Horrible Tragic Accident

Many people are willing to take a chance.

Many people are over confident.

Many People do not think the rules are meant for them..

Great for them, but when my child is involved, I have always tried to choose the safest side.

If it is just me.. I do sometimes take a chance.
But NEVER when my child is with me. I am just not wired that way.

I don't think that was an accident. I have taken my son to the zoo and I have stood him on rails as well. Never in a million years would I have let him go. It makes me sick thinking about it so I think I'll stop typing now. :(

I think that I almost vomited reading this post and you pry should have put trigger on it so I would have known maybe I shouldn't have read this. I thought this was pry something about how a friend or such was or had a family member in a tragic accident and what should you do... like we see so much. Didn't expect to read about a toddler being mauled by wild dogs.

I stood at that very enclosure with my own children less than three weeks ago. Were on vacation in Pittsburgh and never miss going to their wonderful zoo.

The enclosure has only one open side, the others are shielded by plexi-glass. The day we were there the best view of the dogs were through the glass.

There is a net below the open side...to catch, cameras, cups, trash and other small objects..keeps the animals from eating them and getting sick. It is not a safety net for people but a precaution to protect the animals. Most all open enclosures had this netting...for the animals protection, not people.

The top of the open side had a slanted top at a 45 degree angle sloping back towards the platform.

There were signs literally everywhere (not just at this exhibit), do not climb on rails, do not sit on rails, to not lean over rails, etc etc etc. Every single exhibit...signs signs everywhere signs. I do not think they could have put up more signs to fix it.

I like to think I would have jumped in after my child, but the reports I hear are the dogs were on him practically as he hit the ground. And 11 dogs that in the wild take down 500-800 pound wildebeests would have been a match for five or even ten people. Not sure how many people it would have taken to "save" the child but there just wasn't time or enough people. Anyone been attacked/bitten by one dog...imagine eleven of those on steroids. Later I am sure I would have wished I had jumped in and died too becasue living with what I had done would be worse than death.

I am just absolutely perplexed and how she could have been holding him that he slipped and fell over the edge. The edge is pointed you can't sit on it, it would hurt your bum. And if he was standing on it, he was standing on an edge less than a 1/4 inch wide...with his center of gravity way up above mom's ability to hold him.

I know 2 year olds can be slippery and I almost dropped my son a couple of times while just carrying him, due to him twisting or flopping about or hitting me in the face with his head. So maybe if she had him very close to the edge and he wiggled loose, but just holding him his feet would have been below the railing. ???????????

I actually hope there is video surveillance that we don't know about that shows what happened so how it happened can be determined with 100% accuracy and will not have a chance to repeat itself.

I just can't wrap my head around it...especially becasue I stood where she stood just weeks ago on a sunny day and watched the beautiful dogs.

why didnt the mom jump in? i have been wondering that. i know you never know what you would do in a horrible sittuation but i'd like to think i'd jump in after my kid

Well, congratulations on being the perfect.
Now sit back and be judgmental of this poor woman and all of us other moms who are human and imperfect and sometimes make mistakes.

No amount of signage can prevent people from doing something dumb every now and then (and I include myself in this).
Except for you and maybe a few other perfect parents we have all been there: put the infant seat on top of the shopping cart or taking a few steps away from the cart to grab an item? Check! (yes, kids have died falling down) Taking your hand off the baby on the changing table while grabbing a diaper? Check! Falling asleep with newborn on the couch? Check! Letting your kid go down a hill on a sled without a helmet on... I could go on and on...

Life is inherently risky and every day we weigh the risk and the benefit and make decisions that could spell disaster for our children's life. Sometimes we get it wrong and fortunately 9999 out of ten thousand times one of us does something stupid nothing happens.

I would bet that even you, if you think really hard, would find an instance in your life as a mother where something you did wasn't "by the book" or "common sense" and it was pure luck that your children didn't get seriously injured or died... I would say judge not lest ye be judged.

Edited to add: to those that say it is less risky to step away from the changing table: I would bet a could amount of money that more children get seriously injured or die in preventable household accidents every year than fall into a pit at the zoo to get mauled by wild animals! Was what she did stupid? Yes! There is no arguing that! My point is we all made really dumb decisions sometimes... unless of course all of you are perfect I am the only one that makes mistakes....

Extremely tragic.
Accidents are called accidents for a reason.
The same could be said about a mom that dozes off on a long drive home, causing a head in collision, parent who doesn't secure a jog stroller brake at a park near a lake, a parent that allows her kid to walk to school then gets abducted, etc.
See my point?
Each decision we make can be an eyelash away from tragedy.
Had that child not lost balance, they would have gone home at the end of the day--together.
I don't think people need to pile on this grieving, by all accounts, STELLAR mother. She will live every moment of her life in guilt, agony & regret.
More than I can say about a lot of people who freely admit to "beating" their kids and don't bat an eyelash. Again--a heartbeat between poor judgement and tragedy.

Updated

Extremely tragic.
Accidents are called accidents for a reason.
The same could be said about a mom that dozes off on a long drive home, causing a head in collision, parent who doesn't secure a jog stroller brake at a park near a lake, a parent that allows her kid to walk to school then gets abducted, etc.
See my point?
Each decision we make can be an eyelash away from tragedy.
Had that child not lost balance, they would have gone home at the end of the day--together.
I don't think people need to pile on this grieving, by all accounts, STELLAR mother. She will live every moment of her life in guilt, agony & regret.
More than I can say about a lot of people who freely admit to "beating" their kids and don't bat an eyelash. Again--a heartbeat between poor judgement and tragedy.

I see parents do countless stupid things that endanger their children everyday. Fortunately 99.9% of them get away with it 99.9% of the time.

They could have had a hundred signs up warning people not to put your child on the rail, but they'd be ignored just like the signs that are there already.

What might have been helpful was a step stool for shorter people to stand on, safely, and be able to see the exibit. My little guy can never see over the rail so a boost would be helpful.

THAT SAID, if it had been my child that fell over the railing, DH and I probably would have had a fist fight over who got to jump over the railing to try to save him. I have to imagine the mother was just too much in shock and panicked to think to do that. I'd like to think that when my momma bear instincts kicked in, even a pack of elephants couldn't stop me from saving my child. I HOPE TO NEVER HAVE TO FIND OUT.

@Just M- I thought about that. I am sure she was in shock, but I think I'd rather die than stand there and watch.

I've read (and yes, I don't know if it's true or not) that the mom just stood there and watched. I can't completely know what I would do, but I have a gut instinct I would be flinging myself over that damn railing.

Yes, tragic. Another tragic case of a child dying, because of their parent's stupidity. I've made my fair share of mistakes, and I will continue to make them. I can say with certainty, I would never do what that mother did. I can't even get to a place in my mind, where I can understand her doing that.

Signs? Signs don't stop stupid.

Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8

We can all take a moment and applaud you for being completely and utterly flawless as a mother. You obviously "never" put your child in a car, because that is clearly a "potentially dangerous situation".

God Jennifer brings up a good point about signs. Wayyy back in the day I used to be a grocery checker. We put a sign and the end of the line when we had to close off for lunch or the end of our shift. You would not believe how many people picked up the closed sign to move it out of the way of their cart. I would look up and say sorry I am closed. Nearly every time in a really snotty tone, we you should have a sign, it is in your hand....

People are amazing, can't argue with that.

Thing is though comments like Ina makes? Why exactly does questioning someone's action equal feeling we are perfect? No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. What a fair few of us don't do is blame others for our mistakes.

When my younger daughter's doctor prescribed a medication for her anger with her father I didn't question it. I didn't realize that if she didn't take it every day it could cause permanent brain damage. I never dreamed knowing that my ex is sloppy about giving meds every day the doctor would prescribe such a thing. I didn't check, I should have checked! I can assure you when I rushed her to the ER I was not blaming others, I was angry with myself for not protecting this child!

Aside for a tick she will have the rest of her life she is fine. Every time I watch her and see that tick that feeling of failing her comes back. I own that, I have no problem if someone says why the hell didn't you check that medication before you allowed your child to take it! I have no problem because they are right! I should have, I failed her!

How have we become this community that uses I statements only when we want something, I need, I want, but when we mess up suddenly it is all they or someone else?

I agree that it is a horrible tragic accident that could have been prevented. The animals were in an enclosure. I would think the majority of parents would try and prevent a child from falling anywhere, especially in with ANY kind of wild animal.
Common sense should tell you not to put your child on the wall of a wild animal enclosure, but not everyone has common sense like that. I don't think its possible to put signs up for every stupid thing people "might" do. It reminds me of the woman that sued McDonald's when she spilled her hot coffee on herself. Now, they have a warning disclosure on it that says contents are hot (or whatever it is). Duh, it's coffee. If it was cold, you'd complain and return it.

Yes it's horrible but it's nothing new.
Every few years something similar happens.
People buy into the whole 'it looks so fuzzy and cute' and think animals are Winnie the Pooh - and then want the animal shot if a child gets killed.
I have a hard time calling this an accident.
The child was not where he was suppose to be (thanks to his Mom).
She didn't mean to drop him but it amounts to involuntary manslaughter.
Unfortunately - we can't idiot proof everything.
I've seen pictures warning people not to pick up running lawn mowers with their hands to use it as a hedge trimmer (indicating their fingers would get cut off).
The lawn mower manufacturer HAD to include the label because - yes - someone had already done such a thing and sued because there was no warning against it.
Common sense is not that common.
And when a parent lacks it, they and their kids suffer.

For all those responding, I would just like to call attention to Retta's response. She has BEEN THERE at the exact location, and gives a description of the enclosure and viewing platform. Please read her response.

There WERE signs posted EVERYWHERE. The mother disregarded them. There was no ledge to sit on, it was pointed and slanted.

And the idea that it is a shock he lost his balance (even if she was holding onto him--as Retta pointed out, probably too high for mom to have had center of gravity working in her favor).... he was TWO. How many physically balanced 2 year olds do you know? They are ALL pretty much a crapshoot of whether they will lose balance or behave herky-jerky.

What happened to the little boy is TRAGIC. But the mother made a judgment in putting him up on that rail. She gauged the risks and decided it was worth it. She was wrong. To say that it wouldn't have happened "if" is absurd. IF they had posted signs... they did. IF they had put plexiglass over the whole thing... there was a 4 foot FENCE. IF... if WHAT? IF mom had had any presence of mind and prudence concerning her child's safety. ... she would not have put him on that fence.

The zoo did nothing wrong.
Equating this to stepping 2 feet away from a child on a changing table is ridiculous. Hmmm let's see...baby on his back on a changing table with a possible 3 foot fall onto carpet.... squirmy 2 year old on an inches wide(?) rail over 11 or 14 foot drop into a pit of wild dogs..... NOT the SAME RISK. Not even close.

Another post compared it to letting her kid swim at the beach. Ummm... not the same. Maybe letting your kid swim at the beach with red flags flying that there are extreme rip currents and an offshore hurricane.... but generally? No. Not the same.

Did u ever read the obituary of common sense. It passed away long ago. Very tragic and yes preventable accident. This mother has to live with it the rest of her life. So so sad.

Oh my gosh - yes, this was absolutely horrible! My news station had a blurb about it on Facebook! While I have absolutely no sympathy for the mother being so stupid, I hope and pray the fall killed the child, not the dogs. They were just acting on instinct! What really pisses me off is now one of the dogs is dead because of her stupidity!!!

So many people these days seem to not have ANY common sense and on top of that they think warning signs do not apply to them. You could have a thousand signs and I would bet the exact same thing would have happened. I have seen it countless times where there is a rope or something to warn people and yet, they still cross it all the time at the zoo and other places. Granted, some zoos now have double fences (put up I'm sure because of stupidity) - but in most cases you would think common sense would prevail but unfortunately it does not!

This is such a sore point with me - I am so sick of seeing people do stupid and risky things KNOWING it is stupid and risky and then they get into a situation where they need rescuing. Now you have rescue personnel putting their lives in danger, and sometimes being killed, when it ALL could have been avoided. And I'm not talking about car accidents, etc. where it is not done on purpose (altho, again, some accidents could be avoided)!!!

So, to answer your question, I think most zoos have an ample amount of signs. What I think they should do, is at the entrance of the zoo post something to this effect: ANIMALS ARE DANGEROUS; IF YOU HAVE NO COMMON SENSE IN HOW YOU VIEW THEM, TURN AROUND RIGHT NOW!

And before anyone jumps on me like so many of the comments on Facebook, NO, I have not done anything even close to this stupid!!! If my children couldn't see something when they were little, they either waited their turn or they were propped up on their Daddy's shoulders where he would have had a death-grip on them!!!

@ Jennifer P. - that video is hilarious!!

I'm not a perfect mother, far from it. However, I'm not stupid either. What this mom did was dumb. She made a bad decision and her child died. She will live with that for the rest of her life. Her actions had consequences. I don't see this as a tragic accident, I see this as something very preventable that didn't have to happen.

How many signs do we need to put up saying "don't put your kid up here they could fall and die"? Serious question.

I am so sorry for the Mom. She will never be the same. I would have a hard time surviving this. The one moment you want to take back and have a "do over" you don't get. The tragedy is the child dying.

I recently saw one of those funny posts on FB that said we should remove ALL safety signs, that way all the stupid people might just go away.

Yes, it's not funny, but come on parents and families and communities, more signs will never cure stupid.

And to be utterly honest...I was raised in an irresponsible family where bending the rules and doing it your way was highly honored....so allowing your toddler to sit on the railing, in front of the sign, would be have a big rush of, 'See, we got away with it.' Sad but true.

I don't think a sign is going to help. That would require people to read them and I am pretty sure that the enclosure had a high fence for a reason. Sad all the way around.

Honestly you would never know that these dogs are as dangerous as they are by the way that the Pittsburgh Zoo has them displayed. There are many more safety precautions that they have taken with much less vicious animals. Other zoos that have these animals keep them much more enclosed. http://triblive.com/home/2897149-74/zoo-dogs-exhibit-zoos...

I do think there should be signs posted. If an animal is THIS dangerous the public should be made aware. Not everyone has common sense or sometimes those that do are caught up in a moment and momentarily lose it. It is not top of mind because this has never happened before.

No the zoo doesn't need more signage. There are signs posted everywhere to stop and not go past a certain point. To not feed or put your fingers in any of the areas and to stay on the other side of the rail. What this woman did was so utterly stupid I can't even believe it.

It is NOT the zoo's fault that she chose to do this to her child. It is 100% the mother's fault.

With that said, I still have such deep compassion for this mother and her enormous loss. I am so saddened by this and I really truly hope she is able to get through this.

I don't think more signs are going to make any difference. Parents just need to think things through and have the mindset that if it CAN happen, it probably WILL happen. I can't feel sorry for this parent. All I can feel is disgust. This wasn't a natural disaster; it was completely and totally preventable if the woman had just followed the rules and kept her kids off the enclosure. It was not unforeseeable; she is completely responsible.

I so appreciate the women who responded with their experience at this exact zoo. To know that there were signs posted everywhere (which I assumed there were) and that it would be extremely difficult to even put a child up on that railing is so good to know. With that said, I cannot believe the women who responded that this mother put her child in the same type of situation as getting in a car or going to the beach. That is nowhere near the same comparison. Oh, and I am not a perfect mother in any way, shape, or form. But I'm certainly not going to dangle my child over a pack of 11 wild dogs. This was no accident - this was stupidity or ignorance at its peak. That poor child had a horrible end to his life because of it. And the zoo and the dogs are being persecuted for it, and it's absolutely not their fault either. May that young boy rest in peace.

I have been to this exhibit numerous times. You would have to have seriously bad judgement to lift your child up to a point where they could fall in. They are pretty clearly a pack of predators.

It was also unexpected that dogs would attack a child like that as African wild dogs are not considered a danger to people (adults or children) in their native habitat. See the National Geographic website for more info. It is possible that animals raised in captivity will behave much differently than those raised in the wild and that may be what happened.

I hate when people criticize others for accidents. Of course this shouldn't have happened. For the record, we were at the Pittsburgh zoo a few months ago, and I saw lots of parents doing that-I can't remember that particular exhibit, but there were kids up on all the rails and stuff. I felt like the one weird mom who doesn't allow that. People DO NOT care about signs. Not that it makes it OK, but she was probably lulled into a lax state of parenting on a family day out and of COURSE she was wrong for it. I've let my kids do dangerous things before (dangerous if an accident happened anyway-kids can break their necks falling from anything really). I think this mom will suffer enough (because she will be for eternity-unless she did it on purpose). The scoff of all of us perfect parents isn't going to hurt her any worse or bring the child back. The zoo should make it impossible for kids to fall into a wild dog pit. It's not that hard.

I also think she may have done it on purpose if Retta's account is true-and the authorities may reach that conclusion too if it's THAT HARD to force her kid to be in that situation. But if it was an accident, then she'll have to live with the result of a bad bad choice forever, and it's a good wake-up call to all-SO MANY PEOPLE were ignoring the signs!

I was at Niagara Falls with my 5-year old a few weeks ago. We walked over to Three Sisters Island and, as anybody who has been there knows, you can pretty much just wade out into the rapids from there.

There are signs posted all over the place warning people not to wade in the water, how dangerous it was to wade in the water and stating that it is against the law to wade in the water.

So, imagine my shock to see a father allowing his 3 young children to wade in the water, just inches from very fast rapids.

The kids were pestering him to let them wade, so he would allow one in at a time and hold their wrist while each one was wading.

One slip, one fall - it could have been a total tragedy. This father was so lucky that didn't happen. I didn't see Park Police around to inform, but in retrospect I almost wonder if we shouldn't have called 911. It really was one of the craziest spectacles I ever saw - a dad who obviously couldn't say no to his kids and completely ignored the blatant signs all over the place.

I feel horrible for this woman and her tragedy, but no, I don't think more signs will change anything.

People do dangerous things every day. I don't know what the railing was like and in hindsight it is so easy to condemn the mother. But people put their children in cars everyday...cars are dangerous people! Even if you have your child in a proper car seat. And to make it even more dangerous, I see plenty of mother's talking on cell phones and/or texting while driving their children around.

I'm not saying what she did was smart, but just saying that danger is all around us and we all take certain risks. Many people would condemn me for letting my kid climb trees or letting him run around in the 3 acres of woods around our house unsupervised.

I don't think more signs would do any good. People ignore the signs all the time. Rationally, I am sure that lady knew it wasn't the best idea to sit her son on top of the railing. But, in the circumstances of the day, that's what worked best - he probably couldn't see and she was probably tired of holding him, so she placed him up there and figured she'd hold onto him and keep him safe. As you said, a horrible tragic accident followed. No matter how many signs there were, she probably still would have sat him there. Six months from now, when this incident is forgotten, I'm sure another child will sit in the same spot.