Virginia newborn baby mauled by family’s wolf-dog hybrid

An eight-day-old baby girl from Virginia has died after being mauled by the family’s wolf-dog hybrid, which has now been euthanized. 

Lee County sheriff’s deputies initially said a ‘large shepherd-type’ attacked and mauled the infant while she lay in a bassinet, but they later revealed the animal was a wolf-canine mix. 

Sheriff Gary Parsons says the infant’s upper body and head were injured by the mixed-breed animal.

He says his department was responding to a call about the mauling at around 11.46am on Wednesday, but the baby was already on the way to a hospital when deputies arrived, reported Kingsport Times-News. 

Initially, her father drove her to Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, but due to the severity of her injuries she was first transferred to Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport and then to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. 

The child succumbed to her injuries at around 4pm on Wednesday. The sheriff says social services are checking on the two older children living in the home.

The wolf-dog was taken to a pound to be placed into quarantine and on Thursday morning was euthanized after its owners signed a waiver, reported the station WJHL. 

The sheriff says he’s checking with the commonwealth’s attorney to see if any charges can be filed. The baby has not been name as of Thursday morning.

In Virginia, individual communities are allowed to regulate the ownership of wolf-dog hybrids. 

The baby’s father drove her to Lonesome Pine Hospital in Big Stone Gap, Virginia (pictured), before she was transferred to another medical center due to the severity of her injuries