Baby Girl Mauled by Family Dog Zeus While Parents Desperately Tried to Save Her

A seven-month-old baby girl tragically lost her life after being mauled by the family dog in a horrific attack at their home in Coventry, an inquest has heard. Elle Doherty suffered a “catastrophic” head injury after being bitten by Zeus, the family’s Belgian Malinois, while she was sitting by the window. Her parents, Sean and Natasha Doherty were seen in CCTV footage desperately trying to pull the dog away from their daughter.

Detective Inspector Anthony Hibbert told the court that the attack seemed to have been triggered when baby Elle “slightly leaned on Zeus,” prompting the dog to attack her. The assault, which lasted less than one second, was immediately followed by her parents attempting to protect their daughter, cradling her as they sought to stop the attack. Despite their efforts, baby Elle was rushed to the hospital, where she was tragically pronounced dead shortly after, told The Sun.

In a statement, Elle’s father Sean explained that they had brought Zeus into their home as a puppy in October 2020. Zeus, a 31kg Belgian Malinois, had been trained by two separate experts before the incident. Sean initially believed the dog had “pinned” down another family pet, a 15-year-old French bulldog, before attacking his daughter. He recalled the moment of the attack, saying: “We were just chatting and suddenly (Natasha) shouted, ‘No’.

I grabbed him (Zeus)—I think it was his collar. I chucked him outside. Elle was on the floor crying. Everything happened so quickly.” Sean and Natasha both testified that Zeus had always been “good around people and other dogs” and had never shown any signs of aggression. Natasha added that Zeus had never shown any “interest” in Elle before the tragic incident.

Police confirmed that Zeus was a Belgian Malinois, a breed not typically considered dangerous, and they later humanely destroyed the animal. Authorities concluded that no criminal offense had been committed. Coroner Delroy Henry described the attack as “sudden and unanticipated.” He explained that there had been no prior signs of aggression from the dog, and he ruled the cause of death as a result of the dog’s unexpected behavior. Henry expressed his condolences, calling the incident a “tragic” and “unanticipated” event that had forever altered the family’s life.