A 'wolf-hybrid' kept as a pet by a family in Alabama attacked and killed their 3-month-old on Thursday, authorities said.
Deputies were called to the home in Chelsea around 1 p.m. to respond to reports of an animal attack, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on Facebook.
First responders took the baby to a hospital near the family’s home in the Birmingham suburb of Chelsea, where the child was pronounced dead.
The animal was euthanized by authorities and transported to the Alabama State Diagnostics Laboratory in Auburn for further examination.
“We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate and tragic event,” Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer said in a post about the incident. “We lift up the family and all those affected with our deepest prayers and thoughts.”
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the incident.
According to the International Wolf Center, wolf-dog hybrids can have unpredictable behavior because they share some of the territorial instincts of wolves, and mature at different rates than ordinary dogs.
In 2013, a Kentucky woman was believed to have been eaten by the wolf-dog hybrids she kept in her backyard.