Nintendogs blamed for actual dog attack

For years, the mainstream media has blamed violent games for instigating similar behavior. This week, a tabloid report out of the UK blamed one of the least violent games imaginable for a savage attack on a 9-year-old girl…by a dog.

According to the Daily Mail, Megan Walker was peacefully playing a copy of Nintendogs at a friend's house when one of the in-game dogs barked at her. Unfortunately, the bark was in earshot of the friend's bullmastiff, a breed of dog that weighs as much as 130 pounds. The sound reportedly spooked the dog so much that it bit Walker's face, severing a portion of her upper lip.

"I think this game should carry some kind of warning," the girl's grandmother told the Mail. "People should be told not to play it when there are dogs in the room. I blame the game for what happened to Megan. If they hadn't been playing it I don't think the dog would have gone for her."

Luckily, the dog was forced off of Walker by another dog and her friend's relatives, and her lip was successfully reattached in surgery. Less fortunate was the attacking dog, which was put down by a veterinarian shortly after the attack.

US Nintendo reps had not commented on the incident as of press time.