(This happened in Lexington, where I used to live and some of my family and several friends still live.) One of my fraternity brothers said this: “Native American Indian Dog is a politically correct word for WOLF. I can imagine why they chose the longer name instead. … I guess they haven’t killed the wolf yet because PETA would be all over them. But if this had been my neighbor the wolf - oh excuse me Native American Indian dog would have been dead on the curb by the time the cops got there.”
So, are NAID’s wild? Are they a domesticated breed? A half-breed between wolves and dogs?
[I’m starting this in GQ, but if a debate breaks out, then so be it.]
Wiki and various dog breed websites say they’re a mix of various domestic dog breeds, no wolf (though per the Wiki link, at least one has been suspected of being a hybrid). Supposedly it’s an attempt to breed towards the type depicted in old artwork.
I would guess the only reason the animal hasn’t been put down yet is that they are checking the story out. I mean it’s not unknown for humans who injure children to try to shift the blame.
It’s worth noting the family believes this was not an attack. The dog had a history of taking items from the house and stashing them in the edge of the woods; they think she was taking the baby similarly, possibly with intent to hoard or even to nurture it. The point is muddied by the child’s injuries – a dog ought to have enough control to be able to carry a puppy or newborn human without breaking bones – but the point was made that the dog certainly could have killed the baby immediately, and did not.
It’s also worth noting that, as in almost every known case of a dog attacking an infant, the problem is that the parents were not present directly supervising. Infants don’t move like regular humans and often are freshly washed clean of scent – some dogs seem to have a hard time recognizing a newborn as a human, although they do much, much better once children are a little older. No dog should be left unsupervised near an infant for any period of time.
Lastly, you might be misunderstanding PETA’s stance. PETA has lobbied hard for dogs it deems dangerous to be killed (the Michael Vick dogs are the most public case of this). PETA has also tried to get entire breeds made extinct, such as pit bulls, and has argued against allowing humans to have wolves and wolf-hybrids in their homes. I would be frankly shocked if PETA defends this dog. I’m sure actual animal-welfare and dog-rescue groups might want to argue for this dog, but their agendas are very, very different from PETA’s.
Native American Indian dog is on my wish list. I think they go for around $1000 from registered breeders. I’ve looked at several breeders’ websites. They say the dogs are gentle and very social, and good with kids and other animals. I don’t have anything to say about this unfortunate incident in the OP, not knowing the dog or the family except how tragic and preventable.
