A pet dachshund has attacked and killed a newborn baby while the family was sleeping, Russian media reports.
The sausage dog bit the baby girl multiple times while she was sleeping in her cot, according to early inquiries from the Investigative Committee. The baby’s mother later found her newborn dead and covered in bite marks in their home in Seversk, according to Ria.ru.
"During the night of March 10 this year, in an apartment on Kommunistichesky Avenue, a pet dachshund bit a baby girl born in 2025 while she was sleeping in her crib. Her mother later found the child's lifeless body with multiple bite wounds," the Investigative Committee said.
The dog has since been euthanised, the Investigative Committee told RIA Novosti, and they have launched a criminal investigation.
Police are investigating the incident as causing death by negligence, which carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.
Dachshunds, a long-bodied, short-legged dog, were initially bred as hunting dogs, used to flush animals like badgers and rabbits out of burrows.
While popular pets, they can be aggressive to people they do not know and are known to bark.
The British Veterinary Association has previously warned the breed - which comes in miniature and standard size, as well as smooth, long or wired-haired varieties - can come with significant and costly health problems.
Roughly a fifth of sausage dogs develop intervertebral disc disease, which can leave the dog unable to walk and compromise its quality of life.
Despite the heath problems, they are a popular dog breed in the UK. According to a Kennel Club ranking of pure-bred dogs by the number of registrations, they are the fourth most popular pure-bred pet among Britons.
