UNITED STATES—This is a discussion that we must have. Is it a good idea to have dogs and babies in the same vicinity? In my honest opinion, the answer to that question is no. I have a load of reasons why this is the case. I cannot share with you the number of stories that I’ve heard about small infants being mauled to death by family doges.
The shear image of that literally scares me to death because I would react in a way to do everything to save that human life. Dogs are difficult creatures to predict. It’s like having an argument with someone who says all dogs don’t bite. It’s an absolute lie and it’s a debate to be held for another time. Let’s just say if a dog is provoked it will bite, period.
My big concern is why some parents or adults find it ok to bring a toddler around ‘big’ dogs. Yes, I’m making a distinction here. This is not to say that small dogs are not a threat to babies and toddlers because they are, but my concern is its more difficult to pull off a big dog from a toddler compared to a smaller dog. Now the discussion could transition to the idea of certain breeds of dogs being more aggressive than others, but that takes away from the point, this is a question of safety.
I will be completely honest, I’m not a parent yet, but I have young nieces and nephews, and not for a second would I leave them unsupervised with a dog. Heck, I would not even let them get close to a dog. If they’re in the room, the dog is safely locked away. There is no need to mingle the two because dogs can be quite territorial and jealous of babies and kids. The attention that they normally get, is now shifted to another party, many dogs don’t take that likely.
A dog could be completely comfortable around children, but that is not to say at a given instant it can change without notice. That’s the frightening aspect, to see a family pet viciously attack a defenseless little one; it’s a disturbing scene to say the least. The scary aspect of this issue is that it continues to transpire across America, more children are being killed after being mauled to death by dogs, in some case it could be a stray dog, in other cases it could be a family pet.
I’m certain everyone has seen the video of the little boy who was attacked by a neighbor’s dog and then dragged a distance, before the family cat jumped in to the rescue. Kids have to be watched at all times when in the presence of dogs period, there is no telling what can transpire. That whole argument of the dog loving kids and never attacking anyone is baloney.
Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We as parents, and as adults have to be more vigilant about the pets that we choose to keep around our children. I believe in the perspective its better to be safe than to be sorry. Dogs are wonderful creatures, but they are unpredictable. One never quite knows how the four legged fiend will react when they feel someone is encroaching on their territory or taking attention away from them that they once had.
By Trevor Roberts
