A heartbreaking and utterly tragic accident has left a community in mourning after the loss of little Ember Renee Southard, who was just 6 months old.

Fell to her knees in the driveway
Reporting on the death of a young child always strikes at the heart, but the memory of Ember Southard deserves to live on. Unfortunately, this sweet baby girl never had the chance to learn to walk, talk, or experience the joys of life.

Her brief time on Earth came to a devastating end on March 14, under the worst possible circumstances. According to WFLA, Ember, from Bibb County, Alabama, tragically lost her life following a dog attack.

Although the incident occurred at a family member’s home in Shelby County, Ember was from Bibb County. The attack took place around 10 a.m. on Friday.

According to Ember’s mother, Anna, it all happened when she was supposed to take her grandmother to a doctor’s appointment. The mother had planned to take her daughter with her, but her family reassured her that 20 minutes would be fine.

They hadn’t even checked in at the doctor’s office, and hadn’t been gone for more than 20 minutes when they received a phone call from the family member who was watching Ember. Southard rushed home and arrived just behind the ambulance.

When she saw her daughter, Ember already appeared lifeless. She fell to her knees in the driveway, her knees bleeding from the impact. She heard the words ”dog attack” and quickly learned that Ember had been attacked by an American Bully, an 11-year-old dog that had been around many children and had never harmed one before.

A family pet
Ember was rushed to the ambulance, with Southard riding in the front. She begged for Ember to be okay, but she knew deep down that her daughter wasn’t going to survive. She had already known the moment she saw Ember’s blue, unmoving body.

The trauma team at Children’s did everything they could, but before Ember was taken to the operating room, they told Southard that it was very uncertain and unlikely that her daughter would survive. Despite their grim prognosis, Southard continued to plead for Ember’s survival. At 1:10, Ember passed away, despite the efforts of over a dozen doctors.

Police report that the dog responsible for the attack was a family pet. At the time, two dogs were in the house, and both were immediately taken into a 10-day quarantine by animal control.