Woman blames toddler for dog attack. WHAT!!??

@bonbon664 (3466)
Canada
February 1, 2008 9:31am CST
Ok, here's the short version. Family dog bites 2 year old son. Mother blames baby. Is this woman dense? Well, I guess so. She was too busy "texting", and told her son not to bother the dog, the son didn't stop, and snap, he was bitten. She is blaming the child. This woman is certifiable. You can tell where her priorities lie, and unfortunately it's not with her baby. What do you think. If a dog of mine bites ANYBODY, especially my child, it's gone. There is no second chance. Gimme a break. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23136603-421,00.html
19 people like this
43 responses
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
2 Feb 08
The mother is the one who needs to be put down. If the kid was hurting the dog it's perfectly understandable that he got bit. Being a toddler he wouldn't have understood just saying NO. She would have had to get up off her a$$ & physically remove the child from the situation. She didn't which was neglectful of her. By what you said you'd punish the dog if your kid did something particularly nasty & cruel to it & it attempted to defend itself the only way it knows how. That's just not right.
5 people like this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
3 Feb 08
Give ClarusVisum some credit too. He's been putting up a good defense for the animal too. There are so many people on here that actually shouldn't have a pet because they really don't understand the animals nature. Their expecting them to react like humans but their not. Unfortunately I've heard about too much of this as I'm loosely associated with some rescue groups. In almost any case where humans are attacked it's the humans fault. The animals aren't looking to attack someone, We're not on their dinner menu. Even in the cases of sharks it's usually a case of mistaken identity. I raise wolfdogs. That's right WOLFdogs & their perfectly safe because I know their nature & how to handle them. Most people would expect them to be among the most vicious but my Voden will actually try to break up a fight or distract people in an argument. It would take a LOT of cruelty inflicted on him to actually drive him to strike back. When he's done with them THEN they'd have to deal with me ( I guarantee they'd rather just deal with the angry 130 Lb wolfdog ) . My dogs are part of my family & I'll react as such.
4 people like this
• United States
4 Feb 08
I have already pointed out to Clarus that he/she is doing a world of justice for the animal world.
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Feb 08
You are my new best friend. You are by far one of the most level headed non-mooooooooooooooooooooomies on this thread. You realize the child and the mother are at fault, not the dog. I wish there were more like you.
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Feb 08
Well...it defeniatly isn't the childs fault, they don't understand at the toddler stage. I mean my nieces, they are old enough to understand how they should treat animals (5 and 7). When they are mean to our animals they are stopped as soon as they are seen, and they get in A LOT of trouble. Lucky for them, all our dogs have A LOT of patience. Once, I saw one of my nieces hitting my dog in the back with her toy shovel, she wasn't hitting hard, but it wasn't soft either. The dog just stood there. I ran outside and yelled at her, she got put in time out, didn't get snacks...whatever. But they are at an age they know how to treat animals. Toddlers...they don't know. They won't even know that they are mistreating an animal, they'll only think they are playing. The fault defeniatly lies with the mother; not the child or the dog. What was the toddler doing to the dog? I believe you can't always blame the dogs for biting, because sometimes children can do things that will justify getting bit. But the mother is defeniatly an idiot, and is at fault.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
1 Feb 08
Apparently, the kid was pulling the dogs ears. I agree, I think the mother is at fault.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Feb 08
Okay well...technically the child was doing something that might be hurting the dog. Som you can't blame the dog-it was a reaction to pain, you can't blame the baby-he didn't know any better. It is purely the mothers fault because she knows that pulling a dogs ears can hurt it and cause sensitivity inside the dogs ears, and she knows her toddler won't know what he's doing is wrong. What an idiot!
2 people like this
• Italy
28 Feb 08
exactly the only one to blame here is the mother if she'd prefer to text rather than look after her toddler and her dog then she's not fit to have either
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
2 Feb 08
OMG what planet is this woman on, with her attitude she shouldn't be allowed children PLUS she shouldn't be allowed to keep animals either, if she rather spends her time texting instead of looking after her child then she is totally deranged, surely she has heard about the horror stories about children getting badly bitten and worse killed by dogs? No matter what type of dog it is I wouldn't be happy having a two year old child with it, semi or unsemi supervised, all animals are unpredictable no matter how much they are trained, they have instincts. I hope she suffers the consequences I am sorry I have no pity for these people and I think she should be shot along with the dog, get a discount if you get them both done! Calling planet earth!
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
3 Feb 08
I'm disappointed in you wolfie. Animals are predictable if you know their nature which any GOOD pet owner should. The animal wasn't at fault here. The kid provoked it & the mother did nothing to stop the situation. The kid can be forgiven because of his age, but the mother.... deserves that firing squad, not the dog.
4 people like this
• Canada
2 Feb 08
Well, I must say that I find this appauling!!! The following excerpt from the article is what really got me! [Ms Cottier said she noticed her son pulling at the dog's ears. "I told him to stop or she'd bite him, then I kept texting . . . next thing I knew she had snapped," Ms Cottier said. She said the five-year-old dog named Cassey was not vicious. "It's not as bad as it looks. The dog just snapped at him and bit him," she said. Ms Cottier said she would speak with her former partner, and he may consider taking the dog to his place. Otherwise, she said she would ensure the dog and the child were kept apart.] Well....i certainly hope that the dog is kept away from the child at all times but I would be putting the dog down...Of course before this happened I would have forgotten about a stupid text message that could wait and would have spent some time with the child showing him how to play with the dog properly or distracting the boy to another activity... This could have been prevented!!! ~Heavens~
2 people like this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
3 Feb 08
Sixpaul in this case removing the dog from the home would probably be doing him a big favor. They're obviously neglectful & don't deserve pets. He doesn't deserve to be put down though, just a good responsible home found for him.
4 people like this
• Canada
2 Feb 08
I want to say that I would rather it not happened at all...It should have been prevented by the mother as I previously stated! But, since it occurred the dog needs to be given away to a new home and taken away from the child so this does not happen again! The child is young and the Mom (the way I see it) did not take the time to teach the child how to properly treat the dog and so it is also a fault of the Mother more than anything!! You can't punish the child for not understanding or knowing what the consequences would be and it is a costly lesson that did not need to be learned the way that it was learned!!! ~Heavens~
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Feb 08
Why would you put the dog down when YOUR CHILD IS AT FAULT? I hate you people that punish animals for reacting to being kicked, poked, prodded, beaten, tortured and hit by children when the CHILD IS AT FAULT. WHY CAN'T YOU PUNISH THE CHILD?
3 people like this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
1 Feb 08
That article upsets me. How ridiculous of her to blame her two year old child over her dog. Seems like her dog is more her baby than her actual son! Aargh that dog would of been put down if it did that to my son - no doubt about it.
2 people like this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
2 Feb 08
If ANY dog BIT my kid of course MY natural reaction is to put it down. You are entitled to your own opinion and I'll stick to mine regardless of what you say!
2 people like this
• United States
2 Feb 08
Yes, what a wonderful lesson that would teach the child! It's okay to tease animals, and if they react, we'll punish the animal instead! Are you serious? This was not an unprovoked attack--there is no justification for your mindset. Dog gets teased, retaliates, and the proper response is to kill the dog? What the hell?
4 people like this
• United States
2 Feb 08
I seriously hope you never, ever get any pet. That is by far one of the cruelest, sickest and most selfish reasons I have ever read bar none.
2 people like this
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
2 Feb 08
After reading th article, I blame the mother. If you see a situation like that as a parent, get off your butt. A two year old isn't going to stop anything the 1st time you tell them to do anything.While this dog was probably warning and it went bad, it needs to be removed from the home. Maybe placed with a home of older children(teen) or no children at all. And that mom needs parent lessons.
4 people like this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
3 Feb 08
Thank you for being one of the voices of reason here.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Feb 08
woman should have the authorities take that child away from her that is what I think
2 people like this
@vanities (11395)
• Davao, Philippines
3 Feb 08
its very obvious the mother is to be blame for that situation..its her responsibility to take care of her child ..just wondering what kind of mom she is...and about the dog well maybe irritated due to the bothering of the child or whatever causes ...
• United States
2 Feb 08
Ok, that attack is definitely her fault. It's not that difficult to stop texting or doing whatever else you think is important in your busy life to remove your child from a situation in which you know could probably turn into a bad one.
2 people like this
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
2 Feb 08
They are those who love and respect animals for what they are... and those who don't. Those who don't should not be allowed to have an animal. Dogs and cats are not toys for your convenience. They have a life of their own. Nobody has told them about our stupid laws... so a dog does not know that he is forbidden to defend itself against a human. And the only way a dog know how to defend itself... is with his teeth. So... in this case... the woman is the smart one because she understand the dog. While you are the dense one who would kill a dog to satisfy your selfishness. Perhaps her only fault was to be more interested by her texting than by her child. Blame the mother... not the dog!
• Australia
3 Feb 08
Exactly... It is even worse with a cat. If you tease a cat... he will change from tame to wild in the space of a few seconds and will attack you. It is its nature and he has no control over it. You cannot teach a cat not to attack in self defense. So what do humans do? They mutilate the cat by declawing it. But if you cut the hand of a thieve... they call it barbaric. One law for man and one law for animals? What if I told you that man is the most cruel beast on earth?
1 person likes this
• Philippines
3 Feb 08
The mother should be looking after her child since her child is not old enough to follow instructions.Why is she blaming the baby?Should'nt she be the one who's supposed to be blamed since she didn't do some discipline to him?
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
2 Feb 08
Trying to think of the best way to answer this...LOL. First the woman WAS an idiot not to watch her son better and instead was more interested in her texting. The son is really too young to understand to not tease or provoke an animal. But I don't see the dog being at fault. If any animal is provoked enough, even the most gentlest of animals will have the attack instinct. I'm pretty sure if I went over and started tugging at one of my cat's ears that annoyed them I'd probably get attacked by my own cat. All I can say is that my parents must have had real trust and faith in both me and the dog they had at the time. This was when I was a little over a year old...there's a picture of me sitting on the floor and right smack dab next to me is this enormous dog ...it's a very peaceful setting...I'm sitting there nice and contently and so is the dog...I forget what breed it was but I do know it was a hunting dog, as my father's father bred hunting dogs...now yeesh, if ever there be a dog ready to "attack" it be that kind of dog...but nothing happened to me ever and I guess even at that young age, (yes at a mere year or so old) I must have had the sense of not teasing the dog (if ever I can find that picture I would love to post it....I do still have it...somewhere). But no, I don't blame the dog biting that kid not if the kid was being a pain in the "a" and bothering the dog...but yes, the mother really should've watched her child better and instead of just "telling" the kid to stop teasing the dog, to take her child away from the dog instead
2 people like this
• United States
2 Feb 08
The mother is at fault in my opinion, get off of the phone (text) and take care of your baby. The child is only 2, not at fault in any way. My white boxer bit my 14 year old son on the ear about 3 years ago. The dog left the house and went to a good home, I see her often, she is not a mean dog. It was my son's fault, he had her in a head lock and she wanted out of it. My other son was a witness. I was not at home.
@xavi221 (38)
• China
2 Feb 08
this mother bring idea of adults into baby' mind.she neglect toddler'age and sense.what a pity baby.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
1 Feb 08
What kind of mother is she that she would prefer a big dog over her son? I would get rid of that dog in a heart beat. It has proved it is dangerous and two year olds are not much more than babies. They are still learning. She should have put the cell phone down, and then took the little boy away from the dog and told him no.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Feb 08
I suppose it depends if that breed of dog is a potential danger. If the dog bit her child's face that it would have bitten someone else. Most dogs I know about just snarl and try to get away and would have snapped at the child. They would not have attacked him unless they were pit bulls or one of the dangerous breed. There are some dogs that will attack, and if that dog is of that particular type, then it should be put down or specified as to not be near small children.
2 people like this
@Galena (9110)
2 Feb 08
"two year olds are not much more than babies. They are still learning. She should have put the cell phone down, and then took the little boy away from the dog and told him no. " exactly. that's exactly what she should have done. I don't see how her not doing that means the dog should die.
4 people like this
• United States
2 Feb 08
It's not the dog's fault the child is young. It has no idea of those kinds of things. It's the parent's fault for leaving a toddler alone with a strange creature (you sure wouldn't leave your kid alone with strange humans, would you?) that it doesn't know how to 'coexist' with at such a young age. It's the parent's fault, not the dog's. If a dog is provoked, and perceives a threat, it will react the way it has learned to through millions of years of evolution, to protect itself. It hasn't "proved it is dangerous", it has proven its survival instincts are intact! Now, WE know that a small child is no threat to a dog, but the dog doesn't know, and the child doesn't know that it might be doing something that the dog would perceive as a threat either. So, it can't be the dog's fault because he doesn't know, and it can only be the child's fault to an extent (if s/he was already repeatedly told to leave the dog alone and didn't listen, for example). The person to blame is the mother.
4 people like this
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
1 Feb 08
That is crazy - I would not have a dog in the house (or yard) that will bite. True the child may have been bothering the dog but the dog should just walk away - at the same time the mother should be watching her child closer. I won't take my eyes off my grandchildren when their in the room with the dog or the cats for just that reason - stop it before it starts.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
2 Feb 08
It was a two year old child, not a boy of six or eight who was warned not to hurt the dog. I did not receive my full memory until I was three. I do not remember much about being two years old, so that mother should not have blamed her toddler. So your comment that the dog has a legal right to gnaw the toddler's face because he is human and animals are allowed to defend their territory is wrong. It was the mother's fault for not looking after her baby and the dog's fault for attacking the child.
1 person likes this
• United States
2 Feb 08
The dog should just walk away--yeah, that's sure how these creatures learned how to survive in the wild before we attempted to domesticate them, right? Honestly, expecting an animal to just ignore provocation is absurd. The proper thing to do is NOT PROVOKE THEM! And if the one doing the provoking is too young to know better, then a parent or guardian ought to step in and stop the provocation him or herself. Blaming a dog for attacking a creature (human or not) that provokes it is like if someone threatens you, and you call the police, the police punish you instead of the one who made the threat. Does that make sense to you?
4 people like this
• United States
2 Feb 08
"the dog should just walk away" OMFG. You've got to be kidding? All animals don't have the option to just walk away. Dogs have territores and they still have hunting and predatory instincts. If you think a dog who is being tortured or even pulled or bitten is just going to go "Fcuk it" and walk away, you've got some serious mental health issues.
1 person likes this
@Galena (9110)
2 Feb 08
if the child was older I'd agree with her, but at that age it's clearly her fault. the thing is, children often provoke, taunt or hurt dogs. the dog shouldn't be expected to sit there and take it. if the child is not old enough to understand a dogs boundaries they should not be allowed near a dog without very close supervision. the fact is, the child should not have been unsupervised with the dog enough for him to pull the dogs ears and hurt her. if a mother dogs pup hurts her, she nips it. the injuries may look nasty, but thats a snap. not an attack. if it was an attack with intent to harm, then the child would be lucky to be alive. if you read about the other incident with another dog mentioned, that is an attack. this dog was just telling the child off for hurting her. but with the age of the child, too young really to understand the possible consequences of their actions, the mother should have had her full attention on the two of them together, and removed the child from the situation as soon as she was aware of the child winding the dog up. it's not the dogs fault. it's not the childs fault. it's the mothers fault.
• United States
2 Feb 08
"sit there and take it" Exactly. Kids get violent and hit and slap people on the playground or bite another child in the classroom because they are being taunted and provoked. Should we start euthanizing children who bite their playmates for being bothered? The dog was being bothered. The dog was provoked. The dog did nothing wrong but react just like a child reacts to being poked in the back during class. That child will turn around and either say something or slap the kid behind him.
1 person likes this
@mummymo (23706)
2 Feb 08
How in heavens name can a 2 year old be to blame - they do not understand consequences or how to treat animals - for goodness sake the majority of 2 year olds aren't even toilet trained! I find it outrageous that anyone , far less a parent could blame the child - children need to be supervised and protected not left to their own devices with an animal. Let me also say that I don't blame the dog either - any parent knows that accidents can happen easily but I think nearly all of us agree that leaving a child with a dog is just really thoughtless and tantamount to neglect. That you could do that and then blame a 2 year old is inconscionable - I would be devastated and wracked with guilt! xxx
1 person likes this
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
3 Feb 08
I doubt she'd have said "It's my fault" even though clearly it is. She saw the situation developing & did nothing. A clear case of neglect.
3 people like this
@shakeroo (3986)
• Malaysia
1 Feb 08
Something is very wrong with that mother. How could he blame a baby that does not know anything. He is just a baby for god sake and how could he understand the phrase "do not disturb the dog"? This kind of mother should be charged with negligence!
2 people like this
@sallysue (326)
• Canada
2 Feb 08
Hi: I agree with the lady. If the child didn't bug the dog the dog wouldn't have snapped. If you were a dog, which I know you aren't, but if someone was bugging you wouldn't your normal response be to say "bug off". If someone is bugging you what's your normal response "oh, gee thanks for bugging me, I was trying to sleep, but bugging me is really great thanks". I don't think so. We're fortunate we can turn around and say things like bug off, but a dog can't.
1 person likes this
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
3 Feb 08
Again, the comparison between animals and humans is unreasonable. If someone was bugging me I maybe "growl" at them, but wouldn't bite them in the face.
@sallysue (326)
• Canada
4 Feb 08
Hi: Well, good for you. We have been trained since we were young not to loose our cool. An animal hasn't. The animal instinct is different. I've bred champion dogs for over twenty years and they all have different personalities. Some dogs wouldn't bite, no matter what you do. Others aren't as relaxed. Again, I'm going to say just as people all have different personalities so do animals. You don't know if the dog started warning the child by growling in the first place. The only one who can judge this is the mother. The mother should have watched over the child and if she heard the dog growl the mother should have been right there to interfere. But, you can't judge the mother or the dog.