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13-month-old baby mauled by family pit bull passes away, Placer deputies say

Placer County deputies said the child was taken to a hospital but passed away. The incident is being investigated.

GRANITE BAY, Calif. — Update: 8 p.m.

A baby boy barely more than a year old is dead after a dog mauling in Granite Bay, Placer County deputies said.

The 13-month-old baby boy was attacked and mauled by a pit bull in a living room. Lt. Andrew Scott, spokesperson the sheriff's office, said the baby was near a female relative at the time, who was able to rescue the child from the dog. 

However, the baby would eventually pass away at Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Lt. Scott confirmed that the adult relative near the baby during the incident was not one of the parents.

Lt. Scott described the pit bull as a 6-year-old female that was a family pet. It's currently not known how long the family has had the dog. 

According to Lt. Scott, the situation doesn't appear to have been a provoked attack.

"I don’t know that demonizing the breed is the correct response. Anytime you have a dog in a household with a small child – whether it’s a big dog or a small dog – it’s always a good idea to an eye on the children in a house…” said Lt. Scott. 

The dog is now in the hands of animal control, and what happens to her next will be decided by animal control and the courts.  

According to Lt. Scott, there's nothing in the investigation to indicate negligence.

"It’s just a very, very sad and unfortunate circumstances, so the investigation will continue," he said. "We’re going to have a lot of questions to ask, a lot of things to look into, but at this point, it does appear to be an unprovoked dog attack and there’s no negligence on the part of anyone involved.”

Original story:

A baby boy barely more than a year old is dead after a dog mauling in Granite Bay, Placer County deputies said.

Around 3 p.m., deputies said they had gone to a Granite Bay home where a pit bull attacked and mauled a 13-month-old baby boy. According to a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, the pit bull was a family pet.

Even with the child being taken to the hospital, he eventually passed away.

Placer County detectives are investigating the incident.

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