A sad story, but an important message (please read)

[ChrisH]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
Thank you Boscibo for an important reminder.

Both parenting and pets carry huge responsiblities and sometimes, very tough choices. It is easy to second guess the decision someone else makes... it is far, far more difficult to make the right decision.

I agree.

Chris

[Toby's my baby]

I am SO sorry to here about your nephew!

Boo Boo has bitten many people, he bit me in the lip when I was a few years old, he tore open Sara's head when she was about 6 when she was crawling underneath the deck to get him on a leash, he bit my grandpa's hand when my grandpa was holding him back from getting sara and I, and he bit my friend Rachels check and she was brought to the emergency room to get her face glued back together! Boo boo is know on a list where if he bites one more person the law enforcement is going to force us to put him to sleep!

[Denyce]

You are right. This is a very sad story. There are so many things to consider in this type of situation. I find it sad that after 8 years of the dog being trusted around children he makes one mistake and now he can't be trusted at all. I find the opposite also to be true...that this child can't be trusted around dogs right now.

I am not saying the child is cruel or the dog was too aggresive. What I am saying is there are several sides to any incident. Yes the parents have a responsibilty to keep the child safe. I agree with that statement 100%. But they also have a responsibility to keep the dog safe. They don't know what happened. Perhaps the child being so young and not knowing better shoved a finger in the dogs eye. I bet this child will be more cautious around dogs. And if the parents handle the situation carefully then the child can still grow up with the proper respect for animals and dogs and not learn to fear them.

For me I wouldn't be so quick to give up the dog. I would be more cautious in contact between the child and the dog and monitor the situation and see how the interact with one another now since this has happened. But I wouldn't just give the dog away. I mean..what are the parents going to do if he gets a bike and the chain breaks and cuts up the childs leg....are they going to ban all bikes from the kid? I know...silly example.

However, I do think your thread and the discussion are an important one. Animals are thinking, emotional, feeling creatures. Just like humans that sometimes become fed up with other humans and strike out in many ways both verbally and physically animals can do the same thing. They are not a machine that most likely will never lose patience and snap.

We always said about our collie when people would ask if she bites...."Well she had never bitten anyone.....yet."

My cats I am always very cautious with when children are around. Both for the child and the cat. Cats scratch and bite at times....it is in their nature.

On the other hand, if children are to learn to grow up loving animals and working with animals then the parents have to accept that at times they will be injured by animals. I can't tell you how many times when I was growing up I was bitten, scratched, stepped on, kicked, thrown etc from all the dogs, cats and horses I grew up living with. It is natural consequences and must be expected. You can't wrap your children up in cotten batting and expect them to be able to cope with the world when they are adults.

Denyce

[boscibo]

Thanks Denyce your post makes some very good points. Unfortunately, it isn't my dog and not my decision to keep him or not.

My SO wants to take him, but one of our dogs, Gandy, is very dog agressive and would probably tear him to shreds. I'm dealing with Bandit's diabetes and trying to get him regulated, and the stress from that is very high right now. Plus, we don't have room. We are full up in our little house in town.

My SO has suggested to them to muzzle Clyde when he is around the children, I don't know how that would work.

It is difficult to have a proven biter, as I have found out. I know if Bandit bit anyone again, he'd be taken away and put down, and I be sued. I'd lose everything I've worked hard for, and my dog at the same time. It is a very difficult situation to be in in our sue-happy society. I can't have people with children over, and when they do happen to drop in I am very tense and stressed. I have to put Bandit away. It has gotten easier as Bandit has limited mobility, so I usually keep the people out of the house. I may seem rude to some visitors, but the safety of my dog comes first. My brother and his family are very active in their kid's activities and the entertain frequently, there are other people over (with their children) all the time.

I don't know what I would do in this sort of situation. I personally have made a choice to not have children, but if I had them, I would probably be very angry at the dog if he bit my child in the face.

I know I was very angry at Bandit after he bit me. I avoided him for a whole week, not out of fear, but anger. I felt so hurt and betrayed that he would turn on me like that - I had never hurt him. Although while I was getting stitched up, the ER doctor told me he was required by law to report the bite to the county sherriff. I lost it. I started crying and telling everyone within earshot to "leave my dog alone, don't take him away", they assured me they weren't going to take him, they just had to report it. I was so upset they had to give me an IV of Demerol to relax me enough to stitch me up. I was angry later, though.

[Denyce]

I can understand your anger. We always get angry when something we love hurts us. Especially when we interpret it as intentional. I know when I was 15 one time my horse reached back while I was riding him and bit my leg hard enough to draw blood. I yelled..hollared and then reached forward, grabbed his ear and bit him back. *L* Right reaction or not I don't know...but he never bit me again. My cat Deirdre has gotten pissed off at me and attacked my face. Luckily never hard or bad enough to leave scars. I was pissed at her too. I hissed and snarled at her....and when she came over a few minutes later to give me kisses I turned and walked away. I think she got the message. But does it mean she will never get annoyed with me again? I doubt it...and she might even scratch on purpose again. But they don't think like we do. And for us as humans to assume they do is a huge mistake.

I am glad you got over your anger at Bandit and I understand your caution with him. I just wish more people would understand that an animals nature and way of dealing with it's emotions are different than ours. They aren't perfect but then neither are we.

Denyce

[Denyce]

ps...My husband and I don't have children either. Neither of us has ever wanted to. But I hope that if I was ever in that position I would be angry at both of them..the child and the dog.

This weekend we were looking at dogs in the local shelters. A couple of times we were told that certain dogs weren't good with children. *L* My husband and I were both going...."BONUS!"

But we haven't found dogs yet that meet all our criteria. We have to be picky. Because once a dog is in our family it is there for life...for better or worse. We make very strong commitements.