6-month-old dies after family member's dog attacks her

A heartbreaking and utterly tragic accident has left a community in mourning after the loss of little Ember Renee Southard, who was just 6 months old.

Fell to her knees in the driveway

Reporting on the death of a young child always strikes at the heart, but the memory of Ember Southard deserves to live on. Unfortunately, this sweet baby girl never had the chance to learn to walk, talk, or experience the joys of life.

Her brief time on Earth came to a devastating end on March 14, under the worst possible circumstances. According to WFLA, Ember, from Bibb County, Alabama, tragically lost her life following a dog attack.

Although the incident occurred at a family member’s home in Shelby County, Ember was from Bibb County. The attack took place around 10 a.m. on Friday.

According to Ember’s mother, Anna, it all happened when she was supposed to take her grandmother to a doctor’s appointment. The mother had planned to take her daughter with her, but her family reassured her that 20 minutes would be fine.

They hadn’t even checked in at the doctor’s office, and hadn’t been gone for more than 20 minutes when they received a phone call from the family member who was watching Ember. Southard rushed home and arrived just behind the ambulance.

When she saw her daughter, Ember already appeared lifeless. She fell to her knees in the driveway, her knees bleeding from the impact. She heard the words ”dog attack” and quickly learned that Ember had been attacked by an American Bully, an 11-year-old dog that had been around many children and had never harmed one before.

A family pet

Ember was rushed to the ambulance, with Southard riding in the front. She begged for Ember to be okay, but she knew deep down that her daughter wasn’t going to survive. She had already known the moment she saw Ember’s blue, unmoving body.

The trauma team at Children’s did everything they could, but before Ember was taken to the operating room, they told Southard that it was very uncertain and unlikely that her daughter would survive. Despite their grim prognosis, Southard continued to plead for Ember’s survival. At 1:10, Ember passed away, despite the efforts of over a dozen doctors.

Police report that the dog responsible for the attack was a family pet. At the time, two dogs were in the house, and both were immediately taken into a 10-day quarantine by animal control.

Now, the Alabaster, Alabama Police Department is investigating the tragic incident. No arrests have been made, as authorities are waiting for decisions from the Shelby County District Attorney and Grand Jury.

In an email interview with WLFA, Anna, Ember’s mother, shared that a family member had fallen asleep with Ember on their chest.

”She had the sweetest smile”

When Ember slipped off, she was mauled by the dog. The family member, who is epileptic, had a seizure after Ember was already in the ambulance.

“My daughter was so sweet,” Southard recalled. “She had the sweetest smile, the cutest squeal. Ember was such a joy. Such a good baby. She always had a little smile and big beautiful eyes. She hated to be cold or wet. I can’t even describe the feeling of cleaning the blood off my daughter, of wrapping her body in warm blankets so that she wouldn’t be cold. Only me and my grandparents saw her first after she passed. I didn’t allow anyone else to see her until she was as clean and warm as she could be.”

“Ember’s nickname was Noodle. Because as a newborn, she had little noodly toes, and the name just stuck. A wittle noodle. A perfect noodle. She was loved by so many people. Ember was an expert at smiling at you before spitting up on you. She had the sweetest voice. She had just learned how to roll over. There wasn’t a soul that met her that didn’t absolutely love her. She had wild blonde/red hair and big bright eyes. There was never a more perfect baby than my noodle.”

According to Anna, she won’t be pressing charges, even though her initial reaction was to do so when she was devastated and angry. However, she says she will NEVER forgive this family member for falling asleep with her daughter on their chest. Never.

Could have been prevented

Anna believes this tragic incident could have been prevented.

“My daughter is gone forever because they couldn’t follow a simple [expletive] rule. I follow safe sleep rules to the letter, and I never allow my children around dogs like that. Always supervised with me holding them. I don’t believe charges should be continued, and I will not be actively pressing them. I think the punishment of knowing what their neglect did to my daughter will haunt them for the rest of their life, as it should. It was an accident. An avoidable accident, is still an accident.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses, and many have offered their support. But Anna has a plea for everyone who wants to help at this time:

“The main thing the community can do for me is hold their babies closer. Follow safe sleep. Keep dogs, ALL DOGS, away from your baby. Any dog can kill an infant. There’s no reason to risk it. It’s never worth it. Please, please keep your children away from dogs and follow safe sleep. This dog was 11 years old and had never harmed a human, much less a child.”