Friday, January 22, 2010

Son bitten once on nose, called mauling

A family just brought a new dog home. NEW DOG.

Within hours of bringing this NEW DOG home, they left the dog alone with their two kids. I mean, just for a moment, yo. During that time, the older child raised a toy above his head. The dog aimed for the toy, missed and bit the boy in the face.

There's a picture - it's pretty evident that, as awful as the bite is, it was not a mauling but a one-bite affair. But the story paints the ensuing bite as a prolonged mauling.

Here's a reality people need to get through their thick skulls: A dog's mouth versus a child's face will ALWAYS end poorly for the child - no MATTER the dog's size. Worst one-bite wound I've ever seen came in the form of a 4-yr-old child who lost her eye. HER ENTIRE EYE. The dog was a Beagle who had been aggressive in three homes, returned to the shelter each time, and adopted out again because "she was cute". And she was. She was also a crotchety old dog.

Also, please do not ever leave your hours-old adopted dog alone with your two kids. Not for one second. I mean, that's just setting everyone up for failure.

The dog is dead. Not because he was dangerous. But because a new family failed him miserably. And now a child has a bite wound to his face and may have emotional trauma in relation to dogs. I'm so tired of these cautionary tales.

1 comment:

pibble said...

So the 4-year-old was able to "kick and punch" the dog to get it away from the 6-year-old, but the dog didn't attack the 4-year-old... and the dog was considered dangerous? So much is wrong here.

I don't get it. I just don't.