2 kids harmed + 2 dogs dead = 2 irresponsible adults

In the Calgary Sun in Edmonton came this story and I was appalled by the situations that led to both these injuries and both dogs put to sleep for them.

The first one a 16 year old brother was watching as his younger brother kept jumping on the dogs back. WHY didn't he stop him? I don't care the size of dog, but dogs do get hurt too, especially a back bone. How long did the youngster continue this and with what force? A 6 year old can be quite rough and definitely rough enough to cause severe pain. Many an adult will attest to that. How many times have we told a child that 'THAT really hurt!' as you hold back tears from the child's roughness. They don't seem to know at that age that their physical strength is way beyond what your pain thresh hold can tolerate. But for me, I'm still scratching my head why the 16 year old brother would stop him, and if he was THAT irresponsible, why would the parents allow his to babysit the youngster?

The second incident is again negligence. DOGS ARE NOT BABY SITTERS!!! Why could the mother not have taken him the 10 minutes she was gone? Again, what was the circumstances before the attack took place? Where was the mother that she did not hear the dog nor the screams from the child? I could only imagine there would have been plenty, yet she came in when all damage was done and the dog just sitting there. Was it the dog that attacked him if that was the case? How do we know? Would a vicious dog just sit there calmly after an attack or was the dog protecting the child at that point? Too many questions to satify me.

But in both situations, neither of these incidents should have happened and could have easily been prevented. Instead, two children are badly injured and two dogs are dead. The children and the dogs are the victims to adult negligence. So I ask you...who actually hurt those children and had those dogs killed? Adult ignorance is what is to blame here. When will people understand that? How many children have to be hurt and dogs dead before the finally get it? Where is the education that teaches children what not to do to animals and why? Where is the education the teaches parents how to teach their children properly about dogs body language and the do's and don't? When will parents finally understand that a dog is a dog...not a baby sitter even though one of the family members?

For these children it is a harsh lesson and the dogs, they were put done because of human stupidity. What punishment will the adults involved get other than watching their child in pain as they blame their dogs, still not realising that they themselves were the guilty parties.

Sat, February 25, 2006
Edmonton boy critical following dog attack

By ELIZA BARLOW, SUN MEDIA

EDMONTON -- A young boy is critical, but stable condition following surgery at the Stollery Children's Hospital last night after he was attacked by a golden retriever.
The dog bit Chad Half in the neck after the boy jumped on the animal at the family home, according to Chad's 16-year-old brother.
Chad, reportedly six, was taken to hospital in serious condition with wounds to the neck, said EMS Supt. Craig O'Callaghan.
"He's a really nice dog and everything, it's just that Chad was jumping on him," said the brother, who didn't give his name.
He said the dog, who belonged to his dad's girlfriend's daughter, had never attacked anyone before.
The attack was the second mauling of a child in Alberta in the past month.

In Calgary, five-year-old Cayden Stevens needed nearly 200 stitches to close puncture wounds to his head, face and neck after being attacked by a German shepherd on a acreage just south of the city on Jan. 31.
Cayden was being watched by his adult cousin Conni Stevens, a friend of the owners of the property who was helping them with a cleaning job.
Cayden had been left alone for less than 10 minutes when the incident happened, said Conni, adding she found the boy bleeding, with Mason, a male German shepherd, sitting calmly beside him.
Mason and a female shepherd were seized by RCMP.
Cayden is expected to make a full recovery.