Pet piranha bites off Illinois toddler's fingertip

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ODD_PIRANHA_GIRLS_FINGER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-23-11-41-29

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago-area parents thought their pit bull was to blame when they heard their 18-month-old daughter crying and discovered one of her fingertips had been severed.

Turns out, the culprit was a piranha the family kept in an aquarium.

Doctors determined the bite wasn't from a dog after the girl was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Tuesday night.

Cook County Sheriff's Department spokesman Frank Bilecki tells the Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/NldQUB ) the girl's father cut open one of two piranhas and found the fingertip. He says doctors tried to reattach the fingertip, but he didn't know if they were successful.

He didn't immediately respond to messages left Saturday by The Associated Press, and a hospital spokesman couldn't provide the information.

Bilecki says the parents were distraught and aren't facing charges.

[kestrel91316]

1. It's now legal to import piranhas into the US and sell them as "pets"??

[undeterred]

2. When your most dangerous pet isn't your pit bull

you may have too many pets.

[EFerrari]

7. My mom wouldn't even let me have a cat.

lol

[undeterred]

9. Because it was too dangerous?

[EFerrari]

14. LOL! Because she was too busy.

The only living thing I ever saw her look fondly on was a lobster she picked out of a restaurant tank.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. This is unfair to pirhanas

By nature, pirhanas are gentle and loving fish. In the hands of a cruel owner, any fish can become dangerous. Heck, I've seen guppies become man-eaters after years of abuse.

Do we know how this fish was treated?

[potone]

4. Good one!!

Thanks for the laugh!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

8. You're out of control.

[LiberalEsto]

20. +100!

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Well not as bad as the idiot who we transported

(he lived, superficial byte) after his king cobra decided to well, defend itself.

[elleng]

6. GROSS!

What is wrong with these PARENTS???

[Speck Tater]

10. Well the good news is, the kid didn't find the alligator pit out back. nt

[treestar]

17. LOL

Wouldn't be surprised. 18 month olds and dangerous pets do not mix. What were they thinking!

[undeterred]

11. I went on a trip to the Amazon and we fished for piranha - using beef as bait

The guide told us that EVERYTHING in the Amazon has at least one bite taken out of it by a pirhana. So if you catch a fish it might have a fin missing.. if you find a frog it will have a leg missing.. even the smallest piranhas have a nasty bite. I really didn't want to catch one after that!

[GusFring]

12. What happened to the dog they blamed?

[undeterred]

13. He was exonerated and awarded a settlement of 2 milkbones.

[longship]

15. Did you hear about the family with a shark in their aquarium?

Just kidding, but I still question the wisdom of those parents.

Let's put a flesh eating fish where our toddler can poke its fingers.

[cheri010353]

16. The parents need to be charged with neglect

Seriously, they have a pit bull and a piranha and do not supervise this little one any better than that? I am not anti pit bull. My son had one and she was the best dog ever, but we NEVER left her alone with the kids. And my brother has always had them and they were and are gentle, tolerant dogs - but, again, are never alone with kids. We have a yellow lab mix who is a wonderful, gentle dog but I would never leave her alone with kids. And I don't even know what to say about having a piranha as a pet in an area where an 18-month-old has access to it. Poor little girl.

[LeftyMom]

18. The parents should be facing neglect charges.

Unsupervised that kid could as easily have fallen in the tank and drowned, even if all they'd had in there were goldfish.

[Bucky]

19. This whole thread needs a Duzy nomination. You're a buncha funny sick bastids.

Poor kid. Shame on me for getting a giggle out of it.

[Ikonoklast]

23. Oh, you thought that this is a laughing matterr?

I'd give you the finger, but my parents also kept pirahnas as pets.

And I wanted to be a pro bowler when I grew up, too.

[MightyOkie]

21. Okay. Confession time

I was at an aquatic park where you can feed certain sea creatures (sharks, manta rays, dolphins. etc.) After my over the top freak out over my kids' safety, guess who left with chew marks on his fingers? Two months of nasty manta ray marks and even more brutal teasing.

[lpbk2713]

22. A pit bull and a pirhana.

Let me guess ... they have a King Cobra too.



Dumbasses.