He would never hurt her
Over the last few days a one week old baby was attacked by the family dog, as you have probably all seen in the news.
The thought of any attack is almost too much to bear.
We love our pets in Australia and we’ve always had a dog in our house too. We’ve had them all; big and small, grumpy and slobber-all-over-you friendly. However we didn’t have a pet when the kids were really young, under 4 or 5.
I can absolutely see the reasoning about having a pet when children are young, so they gain confidence and understand that a pet is a living thing that needs caring for too. It just wasn’t for our family.
What I can’t see is that families at times seem to believe that ‘he would never hurt her/him’. The fact of the matter is that you just don’t know. You think you know that dog so well; but you just don’t know.
Call me neurotic, however I still remember being on high alert when I had one of the kids in the pusher and one on each side holding on. The average big dog walking by would have its head right at the same level as my three. I was always glad when we had walked by.
Did I pass that anxiety on to the kids? I probably did, and I’d probably choose to do it that way again. They grew into children that learnt to love dogs and pets in general and all that that entails. But I think you have to respect the animal first, and where it comes from and what it’s capable of doing.
My heart goes out to the current family in grief and turmoil and all the past ones that have suffered a dog attack. No one deserves that pain.
The pain will be relieved a little as soon as the dog is euthanased.
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