Ferret Attack: Missouri Infant Loses Seven Fingers to Family Pet

• We have owned 2 ferrets. Both total sweethearts, very docile and cuddly. The one we have now plays with my Yorkie all the time and has never hurt her nor anyone else. I would say if this story is factual that the ferret was fed a diet of meat all it's life, not socialized at all and then starved to the point of desperation. I have been bit by a ferret(not mine). It HURTS! It would have taken a very long time for a ferret to chew through 7 fingers and the bone, that would be a whole other story. That baby would have been screaming so loud in agony it could have been heard by someone outside. Very suspicious to me to say the least.

• In case anyone is interested... CNN has an article with more info on this... the parents were NOT home... their cell phone records show that they were out and about and texting/calling each other from many different locations. so yeah... they did not "wake up" to the baby screaming and losing 7 fingers in a matter of seconds, they were never there while their baby was being attacked.

• There is no freaking way poss a ferret ate those finger! lmao! Any ferret owner knows this is not poss. Why is the ferret running around a 4 mo old while everyone is sleeping, and not in a cage anyway? RETARDS!

• Ferrets smell like piss, shit and puke at the same time; anyone who owns one has something wrong with them.

• You work in an ER and see ferret attack victims all the time???? Where the heck do you live. I too work in an ER and we see animal attacks from neglectful owners all time. Never have seen a ferret attack though. I do, however, am a proud mom to 2 ferrets and neither of them have ever bit anyone. As others have previously stated ferrets that eat kibble will ONLY eat kibble as ferrets that eat raw meat will ONLY eat raw meat! Have you ever seen how slow a ferret "devours" his food? It would literally take 15-20 mins to get the meat off the bone of that tiny finger. As for your comment about ferrets being documented to attacking and biting people... what animal hasnt??? I got bit by my hamster when I was 7. Are hamsters nasty, mean, and dangerous animals as well? You're an idiot Karen and I suspect that youre the "environmental specialist" and not an MD or RN in your ER. Educated people don't make comments like that without any first-hand knowledge or studies to back it up. Know your facts before you hurt yourself.

• so true!  ineffective parenting strikes again!!!

• i agree completely!

• People need to learn tht its not the ferrets fault parents should have been watching the baby if he/she was crying they should have known something was wrong.. my opion but its true and alot of people agree ferrets are good animals! I've NEVER been bitten by one...

• Totally Agree !!!

• ferrets arent piranhas they dont attack people

• i have seven ferrets that my almost one year old nephew picks up and plays aroubd with all the time i have put six week old kittens together with them and after a hour the kat is no longer afraid of them and wants to play how the hell did they make that ferret so mean i dont believe this story

• I have owned ferrets for quite some time now. Lets take look at logic. A screaming baby, and a ferret. If the ferret bit the little ones finger, the baby would scream and move ALOT. There is no way a ferret would get 7 fingers even if it did attack. They dont eat fast, they dont even bite that hard. they eat what they have been given there whole life, and i doubt they were given baby fingers for long.... TAKE NOTICE PEOPLE, FERRETS DONT EAT PEOPLE, IT TAKES THEM 5 MINS TO EAT A COUPLE PIECES OF KIBBLE, EVEN WHILE HUNGRY. It is easy in this story to see, that either the parents let the child have a knife, or did it themselves, even the dog did it. I let my ferrets around little kids, baby's and even ferrets who have been hungry, and wheened on meat do not nom on a childs fingers. It is not plausible 1 bit that the ferret did it.

• Yes, and if you look at the families history ,they own rottweilers.Maybe the dogs did it and the ferret was blamed.That seems more realistic to me.

• This story absolutley digusts me!!  I have children of my own and if you're any kind of mother at all, you have what is called "motherly instincts" .....But not only that, you don't put your child muchless a baby in harms way with an animal!  I mean seriously...they need to do something to those "perents" to make them suffer the way that innocent baby did.  This breaks my heart!! What is this world coming to??

• Let me put this in perspective for all of you. It would have taken 1 hour and 45 min. for that ferret to chew through 7 baby fingers. The parents did not hear that baby screaming for over an hour and 45 min. I have owned ferrets and know that they take 5-10 min. to eat one piece of Kibble so to chew through bone would have taken it longer. My Ferrets could eat a small piece of banana in 10 min. Small piece of banana is just a slice of a banana about a half inch thick and that banana had no bones so how could they chew through bone is secounds? Those parents were probably not even home they probably came home and found the baby like that. As a mother i would have pulled the ferret off and threw it as soon as I saw what had happend, I would not have gone and woke up my husband to get the ferret off the baby they both came home were both in the room and they both found the baby at the same time she ran for the phone and he ran for the ferret. The only way that ferret would have eaten that baby was if it was starved and from the reports they don't seem to take care of their pets as they have had dogs taken from them for not careing for them. If you can't take care of a pet than you really should not have children. My son was a new born when i had my ferrets and never woud I leave my children in a place that the ferrets could get to my child or my child could get to the ferrets. These parents are stupid and should be charged to the fullest that the law will allow and they should never be allowed to have kids or pets. Ferrets inprint on their food and will not eat other than the things they were given in the first 6 months of their life. My ferrets would not even eat the new treats that i brought home for them as they were new and not something my ferrets had in their first 6 months of life. I feel for the baby and the ferret the parents were asking for this to happen by their lack of pet and parent responsability. The only time i was ever bit by my ferrets was when i grabed the one ferret that could not hear anything and scared her and she bit me for it, but she didn't break the skin and I know it was my fault for not letting her know i was there before grabbing her. Ferrets are no more likely to cause people harm than dogs and cats, So stop with the anti ferret thing because they are just as likely to bite and scartch as dogs and cats. Like the 4 month old who was killed by the family dog a chow or the child that was killed by the family cat by the cat smothering the baby. the only diffrence in any of these cases is that 2 were killed and one is now fingerless but it was all preventableand the one things all of these terrible things had in common was the parents where stupid enough to leave their child unattended with the family pet DOOOHHHHH.

• i have a 6 yr old son and a 1 yr old ferret.he is funny loving n awesome 2 play with.i cannot even picture our pet ever hurting us.if a domesticated animal eats a human body part i can only assume its because it was starving 2 death.as far as the parents being home or in the same room,i highly doubt it.no way u could sleep through anyone crying out from that kind of pain from the very start of the supposed attack.

• Going to bad for the mother Mr Jostes? wonder why 

•  thank you

•  you are stupid. really stupid. ferret are not wild animals. stick one outside and it will die. it has no fear of anything and no hunting instincts. it would take a ferret 10 minutes to chew thur a finger of a child. who cares if you work an the er i bet you see more dog attacks then ferrets. i have owned ferrets most my life. they make better pets then dogs any day. ferrets are not  to blame here the parents are. know your facts on ferrets before posting shit like this

• Someone should tie both parents hands to their tied feet and legs and put them in a closet with 10 starving ferrets and not open the door until the screaming stops!!!! 

• People who have Ferrets and other pets know " to keep an eye on you babys 4 legged and 2 a like".I have 2 ferrets and a 3 yeard old son and a house hold of 3 other kids and 5 adolts. We have 7 dogs and a rabbit. We know that dogs get grumpy and so do other animals but they dont speek english , so they tell us in other ways.My babies have not even bitt me when I dissterb the wordance or pay figting with the dogs or eachother.Yes, I do think if you have a ferret and kids the ferrets should have a cage.To proteck the hole familey.So if you are going to Bed or shopping or taking a bath put the 4 legged kids in cage, then all the kids are safe!!!

• gimme a break i have 5 ferrets and two dogs and in four years ive never had a incident of any kind because i have half a brain they are NOT wild there domesticated and breed and raised purely as pets how bout dogs dogs attack all the time should we ban mans best friend im sorry but if stupid people have stupid things happen to them its their own fault if you dont have the ability to hear a screaming child (which i dont get how this could have happened it takes my ferrets forever just to eat a few pieces of kibble) DONT HAVE KIDS OR ANIMALS

• You have clearly never dealt with a ferret and are unqualified to make the judgment that a ferret could have or would have eaten any of a childs fingers in a matter of seconds. Ferrets take very small bites of hard food such as BONE and chew for quite a long time it would have taken a ferret at least 15 minuets to get through one finger. It is more likely a rat ate the childs fingers and the ferret was unjustly blamed.

• Let's clear one little point up, a ferret isn't a rodent. There is no way that a ferret could have gnawed through the bone of one finger in a matter of seconds, as most of these reports suggest. Regardless of the age or size of the child, the animal would have had to have chomped through bone to remove a digit. Not trying to be fasicious but it takes my ferret about 20 seconds to chew through one small kibble, and that's pretty soft in comparisson. Other reports have also suggested that the ferret had already pooped out 3 fingers and 4 were still in its stomach. Do people realize how long it takes for anything to pass through the digestive tract? It's not going to be instantanious, that's for sure. Also, these fingers were not supposed to have been digested at all, but infact came out in their normal form. Why do I have major bells ringing here? If that were the case, couldn't just one bung up the animal so bad that it could kill it...let alone 7 fully formed, undigested fingers?! Also, who lets any animal run about freely when there's a baby close by? My ferret is free range, in that she has full run of the house and doesn't sleep in a cage. However, and she is the sweetest thing on earth, had we a child here, she would not be let to roam about freely. Right now she has her own little protected area where she goes when we go out or if people are over. I have a lot of warning bells ringing about the parents too. They were reported for basically child neglect in the past, and also there is another report which says they have a record for animal neglect and cruelty. Other reports also say the mother was pretty strung out on pain pills and vodka. I wouldn't trust them one second with either a child or a ferret. Anyway, off the point..A question to other Ferret owners here. My girls is addicted to Fig Newtons right now (makes a change as she usually only eats kibbles, and then usually only when they are soaked like baby food). Is it safe to give her some pieces of Fig Newtons as a treat?

• Just curious how do you know the attack took hours and not moments?

• The little boy was only four months old so his fingers were obviously very tiny, it would seem logical that a rodent could bite of 7 fingers within seconds. According to the PD report the mother who was sleeping on the couch did wake up when the attack happened and obviously stopped the ferret from removing the rest of her boy's fingers.

• Huh? Ferrets aren't wild. Do you know anything about ferrets at all? There are way more dog attacks than ferret attacks, should they be outlawed too? I've had ferrets for years & they are totally sweet creatures. I have a baby & my 3 have never bit my son. For one we are good parents & keep them in a cage so they won't hurt themselves but also any animal could hurt a young child so they shouldn't be left alone with them. They are rarely near him for that matter & have been close a few times while we were holding them & never tried to do anything to him or pay that much attention. I don't believe even a rabid ferret could have done that much damage. They are much too small & can't imagine how they could chew 7 fingers let alone have room in their stomach. They don't eat that much at once...like not even close. This story is full of crap from the beginning, I'm thinking something else completely different happened & like another said would love to see an autopsy done. We won't even go into how the parents did hear him till he had 7 fingers missing...

• LOL no probably as the janitor! ;)

• So you work in an ER where there are lots of ferret attacks? Bull. Ferrets are no wild creaturesYou shouldn't be posting blogs with no actual information on the topic. I dont know why you have a grudge against ferrets, but you need you have a conversation with someone who has some actual facts. So here I am :) Ferrets are commonly believed to be wild, vicious animals that will hunt and kill prey if let loose. This is false...misinformation pure and simple. Ferrets have been domesticated for thousands of years; possibly even longer then the common house cat! There are only 65 reports of ferrets causing real harm per year (bites, scratches, etc.) out of the 8-10 MILLION ferrets in the U.S. alone! In a more realistic light you are almost 5,000 times more likely to be bitten by a dog than a ferret! A government study by the California Department of Health Services on national pet attack statistics found 452 reported incidents of ferret bites during the ten year period 1978-1987. By comparison, pet dogs accounted for an estimated 585,000 injuries that required medical attention in the year 1986 alone Some of the above information is from a website that is petitioning to have ferrets legalized in Hawaii. I really dont think that if ferrets were as bad as you paint them to be that an entire state would be trying to change their laws to make them legal. Also I would like to point out that ferrets have a tendency to nip while playing and many people take that as a sign of aggresion. This is wrong also. Ferrets are just like a dog or a cat. They are bitey when they are babies and will remain that way unless they are trained not to. So if you are bitten by an older ferret, then the chances are VERY great that the owner is at fault for not training them properly. More reasons can include; the ferret was abused.(I'd take a chunk out of a hand myself if one had caused me alot of pain in the past) The ferret is sick or hurt (Ferrets can get a whole range of different ailments including a few types of cancers. They are very fragile when it comes to their health) Old and/or Grumpy (Some ferrets are just going to be grumpy and try to bite at you no matter what, and the same is true in any kinds of pets. People are like this too! But that is rare for ferrets.) I could keep going on and on on reason why a ferret would bite. but the point is that they have a reason. The harldy ever just bite for no reason at all. And even then they probably have a reason we just dont understand. Its not like they have any other way of letting us know to back off and give them some space, do they? For more on ferret biting behavior look to the sources at the bottom. So I hope you or someone else will read this long ramblin ass blog and realize that ferrets really are the cute fuzzy creature they look like, and that a report like this one is very rare and usually alot more hyped up due to lack of true facts. The reports of this particular story indicates a history of abuse of animals in that home. And my personal opinion is why would anyone leave a 4 month old baby unsupervised with ANY animal? Blame the parents not the pet! Sources: www.gopetition.com/petitions/legalize-ferrets-in-hawaii.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret Biting reasons: http://www.ferret-fact.org/BehBite.htm More general info: www.hugawoozel.com/whatarethey.html

• I have two ferrets and on the rare occassion that they do bite, it's usually a play thing and they never draw blood. Don't get me wrong, it hurts when a ferret bites but it doesn't draw blood. In fact when I got a kitten a few months ago. While the kitten was sticking his paw under the door....to the room that the ferrets where in....one of the ferrets bite the kitten's paw and that cat screamed. The sound the cat made was enough to make me jump up and check what was wrong. I could only imagine how a baby would sound. Not to mention that even though it obviously hurt the cat, his paw was fine....there was no blood, no bruising, nothing. Now anyone that has ever had a cat knows how small and soft a kitten's paw is. So how is it possible that this ferret bite through not one....but seven baby fingers?? I just don't believe these people's story. In fact I would not be surprised if they either accidently or purposely hurt this child and then put the blame on the ferret. I mean they have already been reported for leaving the child alone and the mistreatment of a dog. It's a known fact that people who abuse animal usually abuse children. These people need to be seriously looked into....and arrested. I feel bad for this poor child that now has loss of seven fingers and I feel bad for the ferret that was innocently accused and killed. I don't feel bad for the parents at all....I think they should have their kids taken away and never be permitted to own another animal again.

• this is what i say .where is the evidence i want to clearly see the baby without the fingers. if i do then i buy this story even if true where were the parents why leave the child alone the parents need to keep an eye on their child

• Wow. This is... xD I know ferrets can bite, really hard, but eating a few fingers? Lolz. This is 100% bull xD

• I owned 5 ferrets at one time, dont get me wrong my heathens ate everythng they could find, but they did not eat meat, and they never would harm anyone, they used to run around with my dog and cat and play.. Not only that, they have very sharp teeth and that first bite that baby would have been screaming.. I am sorry but I do not believe the ferret had anything to do with that babies fingers, I think it is pure neglect on the parents part, and I do hope that baby can overcome this throughout his years....

• The only way this could have happened is if the ferret was not being fed and was starving but even then I have a hard time believing this story.

• I own two ferrets (Zoey: 4 months, and Lily: 2 years) and nanny a 3 month old. I know it takes Zoey about 20 seconds to eat one piece of kitten nibble. It takes Lily about 30 seconds to eat one piece of kitten nibble. There is no way that a baby ferret (or even an adult like Lily) could eat SEVEN fingers in a few seconds. Their stomachs aren't even big enough to hold that much! I honestly suspect child abuse in this case. The authorities were called before for child neglect, animal neglect, and animal abuse. If they will neglect a baby, and hurt a dog ... who is to say they wouldn't hurt a baby too? The parents are 100% to blame for this. The poor baby now has to live like this. Imagine what else goes on in that house. The reason I mentioned nannying a 3 month old is because when she cries it wakes the neighbors. And thats just because she is hungry or wants to be held, etc, NOT because she is hurt. I can only imagine how much louder that scream would be if she was hurt. There have been times that I've fallen asleep, and let me tell you, the moment she wakes up I know about it.

• I would like to see an article with the results of an autopsy performed on the animal to see if he had human skin in his system.

• I have worked for over 30 years in an ER/Ambulance/Public Health/sworn law enforcement officer. I have handled ferrets for the past 6 years. What is described in this event, if this event is to be believed was not the act of a ferret. A cat, dog or other animal, but not a ferret. The k9 teeth only puncture, the other teeth, the side teeth are used to breakup and chew their food. I have had 16 ferrets none were strong enough to do any kind of damage as described. KAREN, your panicky, over the hill response and lack of insight into animal bites and trauma leads me to believe you LACK any appreciable education beyond a trade school education. This sounds like another incident, word for word from several years ago...where is that damn cat????

• Karen, you're an idiot. The ferrets you see in America today that are kept as pets are DOMESTICATED and have been for hundreds and hundreds of years. First off, they're not wild. Second, Ferrets wont eat food that they weren't imprinted on, no matter how hungry they are. Almost all ferrets today are raised on kibble, some on raw meat. This means that they wont eat anything other than said kibble and meat unless specifically trained to do otherwise. Third, the ferret wouldn't have been able to do that kind of damage in a matter of seconds. It would take hours upon hours to do that. And fourth, a ferrets digestive track is only so long. If the ferret had any part of that baby in its stomach, they would have known it about an hour after it started eating. Food runs through a ferret's digestive track in 1-2 hours. I don't care if you DO work in ER, you're not an animal behavioralist and obviously know nothing about the critters. Do some research before you start spouting non-sense and bullshit on a subject you know nothing about.

• I'd appreciate it if the author of this article did the follow up story and showed the evidence that the ferret was in fact responsible - there are so many things wrong with this story I find it so much more believeable that the family dog will be found responsible.

• Comment on the picture. Ferrets probably do bite more people than grizzlies. So do children, dogs, cats ... Going on to the blog itself, most ferrets who have been properly socialized do not bite. However, just like other animals and children who have not been properly trained, they do bite. However, they could not, in a short period of time, bite off and eat 7 fingers. That would take quite a lot of time. Since the family had an unsupervised and uncaged ferret, I would wager that their rottweiler was similarly unsupervised and probably just as unsocialized. Food for though.

• Let me tell you something lady, ferrets are wonderful pets. I have 3 and they are the sweetest animals. Ferrets are abused and treated like crap, left in cages and ignored, starved, thrown out in the trash (oh yes), and even left in their cages to die when the owner moves out or is evicted (yes it does happen). No animal is without fault, but then only a fool believes that any animal won't bite. If you treat ferrets with love, they will love you back. Mine greet me every morning, no matter how early. Now, lets start with your "few seconds to bite through" A ferrets jaws are not built to bite through bone, and it wouldn't attack for no reason. Its not a wild animal. The only ferrets that actually live in the wild are Black footed ferrets and they are an endangered species (do the research). If you do work in an ER then you probably see more dog bites and attacks than anything else. Any parent with half a brain should know better than to leave any infant or small child unsupervised around any, ANY, animal. My kids handle ferrets as shelter volunteers and have never, ever EVER, been bitten. So go back to your computer and EDUCATE YOURSELF on ferrets before you pass judgement on an animal you have probably only seen on TV.

• I don't know if you read any of the other comments but it has been brought up multiple times that ferrets are in fact very domesticated. Even more so then cats. They have domesticated for the last 2,000 years if not more. There are no ferrets out in the wild anymore, except for the black footed ferret. The guilty party are the parents. No animal should be left unattended with an infant, that's just asinine.

• Then we know that it would have taken TIME for the ferret to do this, not 30 seconds as suggested. Also, you must not have children because children cry at the smallest thing. My child will cry if he hears a loud noise that scares him. It doesn't mean it hurt him. Kids cry when they get scared, aggravated, sleepy or for another number of things. Not only because they are hurt.

• After years of advocating for abused children and working in the court systems. This is a perfect example of not only the neglect on the parents part, neglect on child protective services as well as the community. I heard this story and I live in Texas, from a friend that lives in Indiana that know of this family through another friend of this family. Allegedly this is a family with drug history and neglectful supervision.. If a four month is in a rocker I ask all who are reading this?? What is wrong with this picture??? Mom allegedly on drugs? alcohol? three other children.. We as a society should not be turning our heads to this type of parenting. It is not the responsibility of a village, it is the responsibility of parents.. It is not a right to have children and put them in abusive and negligent situations it is the privilege. We say it is a privilege to drive not a right, Whatever Gods or whom ever your belief is has bless us with the privilege of having ,nurturing and loving children.. I have been asked how is it that I can push for termination on parents rights. Well this is an example of how. This child will never pick up objects like our children, write like our children, bathe, push, pull, exercise and play like other children. The simple things we take for granted in life have been robbed from this child because not only did the parents have an undomesticated animal that they robbed the beauty of a natural life from, but they robbed their child of a normal free life.. write your congressman, prosecutors and anyone that will listen about this case in Missouri. The sad reality is that children do not vote so it has been my experience you fall on deafen ears, but one person can change laws and justice for this child and many other children..

• First off, ferrets are finicky eaters, and if you introduce them to ANYTHING edible, it has to gradually be mixed in with their OLD stuff, otherwise they won't eat it. Secondly, they don't eat that much at one time, even if they are starved. Third is that if you have a new born, you cage your ferret while you aren't watching it, cause they do nibble a bit. That is just common sense. In addition, I am waiting for the report in a few weeks stating that the family dog did it, or the mother inadvertently damaged the infants fingers while on a drunken stuper, or a drug binge.

• this is crap..

• Karen......An excerpt from a random book....... Do you realize that ANYONE can publish a book and say anything they want? You are so stupid you scare me!! The only facts in this case are that a baby is in the hospital and that he was unfortunate enough to have been born to people who are not qualified to own a pet much less parent a child..... I sure as hell hope you yourself have not procreated......

• These "parents" will eventually be found out...... They should have tried blaming the Rott, FAR more believable than a ferret...... Anyone who can entertain the idea of a ferret chewing off and consuming seven baby fingers is just plain stupid.

• Jeesh I was in shock when my boyfriend told me this story and y did the farret chew off almost all the fingers off? Did they Not Feed it? How could no one know that this was happening? It makes me not want a pet at all:(

• I'm sure the parents are drug addicts.

• Nonsense. It is biologically impossible for 3 fingers to have already gone through a ferret's digestive track unless you are also claiming that the parents slept through approximately 4 or more hours of said ferret eating their baby's fingers off. Do you have proof of your claim, or are you just jumping on the hysteria bandwagon, too?

• You are factually incorrect on multiple points. The ferrets that are kept as pets in the US are domesticated. The only wild ferrets we have in the US are the Black-Footed Ferrets in the Great Plains area, and because they are an endangered species it is illegal to have one as a pet. Moreover, there is no way for a ferret to eat through seven fingers on a baby in a few seconds. Just because you work in an ER, that doesn't make you a ferret expert. Kindly get your facts straight before attempting to portray yourself as one.

• I don't doubt they were sleeping- I bet they were passed out drunk or drugged! That was the night of the Cheifs game...bet they partied too hard and people like that shouldn't have children! Or find a sitter for Christ's Sake! I agree with the idea that the baby cried for a long time before heard! I agree that there is no way that only took a few seconds! Besides- a 4 month old's hands would be thrashing about making them hard to get to! These parents are sick people and I hope they get the worst conscequence!

• where is the information that is was not in the stomach of the ferret? another media coverage? how do you believe it now when you didnt believe it before? or were you in fact at the hospital when they opend the ferrets stomach?

• And those "ferret attacked" children weren't cool enough to have their story all over the news worldwide or have the Shriner's people pay to have their toes sewed on their hands? Whatever.

• What's next? The family pet hamster chews out the 8 year old's eyeball in attempt to eat it's boogers? Great child abuse cover-up. You guys are so cool, you have the whole world believing your lies! I guess it's going to take a dead kid to get people to realize this.

• As a ferret owner, I do not believe this. It takes my ferret an hour at least to consume a chew stick which is less consistency than a baby's finger. Seven fingers would take close to 7 hours to chew off completely. And the mom was just dead asleep while her baby was screaming less than 2 feet away from her for that long? You can't tell me that baby thought it was being tickled and didn't cry at all. And nobody at all heard the baby crying?, not the dad or the other 3 children? No one? Whatever. And not to mention the parents were in trouble before for leaving their children, all under the age of 8, by themselves with no adults. And I'm so sure the ferret just wiped up it's mess and cleaned off it's face and paws and went back to doing whatever after a baby finger dinner.

• Why would she be trying to get someone to come pick up the rotweiler? Because the rotweiler bit off his fingers? Sounds more believable. If the ferret chewed off the baby's fingers, why would she be worried about the dog?

• There is no way it only took a few seconds to eat through fingers not matter how small. Ferrets take a long time to eat a bit of kibble. It takes them around 30 seconds to eat the soft treats i but them. A finger is thicker and has bones to go through. I have had ferrets nibble on my fingers once or twice. My fingers are still intact. They nibbled for more than a few seconds. In the CNN report it says the mother was in the room that it happened in. So why didn't she wake up?

• Of course a ferret doesn't attack a grizzly bear that's just silly

• You should have nominated yourself for Ass Clown of the Week. There was nothing found in the ferret's stomach. Shithead.

• "A four-month-old child did, in fact, lose seven fingers to the family's ferret this week. " Journalism at it's finest. "In Fact" is not fact until it's proven as such. This type of journalism hype is what causes uproars in communities where it's not necessary. Get that story at all cost right?

• Talk about an educated person being uneducated. More than like your comment should refer to the dog that was also close. Ferrets are curious creatures but in no way was it feasible for a ferret to bite off seven fingers of a baby. Plus, on necropsy it would have shown it and from all accounts it didn't. Please inform yourself first. Yes untrained or impropery trained or abused ferrets can bite, usually out of fear but inflict this kind of damage.. no.

• Such mis-information put out there because of this. It's been shown that there was nothing in the stomach of the ferret to indicate fault. Blown widely out of proportion. If it was even feasible (which it's not) it would take hours for a ferret to acomplish that feat. Sadly the ferret was killed for no reason other than assumption without guilt. Authorities should look to the dog which is a more likely culprit even though it's aim was probably not to hurt the infant. The parents should be held 100% accountable.

• I agree with you too Sade, this smacks of either a lie or out and out neglect. Leaving a baby alone in a rocker and falling asleep is unacceptable to begin with. I am a ferret owner and I truly believe ferrets only bite for a reason, usually survival, if they are mistreated or left hungry. We got a biter who was neglected..she stopped after being here a couple months...she knows she does not need to. But in any case I would NEVER chance leaving a baby alone with a free roaming ferret...it's just ludicrous. The parents are as much to blame as the ferret.

• I am a ferret owner... I just want to give some facts about how ferrets eat. They are picky eaters. If the store fed them kibble chances are they would not eat something else UNLESS they were starving. So the parents would have had to feed the ferret a raw meat diet which is not what most people do. I tried with a 6 month old ferret to feed it raw chicken and it would not touch it. Also the way a ferret eats, their jaw is actually really restrictive, they are actually a tear and rip animal. I am not saying this did not happen, but unlike a dog that bites and gobbles it's food whole, think more of a cat the nips a piece eats it then goes back. And I have to stress that if the animal, any animal ( i own dogs, cats, lizards, birds) had been fed and watered regularly it would not be looking to eat sticky milk smelling fingers over a long time frame. This did not happen in a matter of seconds. Ferret teeth would make it so it had to gnaw at the bone. Unless it only ate the meat and again it would have torn a piece taken it somewhere, ate it and then gone back for the next bite. I would think the baby would be screaming at this point. A six month ferret is still a baby think of a puppy teething, and nipping because it does not know better. Just like with dogs ... Please don't blame the breed or the whole species in this case. It was a horrible incident that should never have happened but like most accidents the results will have to be lived with for a lifetime. I don't know if there was abuse or neglect, but with any animal, any breed, please research before bringing them into your home. And no matter what animal you have, they should not be left unsupervised with an infant...for both their sakes.

• I thank this whole thing is ridiculousness. I am a pet store manager and there is no way a ferret could do such a thing. I have seen a ferret be aggressive before, and it did bit hard but not so hard it would chew someones even a baby's fingers off, I mean come on. Even if this did happened the parents would have heard there baby crying hysterically and one or two might have (A BIG BIG MIGHT!!!) fingers would have been gone not seven; no way. I think the police should check into the parents a little bit more I mean the baby's fingers could have been gone by another source.

• It is the parents fault! No prosecute and remove children after a full investigation of course.

• satan doesn't exist

• @ curious...its spelled weasel...and they are not rats. rats are rodents. and ferrets are weasels(related to otters, minks, etc). They're not even closely related. Its like saying cats are dogs.....

• you work in an ER....where? the front desk? How ignorant you are....Clearly you have never had first hand experience with a ferret. They are DOMESTICATED animals. Meaning they have been bred out of their wild instincts for human use and companionship. My parents' dog bites strangers and my ferret gives them kisses..... my ferrets have a hard time eating their kibble(think cat food looking stuff if you don't know what ferret kibble looks like). I can't imagine ferrets having an 'easy' time chewing through bone....And ferrets eat very slowly in general, even when they are hungry. Also, ferrets imprint on their food. Meaning whatever they are fed up to 6 months old is all they're going to eat and like for the rest of their life... Mine have been eating kibble their entire life. I tried feeding them raw meat, but they wouldn't touch the stuff. They only like their kibble. Don't be an ignorant sheep and follow the wolf in sheep's clothing...Do your own research. Go to a ferret shelter and see how wonder these animals are.

• doubt it...my ferrets have a hard time eating their kibble(think cat food looking stuff if you don't know what ferret kibble looks like). I can't imagine ferrets having an 'easy' time chewing through bone....And ferrets eat very slowly in general. Also, ferrets imprint on their food. Meaning whatever they are fed up to 6 months old is all they're going to eat and like for the rest of their life... Mine have been eating kibble their entire life. I tried feeding them raw meat, but they wouldn't touch the stuff. They only like their kibble. Just because something is in print, doesn't mean its correct. This article sounds to be missing bits and pieces. There are holes in the story...

• Yes, I have kids, but something like this wouldn't happen to me bc I do not leave my kids unattended while I pass out with a pain killer cocktail. My ferrets were not left alone with my kids when they were babies. This whole thing is about pure stupidity and trash parenting. Some things happen for a reason, maybe this happened to get these kids into a new home before mommy fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand and burned all the kids and the house to the ground.

• Something tells me Chad didn't get Mountain Dew's copyright okay either for this pic, I think I will contact them.

• If you are a good parent this wont happen to you. I am sorry but I think the actions they took were wrong. Leaving your baby for (they have found out now) hour unsupervised with a ferret running around where it could get to it is ASKING for trouble. The ferret shouldn't have suffered for their stupidity. I don't disagree that children are more important than pets, but it sure doesn't seem like this was the case here? That is was continues to blow my mind about this story... people are not focusing on the problem at hand here.

• I can tell you are an uneducated moron by your other comments. Idk why you are wasting your time here.

• a ferrets digestive tract takes 3 hours... so if they presume some were digested, this took a long time and the parents are the morons. idc if it ate the whole baby, parents fault. all my ferrets are TRAINED not to bite. if this lazy trash family would have a) kept the pet away or b) trained it, this could have been avoided. plenty of people have babies and ferrets and avoid these types of accidents. idk why anyone is wasting their time arguing about ferrets being bad pets... its not about that. it is about shitty parenting.

• if it happened over hours, i dont blame the ferret one bit. only the parents. no vet would pull a ferrets teeth. if they were too lazy to properly train it, they should have rehomed it with someone who would. all i can say is this family sounds like complete trash.

• no vet would pull a ferret's teeth out. that is total bull, just like the rest of this story. i hope the baby finds him a loving home.

• i totally agree

• If you work in the ER, you see far more dog and cat injuries than ferret ones. Ferrets are NOT "wild animals." They have been domesticated for at least 2,500 years. This isn't a ferret problem. It's an owner problem. The same is true of the millions of dog bite and cat scratch cases each year.

• He's not a journalist. Otherwise, I agree :)

• Legit? He stole the photo from here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stacylynn/2301786900/ It is a photo of a yawning ferret. Try searching for a yawning kitten. http://goo.gl/iZD4G There are dog, bird, cat, snake, and mouse attacks every day, but ferret attacks are the only ones reported on because ferrets are an easy target. Nobody takes criticism of the entire dog species because of a single dog attack seriously, so why should we take this kind of nonsense "reporting" seriously? The blogger has not interviewed anyone of substance (an animal behavioralist or at least someone who actually works with ferrets would be a logical start), and he didn't use any kind of legitimate poll or anything to back up his blanket statements. This blog is an absolute farce and represents the major problems facing journalism.

• i think we let the ferret (well a different ferret, cause this one be dead) chew their fingers off... and anything else that happens to be hanging out...

• I am not a horrible person but my thoughts behind this are that the parents should have their fingers sawed off one by one with an old rusty knife

• ffg

• I think they should be hanged!!!

• more children than ferrets are spawns of satan. You sir or madame are an idiot.

• is that a ferret in your puntang or are you just happy to see me?

• yeah dipshit... you must not have kids... if the ferret was eating my kids fingers, I would have thrown him too... in fact I might have blended him up and served him as a drink at the restaurant I work at... I wanna know why no one skinned and fried this thing up for dinner... I got fingers can you eat me too, ferret?

• dooshbag says what?

• i hope your dick gets chewed off... dipshit

• ferrets are little spawns of satan

• Thankyou for the update Deluxecheck, my thoughts are with the poor little baby and the struggles he will now face. So sad.

• Thank you for the update. Sending healing thoughts to the baby boy for a speedy recovery.

• I can't believe I have taken time out of my evening to read of all your posts, but I did and that is my fault. I would like to let you all know what is KNOW being reported. Kari17129, curious, Avoidable, MommyFerretOwner, and the rest of you who want to read this....The baby boy is still in critical condition. He is fighting off an infection, the Shriners have offered to pay for the many up coming surgeries the baby will have to endure. The parents are being investigated and at this time there is no word if the other children are still with them or not. The ferret did only have the contents of what appears to be 4 infant fingers in its stomach, it is assumed the other 3 were already digested. With this finding, it is also assumed the baby boy was tortured by the ferret for hours by the ferret before the mother awoke. The baby lost so much blood that he needed blood transfusions. Angela Simpkins, a metro ferret advocate, says that she offered to take the ferret but was turned down by the family, who had planned to have the ferret's teeth pulled out before the gruesome attack.

• I hope they charge them black and blue. Their stupidity is unforgivable.

• Grain Valley, MO — Grain Valley Police are continuing to investigate if charges should be filed against the parents of an infant who suffered severe hand injuries from a pet ferret. Police are interviewing witnesses. They will discuss their investigation with prosecutors in the next couple of days, said police chief Aaron Ambrose. i found this

• I absolutely agree. The stupidity in this story reaches so many levels. Just really bad parenting with a tragic outcome.

• Yes this would be good to know.. your right there Curious.... Regardless of wot happened... The child was definiately innocent!

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