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Natalya Moore, 18 months, with her mom, Fadre, bit a dog last week, and the dog bit her back. Leslie Slape / The Daily News

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Girl bites dog, dog bites back; friendship endures

Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:38 PM PDT

By Leslie Slape

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They teach young journalists that if a dog bites a man, that’s not news, but if a man bites a dog, you’ve got a story on your hands.

Last week in Longview, a girl bit a dog.

Natalya Moore, 18 months, has 6 tiny teeth and a seventh coming in. On Sept. 5, she sank all 6 1/2 of them into the side of her grandmother’s golden Labrador retriever, Earl, and she wouldn’t let go.

“She laid her head on him to give him a kiss and a hug,” said Natalya’s grandmother, Kim Sherrett of Longview. “I said, ‘Are you giving Earl love?’ And she latched on to him. She has a tendency to not let go.”

Earl snapped back, nipping Natalya on her face.

Sherrett, who was babysitting Natalya for her daughter and son-in-law, Fadre and David Moore of Vancouver, called 911.

The bite struck near the toddler’s eye, causing it to blacken and swell shut, but it didn’t damage the eye itself. Fadre Moore says Natalya’s stitches are healing rapidly and the toddler is not afraid of her family’s two dogs.

“You wouldn’t know she was hurt,” Fadre Moore said. “The day after the whole incident, she was playing with the dogs, playing like nothing’s even happened.”

She said her mother wanted to put Earl down, but she and her husband talked her out of it, reasoning that Earl reacted naturally.

Wednesday on her grandma’s porch, Natalya broke into a big smile when she heard Earl bark inside. But he’s in quarantine for 16 days, and Sherrett does not intend to let the two be together even after the quarantine is over.

“I’m not going to take that chance,” she said.

Fadre Moore said she hoped being bitten would teach her daughter a lesson, but unfortunately it hasn’t.

“We’ve been working with her to get her to stop biting, but she’s bit me every day since,” she said.

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countrygirl wrote on Sep 12, 2008 3:28 AM:

" Why is this story Headline news? "

Canine_Caretaker wrote on Sep 12, 2008 9:34 AM:

" This is exactly why kids and dogs should never be left unsupervised together. As for euthanizing the dog, I don't really see how a dog defending itself constitutes an "aggressive dog", at the most the dog should be rehomed where there are no small children. "

Former Res wrote on Sep 12, 2008 9:37 AM:

" To Thought: I don't believe in one instant that this dog is vicious. The dog acted naturally. Wouldn't you bite back if you were a dog and someone was biting your ear? Oh wait, didn't Mike Tyson already do that to Holyfield. Didn't work too well there either. If my yellow lab ever bit a anyone I would have to wonder what the person did because when my dog gets tired of kids/people, she gets up and leaves the room. As for biting kids, here's a good solution. When I was a kid, my sister bit me on the nose. Mom bit her back. Guess what? My sister stopped biting. TO TDN: Is it a golden retriever, a yellow labrador retriever, or a Golden Labrador? Three different breeds of dogs with Golden Labrador being a mix of the lab and golden retriever. "

LongviewFam wrote on Sep 12, 2008 10:22 AM:

" Stop the parent bashing. Just because your kid bites doesn't mean you are a bad parent. It means your kid now has teeth and they are trying them out. After trying them out, the kid sees that these chompers really created a reaction after they use them and keep doing it to see that reaction again. She bit a dog, the dog bit back. Now she knows she shouldn't bite dogs. She'll bite another kid and either get bit back by the kid, clobbered by the kid or scolded enough times by adults that its not fun anymore. Then she'll know not to bite people. She'll outgrow it. Big deal. How many adults do you see biting others? Leslie, this isn't news. It's a parenting issue. If you wanted to do a parenting article on biting, that might be a better avenue for this piece. Good luck getting anyone interested in being interviewed after the lashing most interviewees take on these message boards. "

Gondolapete wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:04 AM:

" The story is not headline news, if you would take 2 seconds to look you would see it's listed in the "Area news" section. Is complaining about the placement and importance of stories all some of you have time to do? "

49ermario wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:12 AM:

" My kids were instanly cured of biting after I bit them back. Apparently consequences for ubnacceptable behavior work!! To bad we don't adhere to consequences in the criminal justice system. Oh I forgot its not really their fault. "

tazer baby wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:29 AM:

" After reading the article, then the comments...it became crystal clear to me that there is a whole generation of parents that are not really sure how to deal with their childrens issues. I knew they were out there but didn't think it was so prevelant. No child should ever bite, a human or a dog, more than ONCE. This is right up there with knowing the difference between right and wrong, a basic rule if you will. Wow. "

momof2 wrote on Sep 12, 2008 1:57 PM:

" This must really be a slow news day. Wow..... "

Peach wrote on Sep 12, 2008 3:41 PM:

" I'm glad the little girl is okay.
I'm also glad to read about a dog bite from a dog other than a pit bull. Everyone is sticking up for the dog saying he only acted naturaly- which I do agree with. If I was him i would've bit back too. But, if this was the same story and the dog was a pit bull instead of a golden retriever, everyone would be saying how the dog should be put down. Goes to show you that ALL dogs have the capability of biting. "

Girth VonPhister wrote on Sep 12, 2008 3:48 PM:

" Nice Bluetooth!!! "

DUH wrote on Sep 12, 2008 4:08 PM:

" Biting and ripping to shreds are two different things Peach. "

cheney119 wrote on Sep 12, 2008 5:24 PM:

" Any dog that bites a person should be destroyed, simple as that. There is no justification for the dog. There is no hierarchy between dogs and people were dogs aren't on BOTTOM. "

Rosey Glasses wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:03 PM:

" Hey Duh... I read another story about a "mixed breed" yellow dog that went after a service man and then bit a kid! It isn't the breed, it is how it has been raised! grief... Not going to get into this again.... And cheney119- I wear a scar from a chihuahua! he was a good bud of mine, but he had a sore spot... I refused to tell where he lived or who owned him (just ask officer Brown)... We were playing and I touched that spot... that dog felt so bad about what happened because it "was a reflex reaction to his pain which I caused accidentally". No dog deserves to be put down unless it is a problem dog that attacks repeatedly or is trained and gets loose and attacks. sigh... why am I waisting my time! grief. "

DUH wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:25 PM:

" Hey Rosey, I never said that there weren't other vicious breeds. I know all dogs can bite. But pit bulls are by far the most vicious when it comes to attacks. Although Rosey, that has absolutely nothing to do with this story. Different set of circumstances entirely. "

just a mom wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:56 PM:

" Why is the mom smiling in the picture? If this was my daughter and a dog bit her like that, I would NOT be smiling. That poor baby girl, she looks painfully horrible in this picture, poor thing. I hope that she gets better. "

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