar said Rodriguez was more concerned about her dogs being taken away than the fact two children in her care were attacked and injured by them. The dogs are now with Bexar County Animal Control, which will determine what happens to them.
“If we’re able to find out that one of the dogs, or several of the dogs were not responsible, then fine,” Salazar said. “Perhaps those can go back, but (Rodriguez) seemed to be more concerned with what was going on with those dogs than with the fact that her inaction (and) her omissions almost caused the death of a baby.”
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