A Florida father was arrested last Friday after leaving his 10-month old baby in the care of a pit bull.
41-year old James Irvine allegedly left the infant in a room with the door closed; the baby was crying when the mother–who had gone to work and become upset when she couldn’t reach Irvine–came home. The dog was sitting outside the door.
Irvine reportedly told police that he hadn’t left the child alone because the dog was there with him. Deputies say that conditions in the home were consistent with those of someone expecting to be out of the house for an extended period of time, as pets were shut up in another room, as well. The child’s mother–who didn’t want to be identified–said she tried repeatedly to raise Irvine on his phone and when he finally answered, he told her he was out “watching the game” and hung up on her.
Irvine was arrested and later released on $1,500 bail after a waitress at a local bar identified him and showed police his bar tab, which he’d failed to pay before leaving.
Irvine isn’t alone in his bizarre parenting methods; earlier this year, a Tulsa man was arrested after neighbors found a young child naked and locked out of the home; when police arrived, they found a toddler locked in a pet cage inside the house as the father slept on.