Mother: Ferret, not pit bull, gnawed off baby's toes

KATC-3

BENTON, La. -- The parents of a month-old girl whose toes were gnawed off while her parents slept apparently disagree about whether the culprit was their ferret or their 6-week-old pit bull.

Mary Hansche, 22, told KTBS-TV on Tuesday that she thinks it was the ferret. "The way the bite marks were on her foot. The ferret being out of its cage. I knew it wasn't the dog," she said.

But her husband, Christopher Wayne Hansche, 26, told Bossier City police that the ferret had been in its cage all night, city spokesman Mark Natale said Wednesday.

"We were told that the puppy had blood on its fur. But when the officers arrived there, the animal did not have blood on its mouth," he said.

Regardless of the culprit,

He said which animal did it won't affect charges against the Hansches, who booked were Dec. 10 on charges of child desertion and criminal negligence and remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bond each.

"We know this child was injured by an animal while in the custody of the parents," who should have prevented the injury, Natale said.

Their daughter has been released from the hospital and is in state custody.

The Hansches were asleep on a mattress on the floor and the baby in a carrier next to the mattress when her cries woke them, police have said. They were not tested for alcohol or drugs, since such tests would not be needed to prove the charges, Natale said Wednesday.

Defense attorney Pam Smart said she is waiting for results of a hair analysis to back up the couple's statement that they were not using drugs.

"This was an accident, very unfortunate accident. Hindsight is 20-20 and I'm sure the Hansches probably would say we would have done things differently looking back now," Smart said Tuesday.

She also said their bonds are too high for misdemeanors. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled next month.

Both pets were released from quarantine but will remain in the Bossier City animal shelter until the court case is over, Natale said. Either the court or the city may decide their fate, he said.