Saturday, March 21, 2009

Mother and child

Pedro is an extra lightweight Pomeranian pup that was found abandoned in an apartment lobby a few days ago. He's a super sensitive quiet little guy who's gentle and curious and affectionate.

A mother and her 3 year child want to check him out so they're brought into the playroom with Pedro. The three year old exuberantly tries to engage with Pedro. The mother doesn't correct her child's behaviour and looks satisfied as Pedro doesn't react negatively. The child picks up a heavy rubber toy and whips it at Pedro's head, hitting Pedro hard. Again, the mother does nothing to correct the child's behaviour. The staffer who is in there with them, picks up Pedro and takes him out of the room.

Mother: It's over then?

Staffer: Yup.


Later, when the mother is denied adoption of the pup because of her child's behaviour, she complains that it's the fault of Toronto Animal Services for leaving the toy in the room in the first place.

The next morning the woman comes back in and tries to adopt out a Chihuahua.

Here's another question I need to add to the idiot proofing test:

9. Do you really think TAS is going to let you get your hands on one of our dogs so that one day when it has had enough of being abused by your uncontrolled child and it nips the kid in terror you can bring the dog back and have it euthanized for being a vicious biter? This is a rhetorical question. It doesn't matter how you answer it. You've already failed.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please thank your staff for saving Pedro once again. Your story is one of the main reasons that our rescue wont adopt to families with kids under 6. Neither the mom nor I can be there at all times to keep the dog safe. I have been called prejudiced because of our stand on this issue and I don`t care. Just this past month I brought in an 9 week old pup that had been tormented so much she bit the kid . They put the dog in a dirt basement with no light until I could get there because `the dog was bad`. When I finally got to hold her and get her the heck out of there, she stopped trembling.
I cried. One at a time is the best I can do. I thank you for doing so much for so many.

Anonymous said...

It would be interesting to know just how many reported bites are the result of kids whipping toys etc at a dog`s head etc.

We had a kid whip a Tim Bit at our Table yesterday at Tim H.
I wanted to grab him and bite him but my wife wouldn`t let me.

I`m sure this little pup will have no problem finding a home with a wonderful family with well behaved kids.

I know they exist.
We raised some.

Maybe an idiot test should be given to wannabe Parents before they procreate.

Anonymous said...

Harlan Ellison (well known curmudgeonly science fiction author) once wrote that the two most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. I think he overestimated hydrogen.

Anonymous said...

Molly the cat was 10 when her owners decided to have her put down because their 2-year-old had allergies. When I went to get her, the kid whacked her on the head with a plastic pail while the parents watched. All I could think of as I drove away was that Molly was in the car and out of there. You really have to bite your tongue until they're safe. I don't know how those of you who rescue do it, but I'm glad you do.

House of the Discarded said...

I suppose I feel entitled to tell stupid parents how to raise their children around pets, because I raised 3 kids of my own.

The *ONLY* time I ever really got angry with my children was when they were mean to one of our pets. I remember catching my 3 year old daughter squirting our dog with a squirt gun when she thought I wasn't looking. The poor dog - she was squirting him right in the face...

Soooo....

I took great pleasure in dumping an entire bucket of water over her head when she didn't see me coming. It was pure poetry. :)

Michelle said...

Updated needed... did the little cutie get a home? Too bad my boyfriend has 2 dogs... putting us at the City of Toronto limit of 3. One day Dingle shall have a pommie sibling.

Fred said...

Michelle, Pedro was adopted out and then returned for "biting" someone. Pedro's a pup. Pups nip. His owners didn't seem to understand that's something that needs to be trained out of all pups. But then again, what do I know? Maybe little Pedro ripped someone's arm off.

I've never actually had him nip or bite me, though. The owners could have been just looking for an excuse to return him after their initial puppy euphoria wore off. Unfortunately, because they claimed there was a bite, Pedro has to be put under a 10 day observation period (for rabies, etc.) before he can be put up for adoption again. Such is the plight of too cute puppies when given to people who really just want teddy bears.