Off The Record

A 6-Month-Old Dies After Being Attacked By A Family Member’s Dog

Published on March 20, 2025

A community is in sorrow following the tragic and heartbreaking accident that claimed the life of 6-month-old Ember Renee Southard.

Fell to her knees in the driveway

It is always heartbreaking to report on the death of a small child, but Ember Southard’s memory should endure. Regretfully, this adorable newborn girl was never given the opportunity to walk, speak, or enjoy life’s little pleasures.

On March 14, under the most terrible conditions, her brief existence on Earth came to an end. Ember, from Bibb County, Alabama, unfortunately died after being attacked by a dog, according to WFLA.

Ember was from Bibb County, but the incident happened at a family member’s house in Shelby County. Around ten in the morning on Friday, the attack occurred.

It all began when Ember’s mother, Anna, was scheduled to accompany her grandma to a doctor’s visit, according to Anna. The mother’s family convinced her that 20 minutes would be sufficient, even though she had intended to bring her daughter along.

When they got a call from the family member watching Ember, they hadn’t even checked in at the doctor’s office and had been gone for over twenty minutes. Southard came home in a hurry, trailing the ambulance.

Ember already looked dead when she met her daughter. Her knees were bleeding from the impact as she dropped to them on the driveway. When she heard the phrase “dog attack,” she immediately discovered that Ember had been attacked by an 11-year-old American Bully, a dog who had spent a lot of time with kids and had never hurt one.

A family pet

Southard rode at the front while Ember was hurried to the ambulance. Despite her deep-seated knowledge that her daughter would not live, she pleaded for Ember to be alright. As soon as she saw Ember’s bluish, still corpse, she knew.

Despite their best efforts, the Children’s trauma team informed Southard that her daughter’s survival was extremely doubtful before Ember was brought to the operating room. Southard persisted in urging Ember to live despite their dire prognosis. Despite the efforts of more than a dozen medics, Ember died at 1:10.

The dog that attacked was a family pet, according to the police. There were two dogs in the residence at the time, and animal control put them both under a 10-day quarantine right away.

The sad incident is currently being investigated by the Alabaster, Alabama Police Department. Since officials are awaiting the Shelby County District Attorney’s and Grand Jury’s judgments, no arrests have been made.

Ember’s mother, Anna, told WLFA via email that a family member had dozed off with Ember on their chest.

”She had the sweetest smile”

The dog mauled Ember when she slipped off. After Ember was already in the ambulance, the family member, who has epilepsy, has a seizure.

“My daughter was so sweet,” Southard recalled. “She had the sweetest smile, the cutest squeal. Ember was such a joy. Such a good baby. She always had a little smile and big beautiful eyes. She hated to be cold or wet. I can’t even describe the feeling of cleaning the blood off my daughter, of wrapping her body in warm blankets so that she wouldn’t be cold. Only me and my grandparents saw her first after she passed. I didn’t allow anyone else to see her until she was as clean and warm as she could be.”

“Ember’s nickname was Noodle. Because as a newborn, she had little noodly toes, and the name just stuck. A wittle noodle. A perfect noodle. She was loved by so many people. Ember was an expert at smiling at you before spitting up on you. She had the sweetest voice. She had just learned how to roll over. There wasn’t a soul that met her that didn’t absolutely love her. She had wild blonde/red hair and big bright eyes. There was never a more perfect baby than my noodle.”

Even though her first instinct was to file charges when she was upset and furious, Anna says she won’t be doing so. She claims, however, that she will never be able to forgive this family member for dozing off while holding her daughter. Never.

Could have been prevented

Anna thinks that this terrible catastrophe could have been avoided.

“My daughter is gone forever because they couldn’t follow a simple [expletive] rule. I follow safe sleep rules to the letter, and I never allow my children around dogs like that. Always supervised with me holding them. I don’t believe charges should be continued, and I will not be actively pressing them. I think the punishment of knowing what their neglect did to my daughter will haunt them for the rest of their life, as it should. It was an accident. An avoidable accident, is still an accident.”

To assist the family with funeral costs, a GoFundMe page has been established, and numerous people have contributed. However, Anna is pleading with anyone who wishes to assist right now:

“The main thing the community can do for me is hold their babies closer. Follow safe sleep. Keep dogs, ALL DOGS, away from your baby. Any dog can kill an infant. There’s no reason to risk it. It’s never worth it. Please, please keep your children away from dogs and follow safe sleep. This dog was 11 years old and had never harmed a human, much less a child.”

Anna, I’m so sorry for you and your family. Words are absent. Peace be with you, tiny Ember!