Police Still Probing Attack by Rottweiler

Glendale police on Thursday said no decision had been made on whether to file charges in the mauling death of a 16-month-old girl by the family’s Rottweiler.

“At this time, charges are not being considered because of the ongoing investigation and the completion of the coroner’s report, which will determine the cause of death,” Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

According to authorities, Blanca Garcia was checking on her vacationing parents’ dog Tuesday night when the Rottweiler yanked Cassandra out of her arms and dragged the girl several feet away. Garcia wrestled her daughter away from the dog and locked herself and Cassandra in her car.

When she realized that the toddler was badly hurt, she left the car and ran to the house to call 911.

The girl was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital. An autopsy was performed Thursday, but the cause of death was not released.

Animal behaviorists said that although there was no excuse for the Rottweiler’s actions, it could have been provoked by Cassandra’s crying.

According to police, Cassandra began crying as her mother was filling the Rottweiler’s water dish.

The noise of splashing water or of water hitting the bowl could have caused Cassandra to cry, authorities said, which was when the dog, Enano, attacked.

“It’s very possible that the cry set it off,” said Richard Polsky, a certified applied animal behaviorist in Los Angeles. He said that some dogs will react “in rather bizarre fashion” and aggressively when they hear a sharp noise, a squeal or a cry from another dog or an infant.

Because Enano, along with another Rottweiler owned by the family, had reportedly attacked a Maltese dog in April 2004, Polsky theorizes that Enano may not have been properly socialized with small dogs and children.

Enano may have “regarded small dogs as a prey-like object,” Polsky said, and it is possible the dog mistook Cassandra for a small dog because of her crying.

Enano is owned by Blanca Garcia’s parents, Alfredo and Elia Garcia, Lorenz said.

“My daughter is very hurt right now,” said a distraught woman who answered the Garcias’ household phone Thursday. The woman, who did not identify herself, said the family did not want to talk about the attack.

Enano is being held at the Pasadena Humane Society on a 10-day rabies quarantine. Lorenz said he does not know the family’s plans for the dog, but because of its actions, it is “likely the dog will be put to sleep.”