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Wednesday, May 30, 2012 | 2 a.m.
Regarding the sad story of the family dog Onion in Henderson that killed the 1-year-old baby: My fear is that people with babies or small children will start to turn in their dogs for fear that this may happen to them.
I’m the owner of three big dogs adopted from various rescue groups and the Animal Foundation, and I raised a child around big dogs. I think this terrible incident was due to lack of knowledge of dog behavior. Dogs are pack animals. They see any new member to their pack as a possible challenge to their pecking order. The human owner, in this case, was the alpha leader and needed to establish boundaries for the dog from the start.
A child shouldn’t be allowed to crawl on top of a dog. The dog isn’t a coffee table or play toy. It could’ve had hip dysplasia and was in pain or been sleeping and startled, or maybe it considered the child getting on top of it as a challenge.
To people who are afraid to have a dog around a baby, learn from this incident and know that there are wonderful books and resources online giving great insights to dog behavior. Better yet, get your dog trained and learn how to live peacefully with your canine family members without the fear of the terrible tragedy like what happened in Henderson.
Elaine Harman; your letter to the editor was well stated.
I've always had "big dogs". But, I've always had this rule of thumb. If my child preceded a puppy coming into my family, there can be brief moments of no supervision or segregation. That is, as long as the dog is of a female gender. In this scenario, female dogs have deep motherly instincts towards the child whom the puppy has known since her first day in the subject household. However, even this practice has a risk factor that I would not recommend any parent and pet owner taking.
However, outside of this, common sense and great caution must be taken. As an example, when my grandchildren come over to my house, of course, I allow interaction between them and my Rottweiler's. But, not never ever unsupervised. Not for one moment or one second. My Rottweiler's have been at my house for years, my grandchildren have not. Even though I give my dogs the command of, "friend", this is never in an unsupervised state and NEVER sufficient insurance in thwarting a potential attack of the children.
The bottom line is dogs are not a toy. They are dependable. However they are all territorial and potential deadly weapons.
This letter and this comment are good advice, showing that small children and pets can have a continual, happy life together.
Onion had never harmed the baby before this. He deserves the benefit of the doubt that this was an accident. I cannot imagine that anyone would decide to kill Onion when there is an option of a safe sanctuary for him. The Grandmother wants Onion's life spared.