Henderson boy celebrating first birthday killed by family dog

The last day of little Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan's life started out as one of his best.

He spent it celebrating his first birthday with his father, grandmother and other family members in their spacious Henderson home.

He unwrapped presents with the beloved family dog, a mastiff-Rhodesian mix named Onion who had recently turned 6 years old.

Jeremiah got a roomful of toys, including a battery-powered car and a floating frog for the bath. Onion got squeaky toys. They played together all day Friday.

After the long, joyful day, Jeremiah was exhausted.

"We were just about to put him to bed," around 10 p.m., when it happened, said his father, 29-year-old Christopher Shahan. He shares custody of Jeremiah with the boy's mother. The two aren't married.

Jeremiah's grandmother gave him a bottle and laid him down in the living room. The baby crawled over to Onion and - as he had done many times before - grabbed onto the 120-pound dog to help himself stand up.

Just then, Jeremiah's grandmother leaned over to pick him up. Onion suddenly attacked.

He latched his jaws around the boy's head and began shaking him back and forth. Jeremiah's grandmother wasn't strong enough to pull the boy away. Shahan heard the commotion from upstairs and raced to rescue his son.

"I got the dog off the baby," he said. "I tried to save my baby."

The entire episode lasted about 30 seconds. It was long enough to break Jeremiah's neck and cause other unspeakable injuries, Shahan said.

Paramedics rushed to the home on Navarre Lane, near Arroyo Grande Boulevard. They took Jeremiah to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena campus. He was then flown to the trauma unit at University Medical Center, where he died early Saturday morning.

"I feel like I'm in a zombie state," Shahan said Saturday evening while standing in front of his home in the otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Jeremiah "was the best thing I've ever had in my life. He was the best baby. He always smiled, always."

Onion had been with the family since he was a puppy. He helped Jeremiah's grandmother keep her spirits up when she was suffering from lung cancer, Shahan said.

Onion "was the only thing that ... kept her strong," he said.

The dog had never been aggressive toward anyone and loved Jeremiah, Shahan said.

The dog "licks his face. He never growls, never snaps at him. I never thought that dog would do anything to my baby."

Shahan had no idea why Onion suddenly snapped. Afterward, the dog seemed oblivious to the damage he had done. As he was being removed from the home to be taken to Henderson's animal shelter, "he thought he was going to go on a walk," Shahan said.

Animal control officials will quarantine Onion for 10 days of observation to determine if he has rabies, Henderson police said. He then will be euthanized.

The family plans to hold a funeral for Jeremiah sometime next week.

Shahan had a warning for other families who have dogs and babies.

"Always be careful," even if you trust your dog, he said. "I trusted my dog, and now I don't have a baby or a dog."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at
lcurtis@reviewjournal.com.