Ferrets chew off baby's nose

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

Three pet ferrets escaped their cloth cage and chewed off nearly a quarter of the face of a month-old girl, Philadelphia-area police said Friday.

The baby was attacked about 3:30 p.m. Thursday as she sat buckled into a car seat at home, Darby Police Chief Robert Smythe told reporters. Her mother, Jessica Benales, had left her on the floor and went upstairs to the bathroom; her father, Burnie Fraime, was asleep upstairs.

Both told officers they came downstairs after they heard the baby screaming, but it wasn't clear how much time had elapsed.

The weasel-like animals chewed off her nose, upper lip and part of a cheek, Smythe said. They were euthanized and tested for rabies.

"This is the most horrific thing I've seen happen to a child in 45 years in this town," he said.

Burnie Fraime told WPVI-TV he "went over to grab the baby, and then ... half the face was messed up from the ferret. So I called 911 immediately."

The infant underwent surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and additional operations will be necessary.

The Delaware County district attorney is considering a police recommendation that the parents be charged.

A neighbor described them as "a very nice and loving family."

The family lives in desperate poverty and has been monitored by the Delaware County Child & Youth Services and two other agencies, Smythe said. Four other children under age 5 — all with developmental disabilities — live in the house, which he described as squalid. They are staying with grandparents while social service officials investigate.

Besides the ferrets, six cats, two dogs and two turtles also lived in the home, which is infested with fleas or mites. The only food in the home was a jar of peanut butter, a can of cranberries and some juice, Smythe said. But there was pet food.

"It's not that they're bad parents, it's just that the children are not being taken care of," he said.