This is going to seem like I have an overbearing problem with people and pets/animals as this is only my second post and they’ve both been about animals, but I promise I do rant about other stuff too. I just rant about the thing that’s annoying me most at the time when I have enough time to write a blog post. Home schooling a 6 year old (thanks Covid!) and having a 5 month old baby means I don’t get a lot of time to do this unless I’m awake enough during a night feed!
I read a blog on a parenting site this morning (you know the ones, you sign up when you’re pregnant with the promise of hundreds of amazing deals etc and then you’re sent email after email with helpful articles and fantastic competitions in them for the rest of your life, and this particular one has parents blogging on it about their views and experiences of parenthood). It was called ‘The truth about pets and babies’ and it has really made me get my rant on!
Firstly, the title is incorrect. It should read ‘MY truth about pets and babies’ because the authors ‘truth’ isn’t everyone’s truth. It’s certainly not mine and I’m about to tell you why.
This person is obviously an animal person which, in itself, I don’t have a problem with. I, personally, am not an animal person which makes this kind of post grate on me even more, but it would probably annoy me even if I was. The blogger starts by saying that she can’t understand why people aren’t animal people. Well there could be any number of reasons for this. They may be scared of animals, they might be allergic to animals, or they may simply believe that animals should be kept wild (as they all started out until humans domesticated certain ones to keep as pets). I have had pets. Not many, but I have. I currently have a Russian Dwarf Hamster and she’s cute and I do love her. But she is just an animal. I have also had 2 dogs in the past.
The blogger goes on to say that us non-animal people always look at the negative, asking questions such as ‘what are you going to do with them once the baby comes?’ and ‘I wouldn’t let them near children, you don’t know what they are capable of’. Well maybe we’re just being realistic? As I said above, I have a Russian Dwarf Hamster, and since I had my 5 month old I have neglected her a bit. Not on purpose, but it’s hard looking after her, cleaning her out etc with a baby who seems to always need feeding, changing or just has a grumpy half hour whenever I try to do something with someone/thing else. And obviously once I have touched the hamster or started cleaning her cage etc, I need to wash my hands before I touch the baby so I need to make sure I have time to do it properly and then clean up before he needs me. My 6 year old helps but she’s more interested in playing with the hamster than cleaning her cage! Also animals are unpredictable. Dogs especially can be the friendliest thing in the world, until they are feeling poorly, or they are starting to get old and can no longer tolerate what they used to be able to, and one day they just snap and suddenly you’re in A&E with your young child who has a dog bite, or worse (s)he’s been completely mauled! You hear about it all the time. In fact, a vet wrote an article for The Daily Mail in 2014 saying that NO dog should EVER be left alone with a child no matter what the breed or how ‘friendly’ they are as ALL dogs have the capability to revert back to their wild selves. And another report in The Mirror in 2016 had the headline ‘Nearly 2000 children savaged by dogs every year as attacks soar to record high’. The links to both of these articles are at the end of the post.
My 6 year old loves dogs, but is also scared of them, especially when they are barking while they are within range of her, or jumping up at/near her. If she sees one in the street and it’s calm, she will ask the owner if she can stroke it. We have taught her to ask from an early age as we know dogs can be unpredictable and some dogs just don’t like being petted and the owner knows them the best. Usually they say yes (there has been one or two who have said no because the dog is very scared of people or can be unpredictable, and my daughter has respected that and thanked them anyway). Unfortunately, most of the people who say yes also tell my daughter ‘she won’t bite’ or ‘he’s the friendliest dog you’ll ever meet!’ Yes, according to you! Just because they have never bitten or attacked anyone before, doesn’t mean they are not capable of it. And they don’t even have to be provoked, which is another thing these dog owners try to tell you. ‘Oh well it’s the child’s fault, they must have hurt it’. Unfortunately it is possible, and common, for dogs to attack babies and children without being provoked. It’s not just when the child has pulled it’s tail or grabbed it’s ears, it also happens when the dog is not cared for properly, taken out for walks, given enough exercise etc, or because of the noises babies make, their smell and even just because they are looking straight at them. These reasons are all explained in the article I mentioned above written by a vet. And it’s not always the ‘dangerous’ breeds either. They are ALL dangerous. They are pack animals and always will be. Just recently a boy was at a family fun day in a park when a dog just ran at him and bit him! And there is an example in the article I mentioned above where a boy was walking 3 feet away from the dog who then just launched at the boy! The author of the blog I read said that she had grown up with animals all her life and that she has a cat now and when she brought the baby home, the cat found it, sniffed it and then walked away and didn’t bother with it. She also says animals and kids are cute together and as long as you introduce them properly then they will be ok, but it worries me that so many people with animals, especially dogs, believe this. I’m sure the parents of the babies that have been mauled to death in their sleep by the family dog all thought the same. Now they are mourning their babies and will have to live with that for the rest of their lives! I couldn’t imagine losing one of my children to something that could so easily have been prevented just by using some common sense and not letting your love of your pet blind you into thinking they could never hurt your baby!
It breaks my heart to hear of all the children who have suffered horrendous attacks by dogs and have either serious injuries or have died. The ones I’ve read about to research for this post range in age from 11 days to 14 years. Some have died and others have had to have life saving surgery, and the owners have got off pretty much scot free. Please, if you are a parent with a dog, use your common sense and never leave your child alone with the dog, not even for a second. You may have had the dog for years and never had an issue but you never know what could cause it to lose its temper and go for your child!
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nearly-2000-children-savaged-dogs-7635027