A three-month-old Alabama baby is dead after being attacked by his family's pet "wolf-hybrid."
First responders were called to a home in Chelsea, about 25 miles southeast of Birmingham, Thursday afternoon after getting reports of an animal attack on an infant.
According to WBRC, the parents told investigators that the baby was on the floor when the animal "picked up the baby and started playing with him." The parents tried to get the baby away from the animal but "it was too late," according to the report.
The baby boy was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead due to "injuries suspected to have been caused by the animal," the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
An area vet euthanized the animal at the scene at the request of law enforcement. It was taken to the Alabama State Diagnostics Laboratory for further examination and investigation.
Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer called the incident a tragedy.
"It’s been confirmed that one of our children here in Chelsea was killed by an exotic family pet and succumbed to their injuries," he said in a statement. "We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate and tragic event. We lift up the family and all those affected with our deepest prayers and thoughts."
A "wolf-dog" hybrid refers to offspring that result from the mating between a wolf and a domestic dog. The International Wolf Center has published an extensive online warning against bringing such hybrids into family homes.
"People who own hybrids often find that their pet's behavior makes it a challenge to care for," the center said. "The diversity of genetic composition even within one litter of hybrid pups leads to a wide range of appearances and behavior patterns among all hybrids, thus making their behavior inconsistent and more difficult to predict."
While laws concerning wolf-dog hybrids vary by state, owning one is legal in Alabama. It is one of four states that does not have a code against exotic animals, WBRC reported.