PHILIPSBURG--John Hodge, the father of the deceased baby boy Alex Hodge-Van der Sar, is calling for justice because of the sudden passing of his son on Sunday afternoon.

 

An American Bulldog identified as Loki attacked the child while at home in Oyster Pond in the presence of the baby’s grandparents. According to the police report, the boy was sitting in his walker when the dog attacked him for “no reason.” The grandparents tried to get the child away from the dog, but the dog refused to let go.

 

Doctors told Hodge on Monday that his son’s body had been released to the funeral home. He also was informed that there would be no further investigation. Stunned and angry, he filed an official complaint with police detectives, citing negligence on the part of his ex-partner and her parents.

 

“When Alex was born, Fay van der Sar, his mom, and her parents promised me not to let the dog anywhere near my son. My mother also told them not to let the dog around my son. I feel that this was complete negligence,” Hodge told The Daily Herald.

 

However, Prosecutor Karola van Nie assured this newspaper that the investigation was still ongoing. She declined to give any more details about the case.

 

Loki was put to sleep on Monday afternoon. The dog has been part of the family for six years and is believed to belong to the grandparents’ son. Both Fay and the son live with their parents.

 

“I want to point out that I have been around this dog in the past,” stated Hodge, who separated from Fay just before their baby was born. “I was very scared of this dog because it was a very intimidating dog. I saw that this dog would act very aggressive, especially if anyone approached the house. The dog would just run up and down in the home. This dog has even bitten Fay in the past because there was another dog in the house.”

 

The incident occurred when the dog and the baby were briefly alone in the living room while the grandmother was in the kitchen. It is unclear what set the dog off.

 

“While I was at the barbershop I received a phone call from my son’s mother Fay. When I answered the call, I could not understand what she was saying. She sounded very frantic,” Hodge recalled. “All I understood was that something happened to Alex, that something was broken and that it was caused by their dog, Loki. I rushed to the hospital, I spoke to Fay and she told me that Alex’s skull was cracked in multiple places.

 

“When I went to see Alex, I saw that he was bleeding from his head and from his ears. The doctors then told us that heart-wise he was stable. Fay then told me that based on what doctors told her, they should make preparations to fly out my son.

 

“About 20 minutes after, Alex was moved to the Intensive Care Unit. He seemed to be doing fine, but then soon after his condition started deteriorating. The doctors started to give him oxygen, blood and adrenaline shots, but nothing seemed to work. He was pronounced dead shortly after. I held him up and kissed him.”

 

The child will be buried on Friday, according to Hodge.

 

“I want justice for my son. They knew the dog was aggressive and they could have done something about it. This is why I went to the police station to file an official criminal complaint and plan to take this as far as possible,” he said.

 

The Daily Herald