Posted on 05/04/2006 4:39:12 PM PDT by Bubba_Leroy
A six-month-old Medford baby was bitten by a rat up to 200 times after it escaped from its cage in the boy's room.
Police say the parents, 21-year-old Robert Horsfall and 19-year-old Maegan McCleary, found the rodent near a creek.
Police say they took the infant to the emergency room at Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford. Detectives say the parents apparently believed the rat was a domestic breed.
They brought it home and kept it in a cage in the room where they slept with the baby.
The next morning they found that the rat had escaped and bitten the boy. He had from 100 to 200 bites all over his body, including his face. He is being treated for infected wounds.
A second child at the home was placed in foster care.
The parents are being held in the Jackson County Jail on criminal mistreatment allegations.
You have got to be kidding.
Ignore for a moment that they found a rat outside and brought it home as a pet. Ignore for a moment that they decided to keep it in the same room as their baby.
The rat bit the baby 100 to 200 times while they were sleeping in the same room. How many hours was the baby screaming at the top of its lungs before they checked on it?
They had to be passed out drunk or on drugs. There is no other explanation.
"Who the hell finds a rat and brings it home as a pet? "
Here's a guess: The same kind of folks who have kids at a young age out of wedlock.
Sorry bud... I've not fallen into any trap. I realize that foster care is not a cure-all, but this family is not off to a good start. Please don't get holier-than-thou here.
What do you consider them to be guilty of? (other than the obvious degree of stupidity and recklessness)
And I'm not trying to criticize your statement - I'm just curious.
Even if they're not junkies?
Many here appear to believe that the baby had to have been screaming for some time, and that the parents must have been zombied out on drugs.
But what if that's not truly the case and the parents were just stupid; would you still say that?
I've had pet rats as well and while they're incredibly smart and gentle, it did take a while for each of the two older females to get used to being handled, and being handled specifically by me. I did get bitten a few times while learning the difference between how books and websites say to handle a rat and how to really safely and comfortably handle one!
From that, I can say with complete assurance that if a rat bites a baby enough to leave 200 bite marks, they're going to be HOWLING. I admit to saying a few not so nice things myself and having tears brought to my eyes a time or two, and I was about 22 when I had them.
Did I mention I never got nailed more than once at a time?
The article only established that these two are ignorant ,poor, and young. Ignorant people can usually be taught. They have certainly learned they can not keep rats as pets. Spare me any diatribes about how poor people should not be allowed to keep children. CPS should make them take parenting classes and visit them to make sure they follow through on what they learn .
I never said that... if you think I did go take a remedial reading course. Goodbye.
Butting in here....
I don't trust CPS to be competent enough to follow through.I'm not sure what an alternative oversight dept. would be.
Anyway I would fear that something would happen to the children once they regain custody and in between those follow up visits. So many children get lost in the system, and frankly there isn't a child welfare system that I would put much faith in.
Did the article say these young people were poor?
Oh my! I fear I have offended you. You meant to write reeducation camp. Trust me I have read more books than your kind will ever read !
I'm rather surprised at the anger and outrage directed at these parents; but at the same time, I'm comforted by the realization that you would have put my parents' heads on pikes.
Is Siberian hamster!
I know I shouldn't say this, but shouldn't there be some kind of law against two lobotomy patients being allowed to breed?
Tie the parents up and let the hungry rat loose to bite them. See if their perception changes...
"I know I shouldn't say this, but shouldn't there be some kind of law against two lobotomy patients being allowed to breed?"
Once there were some people who had the same idea. To make a long story short, they pushed that idea to its ultimate conclusion ,and things did not work out very well.Would you like to repeat history?
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