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WOW! I just googled "Dog attacks baby". There is story after story. "Cat attacks baby" yeilded one story from 1910 and a bunch of "cute" videos.
Ahh Ivory do not let cats fool you!
Mr. X and I were on our honeymoon and we did a houseexchange which had a cat. We never ever saw the cat until our last night there when we decided to have sex. The cat jumped from his hiding place and tore up Mr. X legs. All you heard was 'OOOOO...F---K....OUCH! Son of ----' and loud MEOWs. None of it coming from the throes of passion.
Cats are just as vicious when they want to be, they just do not get the notoriety like a dog would.
Mr. X and I were on our honeymoon and we did a houseexchange which had a cat. We never ever saw the cat until our last night there when we decided to have sex. The cat jumped from his hiding place and tore up Mr. X legs. All you heard was 'OOOOO...F---K....OUCH! Son of ----' and loud MEOWs. None of it coming from the throes of passion.
Cats are just as vicious when they want to be, they just do not get the notoriety like a dog would.
Ouch!
Cats have a good name in our family. I have a brother who would not be alive if it weren't for the most ornery cat I've ever met. She didn't like ANYONE but she kept getting into my brother's bassinet and waking him up. She'd stand over him and screech. So mom decided to get rid of the cat. The day before she was to be picked up by her new owner, we were having dinner and my brother was in his swing and the cat started screeching. My parents looked up to see the cat on the floor beneath the swing and my brother in the swing turning blue. Turns out he stopped breathing in his sleep and the cat was waking him so he'd start breathing. The cat stayed. When my next brother was born, she took one look at him and walked away as if to say "This one's ok now leave me alone".
And just so show how ornery that cat was, I had a friend come visit and she was petrified of cats. She kept asking if the cat would jump on her. I assured her that M had never jumped on anyone. And you know what, she never did again after that. She knew she'd earned her keep and could be as obnoxious as she wanted to be. She was a black cat and my neighbors were petrified of her. She'd go lie in their driveway and they'd come get me to move her so they could back the car out. This cat loved to annoy people. It was a game. She got me good one night. Dh and the boys were gone and in the middle of the night I hear the toilet flush. I never knew she knew how to flush it. I actually miss the brat. She was a character.
This occurrence is actually relatively rare, even in households where people have not trained the dog properly. Of course if it happens it gets a lot of publicity and sensationalizing.
If a dog shows aggression, it means the owners have no idea how to handle the dog, and in many cases, where they are not willing to learn, or do not have the time, it is wiser to remove the dog from the household.
I wish I could rep you a thousand times for each post you have made here.
why do lions coming into a new pride, kill all the baby lions that belong to the previous male lion....? I have seen male domesticated cats do the same...as far as I am concerned that kind of killing approaches some sort of animal malice....
I have read and heard of several instances as to where an animal did not bond with their new baby. Cows, for one, but not often. They have to put the calf with another mother...
just askin'. I dont think we can make blanket statements about human nature or animal nature....
Read my first sentence again. It's for the survival of the species, not out of malice. Animals don't act on malicious intentions. They act on instinct and for survival.
Cats have a good name in our family. I have a brother who would not be alive if it weren't for the most ornery cat I've ever met. She didn't like ANYONE but she kept getting into my brother's bassinet and waking him up. She'd stand over him and screech. So mom decided to get rid of the cat. The day before she was to be picked up by her new owner, we were having dinner and my brother was in his swing and the cat started screeching. My parents looked up to see the cat on the floor beneath the swing and my brother in the swing turning blue. Turns out he stopped breathing in his sleep and the cat was waking him so he'd start breathing. The cat stayed. When my next brother was born, she took one look at him and walked away as if to say "This one's ok now leave me alone".
And just so show how ornery that cat was, I had a friend come visit and she was petrified of cats. She kept asking if the cat would jump on her. I assured her that M had never jumped on anyone. And you know what, she never did again after that. She knew she'd earned her keep and could be as obnoxious as she wanted to be. She was a black cat and my neighbors were petrified of her. She'd go lie in their driveway and they'd come get me to move her so they could back the car out. This cat loved to annoy people. It was a game. She got me good one night. Dh and the boys were gone and in the middle of the night I hear the toilet flush. I never knew she knew how to flush it. I actually miss the brat. She was a character.
LMAO! Cats are a character. The dog gets along great with our cat. Sometimes you see them cuddled up in bed together. Its funny at night after she and the dog have their dinner, the cat will sit at the door and stare directly into my eyes trying to will me to open the door to let her out for the night. Then early in the morning she will tap at our bedroom window to say 'Hey let me in!'
When I was a little girl my late neighbor who lived across the hall from us had two beautiful dobermans! They were friendly and everytime they saw me or my sister coming they would lick us! I think because we were always covered in some sort of sticky sweet candy. Then the neighbor died. A year to his death his first dog died. A month later the second dog. The family member who took care of the dogs after my neighbors death said they died of a broken heart. I will always remember that. They were never the same after he died. After that I always wanted mini dobermans because of their size I could not have large dobermans like my neighbor. I never got around to owning one. They are magnificent and loyal dogs.
First off, let me say, I am not trying to minimize or understate the horror and real problem of dogs attacking people, especially children. However, in my mind, it is almost amazing that there aren't MORE attacks given the way many dogs in this country are abused and starved. Lets consider some numbers. These are things I just spent about the past 10 minutes looking up.
There are approximately 80 million dogs in the US (not including feral and stray). (from the Humane Society)
An average of 20-30 people are killed each YEAR by dogs. 10-15 are 5 years and under. (Wikipedia)
An average of 3-5 children are killed EACH DAY by their own PARENTS. Women Killers - Women Who Kill Their Children
Most "killer" dogs are unneutered males, dogs that are chained a large portion of the day are also much more likely to attack, and of course dogs that are abused and/or hungry are much more likely to attack. The snipped family dog, regardless of breed, that sleeps on the couch is an extreme rarity in these cases.
Again, I don't want to diminish the severity of these very isolated cases. Yet, it seems like there are so many things in life that we accept as a risk. Driving a child to daycare more dangerous endeavor than owning a so called "vicious breed".
Now, to answer the question as to "why have an animal that could hurt your child?" Well, I feel there is a special bond between children and dogs that really can't be replicated any other way. There is a compassion for others and for animals that comes from that child-dog relationship that is hard to teach. I grew up with a black lab. I've always loved big dogs, namely retrievers but also all the "vicious" breeds such as rotties, dobies and yes even pits. Also, ironically, I've yet to meet a mean one of any of those breeds and I've met dozens of them through friends, at the dog park, at dog training... I guess because the people I know with them have raised them properly.
I also want to mention not everything is the dog's fault as well. Children need to be taught how to respect any animal for that matter. No pulling of the tails, riding like a horse or roughhousing. Sometimes these things can and will exacerbate the dog to no end creating a bigger problem. An unhappy dog can lead to an unhappy family.
Yes the original post is about a 9 week old baby, but a two year old can be taught not to do those things to a dog.
Very good point! Kids need to be taught how to treat animals too.
Well, it obviously IS an accident in the sense that the dogs are probably incapable of premeditation. And obviously the parents are just idiots. That poor little girl!
Mrs X, I am sorry to hear about the dog problems. My dog was the complete opposite when I was pregnant. She knew I was pregnant before I did. I have a mini pin. One day, she became VERY protective of me. She followed me around everywhere and if someone came up to me, she would stand between us and growl at the other person. A couple of weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. She spent most of my pregnancy sitting on my lap sniffing my belly and protecting me from everything. She even had to sleep in our bed or she would go nuts.
When I was still in the hospital after giving birth, DH took one of DD's hats (that she had worn) home and gave it to the dog. He said that she took one sniff and got really excited. Then she carefully picked up the hat and carried to her bed, curled up around it and went to sleep. A couple of days later when we brought the baby home, the dog was very excited. We made sure to keep a very close eye on things, but it turns out the protection moved over to the baby. If I was sitting and nursing, the dog would lay on my knees and growl at anyone who dared approach. She is still very protective of DD. She has never snapped at someone, but does growl or bark if someone strange comes up to DD.
I loved watching their relationship grow. Somehow, the dog that we had for 6 years before DD was born is now DD's dog. Of course, I know that she is still a dog and we should still be cautious, but for now we are enjoying it. Oh, and we did teach DD how to treat a dog. She also knows to get away or yell for help if the dog starts acting aggressive in any way.
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She knew she'd earned her keep and could be as obnoxious as she wanted to be. She was a black cat and my neighbors were petrified of her. She'd go lie in their driveway and they'd come get me to move her so they could back the car out. This cat loved to annoy people. It was a game. She got me good one night. Dh and the boys were gone and in the middle of the night I hear the toilet flush. I never knew she knew how to flush it. I actually miss the brat. She was a character.
