Nintendogs blamed for attack on child

By Ellie Gibson Published 29 September, 2010

By the Daily Mail, shockingly.

Popular puppy sim Nintendogs has been blamed for an attack on a child by her family dog.

Nine year-old Megan Walker was playing the game when the dog, a bull mastiff named Saracen, dragged her off the couch. He then bit her face and ripped off her top lip.

According to the Daily Mail, the sound of in-game puppies barking set the dog off. Walker was taken to hospital and surgeons were able to re-attach her lip.

"I think this game should carry some kind of warning," said her grandmother, Jean Taylor.

"People should be told not to play it when there are dogs in the room. I blame the game for what happened to Megan. If they hadn't been playing it I don't think the dog would have gone for her."

Inspector Phil Spurgeon said, "This was a really nasty incident but one which falls outside of the law. The dog in question was not a banned breed and the incident happened in a private address, not in public.

"The owner signed the dog over for destruction and it has now been put down by a vet."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (66) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • lennon #1 2 years ago

    Dont blame me it wasnt my fault. Dear God.

  • SClaw #2 2 years ago

    Did you know this game also causes and/or cures cancer? It said so in the Mail so it must be true.

  • AaronTurner #3 2 years ago

    So the owner of the dog lets a child sleep in the same room as that dog and it's the games fault? People are incredible.
    Edited by AaronTurner at 29/09/10 @ 08:42

  • deez #4 2 years ago

    I agree, I'm certain that dog was entirely balanced and lovely before. Ban this sick filth.

  • beastmaster #5 2 years ago

    I fucking hate dogs. Both real & virtual.

  • rodpad #6 2 years ago

    Let's ban Blue Peter for their dog too

  • bad09 #7 2 years ago

    "People should be told not to play it when there are dogs in the room"

    Jesus fucking wept......

    On a serious note how about charges being brought to the owner of the quite clearly uncontrolled and untrained dog? As a dog owner I'm fed up of the actual animal being blamed when it's the idiots who own it who are to blame.

  • Raitasar #8 2 years ago

    @bad09 - Agreed. It's almost certainly exactly what you said...
    If you need any more proof read the cited source article's concluding line at the Daily Mail website.

    Also. The face of that dog on the Nintendog's box cover is clearly one of evil.
    Edited by Raitasar at 29/09/10 @ 08:50

  • Doctor_What #9 2 years ago

    In fairness, the barking on the game probably did agitate the dog (it annoys the crap out of me too). The dog was probably a bit unbalanced, but the game was possibly the trigger for the attack.

    Sorry, was I supposed to say 'what a load of typical tosh from the Daily Rage' like everyone else?

  • DiamondIce #10 2 years ago

    @beastmaster

    I fucking hate idiotic people. Both real and virtual.

    @bad09
    Totally agree.
    I feel that people are absolved of responsibility and blame.
    Edited by DiamondIce at 29/09/10 @ 08:52

  • Raitasar #11 2 years ago

    K, instead of getting people to click a link, I'll quote the final line of the article.

    "Ms Melville was unavailable for comment, but it is understood that she told police that Megan may have kicked Saracen and that is why he attacked her."

  • JoeGBallad #12 2 years ago

    At least it wasn't 'Dogz' the girl was playing. The dog would have had a fit at the blatant misrepresentation of his species in that game...

  • Drone #13 2 years ago

    @Doctor_What

    No, but it would help if you read the mail article. The line Raitasar mentioned is

    "Ms Melville was unavailable for comment, but it is understood that she told police that Megan may have kicked Saracen and that is why he attacked her."

    Edit: Curse my slow internet skills
    Edited by Drone at 29/09/10 @ 08:55

  • levitate #14 2 years ago

    Gee wiz. The kid kicked the dog and the dog kicked back. I'd say that's pretty fair. Now for the numbskull owning the dog, HE should be put down and terminated.

  • bad09 #15 2 years ago

    "I feel that people are absolved of responsibility and blame. "

    Yeah they let their dogs run riot and when they go for someone or another dog it's just "oh well dangerous dog we'll put it down and let these good people get on with it, maybe we'll ban the breed or something". People need to be accountable for the actions of their animals as their dogs training is THEIR responsibilty, there are no dangerous dogs just dangerous owners.

    I can't believe though at the end of the article she 'fesses up that the kid may of kicked the animal, gotta love the daily fail a real credit to british media......
    Edited by bad09 at 29/09/10 @ 09:01

  • Shikasama #16 2 years ago

    How come any animal that attacks a human is automatically put down, but the same rule isn't applied to chavvy rude-boy hardmen?

  • towser #17 2 years ago

    I'm all for press freedom but in the case of the Daily Mail this should be reviewed. It is a nasty publication full of bile and untruths.

    Seriously, the day this paper goes the way of the Dodo is the day the world will be a much, much better place.

  • BigDannyH #18 2 years ago

    Didn't the DM drop in that it was an immigrant dog?

  • bemaniac #19 2 years ago

    i really hate dogs, such a non essential thing to have is a pet.

  • DiamondIce #20 2 years ago

    Why do people insist on keeping pets that can do this type of thing is beyond me?

    A form of willy waving.

  • Riggers #21 2 years ago

    "According to the Daily Mail..."

    All great stories contain this phrase!

    Yes, it's Nintendogs fault that the young girl was left with her grandmother after her mother went on holiday, that her grandmother then let her stay with a friends family, who then left her alone in a room with large dogs. Who she may have kicked...

  • darkmorgado #22 2 years ago

    Oh, for F*CKS SAKE

    Bloody shitrag publishes load of bollocks in attacking popular culture shocker!

  • darkmorgado #23 2 years ago

    Wouldn't have happened if they'd gone for a cat.

    WE LOVE CATS!

  • rivuzu #24 2 years ago

    Holy shit.

    People must run for cover in her house when the Pedigree Chum advert comes on TV.

    Here's a better idea; train your effing animals.

  • darkmorgado #25 2 years ago

    People must run for cover in her house when the Pedigree Chum advert comes on TV.

    INCOMING!!!!! HOLY SHIT, THIS ONE HAS EXTRA MEATY CHUNKS AND GRAVY!

  • dr_faulk #26 2 years ago

    DO NOT LEAVE KIDS ALONE WITH DOGS END OF STORY

  • rivuzu #27 2 years ago

    INCOMING!!!!! HOLY SHIT, THIS ONE HAS EXTRA MEATY CHUNKS AND GRAVY!

    Just you wait till the Frontline and Pet Insurance adverts kick in.
    Holy fu-
    Dogpocalypse.

    Edit: It'd be like christmas at the Daily Mail office. They get to piss of two social groups at once.
    Edited by rivuzu at 29/09/10 @ 09:31

  • Ignatius_Cheese #28 2 years ago

    Hopefully Siegfried and Roy will reconsider purchasing Kinectimals after this shockingly shocking event.

  • midnight_walker #29 2 years ago

    Kid's mom goes on holiday without 9-year old, remains on holiday after said 9-year old is savaged by a bull mastiff she was left alone with (and may have given a good shoeing to!), and has to spend a week in hospital. And Nintendo is somehow at fault?

    "Nobody from Nintendo was available for comment"

    Part of me wishes Double Fine had made Nintendogs, just so I could hear Tim Shafer's reply. But then the name wouldn't make much sense.

  • TopKatt #30 2 years ago

    Although I agree that it probably wasn't the game that caused this, I think we all need to be cautious in future. I know that I for one will be locking my pet tiger in the kitchen before playing Kinectimals.

  • Monkey_Puncher #31 2 years ago

    "I'm an idiot who keeps a breed of dog that has a history of being dangerous and anyone with any sense would not keep in a house where there are young children. It wasn't y fault though, I blame the......DS! Damn you Nintendo for your terrible parenting skills and stupidity!"

  • kestral #32 2 years ago

    perhaps they should have kept the dog and destroyed the game if they really thought it was to blame.

  • arcam #33 2 years ago

    Bloody shitrag publishes load of bollocks in attacking popular culture shocker!

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is an EG story. Does the "bloody shitrag publishes load of bollocks" still apply?

    At least the Daily Fail ran a slightly less provocative headline.

  • Lukus #34 2 years ago

    The game should come with a warning? Yeah, well done Granny, go back to bed.

    "Warning! This game produces sounds that may trigger the kill switch in your potentially dangerous pet and or slightly unhinged family member/friend/passer by. Play at own risk."

  • geeza2020 #35 2 years ago

    People need to stop saying the dog shouldn't have been kept as a pet as its dangerous. A dog is only made dangerous by its fucking owners, I grew up with a Doberman and a 12 stone Alsatian, and wasn't mauled once, not even nipped by either dog. They also never bit or attacked anyone else. They sure as fuck kept the Jehova's witnesses away from our front door :)

  • DAN.E.B #36 2 years ago

    It is the DS at fault

    Its rumoured that Siegfried and Roy where playing nintentigers the day of the attack.

  • twyford #37 2 years ago

    I really hate the Daily Mail, the article is incredibly misleading, the last paragraph says "Ms Melville was unavailable for comment, but it is understood that she told police that Megan may have kicked Saracen and that is why he attacked her." - Which means it was absolutely jack to do with the game and the headline should infact read "Schoolgirl, 9, has top lip ripped off after kicking dog", puts a hell of a different spin on it doesn't it.

  • photoboy #38 2 years ago

    Blame the game? Blame the dog and the lack of parental supervision.

  • Markusdragon #39 2 years ago

    "The Bullmastiff can get along extremely well with children provided the dog has been properly trained and socialized. Parental supervision must be maintained when they are with children; as with most large dogs, they may knock smaller children down accidentally...
    They were never bred for hunting purposes, and rarely show signs of aggression. The Bullmastiff is a sweet-natured breed." - Wikipedia

    Nobody ever thinks to re-educate the owners when they have their dangerous dog put down. Bull mastiffs are supposed to be big and cuddly and loyal and docile, not aggressive and panicky. Blame the owners, not the game, not the dog.

  • Dolly #40 2 years ago

    I just can't believe that they didn't mention Diana, house prices or asylum seekers in the article.

  • FogHeart #41 2 years ago

    Perhaps we should put warnings on anything else that might make the sound of a dog barking...like a television.

    Or maybe we should brand dogs with a warning: I may cause injuries to small children who kick me.

  • kinky_mong #42 2 years ago

    I don't know what's worse, the Daily Mail article with a blatant agenda and the throw away comment in the last line revealing the real reason the dog attacked, or the ill-informed anti-dog comments from some people in this thread. Once again EG's pro-cat bias rears it's ugly head, bunch of foppish mincers.

  • Mkwone #43 2 years ago

    I used to be left in a room alone with our dog. A saint she was too, god i must of tormented that dog terrible and she just lay there and let me do it. And then gave you a lick afterwards.

    Can't believe this article though, the game seems the least of the issue.

  • Whitster #44 2 years ago

    What kind of child needs to play Nintendogs when theres a real dog in the room to play with?
    Edited by Whitster at 29/09/10 @ 10:47

  • lavalant #45 2 years ago

    At weekends I let my Great White Shark babysit, he's great with the kids. Just don't play eccho the dolphin near him.

    It's a shame the grandmother didn't get put down as well.

  • Rodster #46 2 years ago

    A Bull Mastiff, nuff said. The parents are the ones who should come with a warning label. they are the fucking idiots.

  • fknetwork #47 2 years ago

    I blame the gay space marines....

  • Mkwone #48 2 years ago

    @Earl,

    Hmm it's funny how when you read something innocent back it sounds dirty. I never thought i'd have to do this but:

    I did not have sexual releations with a dog.

  • Markusdragon #49 2 years ago

    I think people here are confusing the Bull Mastiff with the Pitbull. Bull mastiffs are big, friendly things that are ideal family pets. Pitbulls are the little vicious things (thanks to the stupidity of breeding for fighting each other) that were banned under the dangerous dogs act. Just because both have the word 'bull' in their name doesn't make them both vicious.

  • Kaminari #50 2 years ago

    "The owner signed the dog over for destruction."

    Like a broken toy, then?

    Sometimes English semantics makes me want to puke.

  • Gromit #51 2 years ago

    So A) you play a game about puppies, and are surprised the odd sound effect of a dog yapping comes out?
    B) you failed to see the elephant sat in the middle of the room. Or should that be the HUGE bull mastif? What the hell are those people doing with a dog like that around small children?

    Forget putting warnings on the game - put warnings on the genitals of people like that: "WARNING! this will further the stupidity of the human race - run like hell!"

  • arcam #52 2 years ago

    Can't we just have a little sympathy for the family with a young girl whose face was mauled? Accidents happen, animals (even friendly ones) aren't always predicatable, and grieving mothers will often look for someone or something to blame, even when it's not completely logical.

    Maybe no one is to blame, and the people most deserving of criticism are the publications that spin their own agenda into the story to agitate and inflame their readers?

  • chessboxer #53 2 years ago

    Did the offending copy of the game also get put down, just to be on the safe side?

  • bad09 #54 2 years ago

    "Pitbulls are the little vicious things (thanks to the stupidity of breeding for fighting each other) that were banned under the dangerous dogs act."

    I see the propaganda machine known as British media and the just plain pig ignorance of the general public has worked well on you. Pits are not "vicious little things" and were not bred for fighting each other. They were originally bred for herding cows and sheep. Yes, their strength and hunting instinct obviously sees them as number 1 choice for illegal dog fighting and little chavs thinking big dog means big penis but they were NOT bred for fighting.

    In fact pits, staffies ect. are incredibly intelligent, loyal and caring animals that are (outside of the media mass hysteria) actually very good with children. Staffie terriers were once known as nannies they are so great with kids. indeed my own staffie cross I trust with my 2 month olds life...but then I train and treat my animal correctly....
    Edited by bad09 at 29/09/10 @ 11:43

  • solidSnake04 #55 2 years ago

    I had a lovely dog too, untill he saw me playing Fable 2 and bit my arm off. Now I have to type these comments on EG with my left hand. I have already published the story to all tabloids. The dog was really lovely I swear.

    When will our industry stop being the scapegoat !? Come on..

  • CodeBastards #56 2 years ago

    Just to be clear. I had nothing to do with this.

  • Caimbeul #57 2 years ago

    So basically dont watch TV or a movie when your dog is about either in case it flips out at a dog barking somewhere within the program or films soundtrack.

    The Daily mail are an absolute joke.

  • Headless_Monkey_Boy #58 2 years ago

    Has it occured to anyone that maybe, just maybe SHIT HAPPENS.

    Firstly i'd like to point out that all animals and pets are unpredictable to a point no matter how well trained because at the end of the day they are animals with their own INDIVIDUAL thoughts and instincts. This applies to cats, monkeys, rabbits, people ,ferrits, frogs, fish, probably sea monkeys and dogs are no exception.

    secondly i think in isolated cases its possible (i'm not saying it happend here, just that it could have) that the dog reacted to the sounds from the DS. Dogs and Cats are very sensitive to a wider range of pitch than humans and often react instincivley to sounds of percieved young. Thats an instinct that effects all mammals, as it helps ensure the survival of the next generation. but it doesnt effect all animals the same way, i knew a flute player who had 3 cats, one kept crying every time he started playing (he wasn't that bad) appearntly that cat thought it sounded like a kitten indistress but the rest didn't.
    And we've all had normal pets suddendly shriek/bark/his at something that isn't there.

    It doesnt matter how well trianed your pet is, its still has potentional to do something unpredicable and dangerous. To state otherwise is simply hubris. 99% of the time your going to be fine, but someone somewhere is going to be unlucky.

    The key line in the original article is "may" she may or may not have kicked the dog (we just don't know) which suggests a lack of supervision so perhaps the blame lies there. But if your that confident in your trusted family pet and its training (and presumably the childrens) then people do for the most inoccent of reasons, maybe the phone rang, some one at the door, kettles boiled, toilet etc.

    All i'm saying is that theres a lot of judgment flying round, and the only one who knows what happened (except maybe for the girl) is/was the Dog. Theres always a risk of this sort of thing happening however rare and you accept that when you take on the responcibility of a pet. Maybe we should let sleeping dogs lie :-P
    Edited by Headless_Monkey_Boy at 29/09/10 @ 12:14

  • geeza2020 #59 2 years ago

    @bad09

    thankyou! It's good to see that some people realise the bullshit that has been spread about these poor dogs is just that. BULLSHIT.

    Dog's are pack animals and take their cue's from the dominant member of the pack. In today's world of domesticated dog's that is the owner. Thus if you're a cunt, your dog will be a cunt. If however you spend time with your dog and train it to not savagely attack people, and obey you're commands unless seriously provoked (by violence say) then, surprise, surprise, your dog will not be a cunt, and will not be responsible for the mauling of small children.

    It ain't hard people.

  • Freek #60 2 years ago

    It's tabloid news. Why should anybody care?

  • DrStrangelove #61 2 years ago

    I can imagine a lot of questionable parents in America now buy their children a dog and a DS, hoping to become filthy rich.

  • Sunyavadin #62 2 years ago

    As a friend of mine commented just this morning on another Daily Fail story:


    The personal pronoun for "Daily Mail Editor" (or any journo at the Fail) should be "wanker" and the possessive should be "shit".

    "I was reading shit story about foreigners. Wanker doesn't make any salient points."


    It really works in every article they print.

  • Fab4 #63 2 years ago

    Bull Mastiff named Saracen, that attacks at the sound of another dog barking. Gotcha.

  • vizzini #64 2 years ago

    I agree with most people saying that the responsibility for any dog's behaviour in the majority of these incidents is the fault of poor dog ownership and negligent parenting.

    However, in all species you will get genetic mutation, that will cause a small percentage of the population to develop irreversible psychotic behaviour; whether 2 stone of muscle and teeth or 12.

    This is (logically) a far more prevalent problem in species that use the term mutt or mongrel to advise against natural (and successful genetic) offspring. Instead, heralding inbreeding (with a small genetic pool) as superior, using false terms like pedigree (or pure breed) to promote this scientifically wrong practice.

    My in laws, have a German Shepard dog, that I've know since he was 8 weeks old (he is now 7 and 8 stone of muscle). The sad part, is that at 3, the vet needed to amputate part of a toe to investigate an immune deficiency because his nails were falling off; caused by “pedigree” breeding.

    He's fine, has an amazing temperament and a great family member; but the immune deficiency could just have easily been a problem with his noggin. So we shouldn't forget that while we have a widespread dog Eugenics movement (inbreeding), even good owners/parents with small dogs could face these same terrible situations.

    How Nintendogs/games industry got caught up in this tragic story, is just beggar's belief, or normal Daily Mail reporting I guess.

  • darleysam #65 2 years ago

    So it's the fault of the dog (now dead) and the game (presumably binned). And the owners are absolved of all responsibility.

    Way to go, Britain.

  • dfunked #66 2 years ago

    Damn right!!!! Ban dog sounds from film and television too!!
    Take sick filth like "it's me or the dog" off the airwaves!!!! :o

    Daily f**king fail!