 Posted on June 22,1998.
This is the exact email correspondence I had with a woman that wrote into the Ladies of the Heart tidbits asking for advice about a dog that had bitten her young son. Hi Sisters!
I was wanting advice on a situation! On Saturday evening I was at my grandma's house just for a few minutes to use her phone and my husband and 2 sons came in the house. My grandma was out of town and my uncle (who's really not all there, skitzophrenic) let us in. My husband took the kids out on the patio with the dogs. They were having a good time until my 2 year old was petting on one dog and the dog BIT HIM! I mean it was BAD! We took him immediatley to the ER. They made us call Animal Control, I wanted to anyways! We waited 3 1/2 hours and they finally got to us and tied my baby up and gave him five shots of number in each deep bite (2 of em) and he got 3 stitches in each. I am very upset with my family and they are mad at me,they say it is my fault. The dog has snapped and even bit him LIGHTLY on the arm before. And he has done the same to my 5 year old. So anotherwords it's my fault, I should have never let him out there. But, I still think they should get rid of the dog! There are children living next door and only a small wire fence seperating. The kids only need to stick there little hands through the gate and they could get bit, and my grandparents SUED! The funny thing the mutt is not even my GRANDMA's dog, it is my Cousins who is my age. And she didn't have nowhere to put it so she dumps it off at my grandma's like she does with her baby, (doesn't pay or help at all!) She expects them to be there when she needs them. They bought her a car and they do EVERYTHING for her and she is very selfish! She justified it by saying"TOO BAD,MY DOG JUST DOESN'T LIKE YOUR KIDS" But if it was HER kid it would be LAWSUIT CITY! I am so pissed! I want to make her pay! What do you loving, unbiased ladies think I should do? Am I being a big baby or is she? HELP! Please note, I dont want my grandparents to have to pay for her stupid dog that she doesn't take care of! I want her to realize whether or not the dog likes my 2 year old or not, it can't go around biteing anyone, I mean come on let's keep in mind THAT is a DAMN DOG, My son is a HUMAN! THANKS for letting me Vent some ANGER! EMAIL ME: collier_family@hotmail.comICQ ME: 5016077 This was my reply to this plea for an UNBIASED LADY to give advice. Hello, I read your message in the tidbits today and I'm replying to you. You and your husband are at fault. You went into another person's house when they were not there. I'm sure if your grandmother had been there she would have asked you not to have your kids out on the patio, in the dogs territory, with the dogs. YOU say "The dog has snapped and even bitten him LIGHTLY on the arm before." A responsible person would have taken this as a warning and not tested the dog around their young children again. As for the neighbor kids........if they STICK their hands through a fence antagonizing the dog in the dogs home and they get bitten........shame on them and their parents for not telling them not to stick their fingers through the fence. There is no law or moral law that says only a good dog likes kids. I have 9 dogs and out of all nine, one does not like kids and will bite. She is the best dog we have. She lives in our house and when a kid comes visiting with an adult, we keep her put up in our bedroom. It sounds to me that this dog is not going around biting anyone as you say. It sounds to me like someone invaded the dogs territory and the dog was only trying to protect it. It also sounds to me like you have some hostility towards your cousin and would like no better than to see something bad happen to her dog as revenge. Keep your kids out of the back yard of your grandmother's and teach them to never approach a strange dog. You will be doing us ALL a big favor. This is her reply to the above email that I sent her. YEA, a dog is SO MUCH more important than a human. So I guess you are saying a "Mutts" territory is THEIR area and a Human a CHILD at that has no business in an animals territory? GET A LIFE LADY! I am sorry but there are beginning to be more and more NUTCASES like you who think an animals life is so important, more than of a human. But you know what I would rather see that dog HIT BY A MACK TRUCK then for him to EVER even LOOK at my child in the wrong way, but thats ok because I beat the SHIT out of that mutt with a stick and my husband gave it a good swift kick to the HEAD. SO HE GOT HIS! :-) Oh but thanks for the consoling thoughts......but if any animal, no matter whose territory....(no animal owns any territory...does it PAY for that backyard? I dont think so!) ever hurts my child again, it will DIE.....Now I hope that helps you sleep well tonight, NUTCASE! I take it she is not a dog lover.
Below is my reply to this email message from her Your grandmother has given the dog a home in her backyard, so that does make that certain backyard, that certain dogs territory. Children have every right to go into an animals territory. As long as the owner of the dog allows that child to enter the territory, and the owner should be responsible enough to know if their dog is safe for children. I never said a dog's life is more important than a child, so don't put words in my mouth. I never said a dog's life is less important. You are funny. You write to tidbits, asking for a response from people on whether you are right or your cousin and grandmother are right. And you are belligerent and immature about my response. Did you really think everyone would side with you? You are totally responsible for what happened to your child. And I think your angry with my response because you know your at fault. If your child would have been playing in YOUR yard and the dog would have come into your yard and bitten your child,then you would not be at fault, but the owner of the dog would be at fault. I AM an animal lover, and I understand dogs behavior. But, just because I'm an animal lover does not mean that my judgment of whether an animal has done right or wrong is clouded. This is not a matter of was the dog in the wrong or the child. The dog is just an animal that is controlled by learned behavior and instinct. The child is too young and immature to be at fault. That leaves the dog's owner and the parents of the child. The dog's owner was not present at the time of the incidence and so cannot be blamed. The parents were present and KNEW the dog had been aggressive towards the child before. Cut and dried.....You and your husband are GUILTY! Guilty of allowing your young child to enter into a potentially dangerous situation that resulted in injury to your child. Hope YOU can sleep with THAT! Below is her reply to my email. bbbbbiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttcccccccccchhhhhhhh, hehehe And below is my reply to her reply and the last correspondence. Aren't we immature? Each email message above has been cut and pasted
from the original message. | 