We adopted Bailey from the Humane Society 6 months after we married. We had been every week for several month looking at the dogs. We would watch them, analyze them and go outside to see how they reacted to us. This was our first big decision as a married couple.
When we saw a litter of hound mix puppies, we fell in love. They were so cute with their floppy little ears and extra folds of skin. We had it narrowed down to a brown one and tri-color pup. We decided on the little guy with the black face, brown eyebrows and black and white body. He had come up to us sniffing in a curious, sweet way.
The next week we went to pick him up after he had been neutered. The poor little guy was still groggy from the medicine. Eric cradled him carrying him to the car to take him home while I went to work. He was the cutest little 3 month old puppy we had ever seen.
After that, he was like our child. We took him to ride in the car with us to run errands letting him hang our the window with his ears flapping in the wind. We taught him how to do tricks and got up every 3-4 hours to let him out while potty training.
Neither one of us had ever had a dog that was so obedient and sweet. He tried to console us when we were upset, snuggled with us on the couch and wanted to please us in every way, it seemed.
Five years later, we brought home our daughter from the hospital. We followed all of the guidelines you read about letting him adjust to her and keeping a watchful eye. After a week or so, he seemed adjusted-sleepy, but adjusted to having a little human around. As she started talking, "Bay" (short for Bailey) was one of her first words. She would ask where he was, call for him, she fed him under our supervision, and she gave him commands that he listened to...
That's why what happened a few weeks ago shocked us beyond belief.
It was a Saturday evening, and we had just finished dinner. The kitchen and living room are closed off from one another. We had moved from the kitchen after cleaning up and turning the light off to the living room. We were letting our almost 2 year old daughter play before bath time.
Sitting on the couch watching her play with her tea set, she saw us give each other a kiss. She wanted to give us kisses and then asked to give Bailey kisses. We told her she could, and she proceeded to go find him. About a minute passed with silence. And then we heard a growl and snap from kitchen.
We ran in to find, in horror, that Bailey had bit the side of her face. He had been getting into the trash, and he reacted when she tried to grab him and kiss him. At first we thought it superficial, but then saw his teeth had penetrated her precious, perfect skin in three places. Not knowing the extent of the injury, we quickly scooped her up, threw on some shoes and ran to the car. It was terribly cold and had been snowing all day. The ride to the emergency room was a slippery one.
We went into the ER and immediately got a room. We waited an hour or so for the doctor to assess the damage. She needed stitches, and since we knew our dog had his shots, she didn't need any vaccinations.
It was over 3 hours before the doctor came in with two nurses, a long board with straps to hold her, and the supplies needed. She did amazingly well, not squirming at all. My stomach sank when the doctor inserted the needle into my baby's face. I turned my head into my husband's chest and held back the tears. She got 5 stitches overall.
When I asked about scarring, the doctor stated he was most concerned about infection. Of course, this was my first concern. However, I didn't want my little girl to have a dog bite scar at the age of one. I didn't want my precious baby's face to bear the scar of something that was avoidable.
Maybe it was kind of selfish, too. I also didn't want to explain to people that our dog did this to her. Not because I am embarrassed...because it's heartbreaking on multiple levels. The dog we love could have seriously injured our baby girl.
We proceeded home with an antibiotic and finally got her to bed around midnight. Our snowy evening turned into a scary night out-at the last place you want to be with your child.
She started healing very well that next week with three bandages on her cheek. She wasn't afraid of Bailey when we got home, but wary of him. And I'm glad she has learned to stay away from his face.
I was so angry at him. Not only did he hurt my baby, he changed my view of him. I couldn't look at him for days, and probably said some things to him that I wouldn't want others to hear.
But I think we needed to change how we treated him.
I look back now and see our mistakes.
He is a dog. Not a human. We never should have treated him that way. We never should have assumed he would never do anything to our child, because he's still a dog. He still has innate instincts.
He was in the trash knowing he wasn't supposed to be. He was in the dark. His back was turned, and a small child, much like a small animal, got close to his face while he was devouring something coveted.
We didn't see it, but I'm sure knowing him, he abstained from snapping as long as he could. She probably tried to kiss him and he moved his head, and then she tried again.
He did what I think any dog would do.
Since then, she knows not to get close to his face. He isn't allowed in our kitchen when food is present or anywhere near our daughter if she has food.
Some have asked if we're going to get rid of Bailey. Well, the thought has crossed our minds. But then I think, how can we fault him for something we chose? We chose to treat him more like a human than a dog. We chose to let our daughter invade his space by giving him kisses. We weren't remembering he is still an animal.
I get emotional when people ask what happened. When they see the bandages, they usually get this surprised look on their face and say something like, "Oh no! What happened?" I try to just say she got a boo-boo, but that doesn't suffice usually. And when we say it was our dog, people always ask what kind of dog and tell stories of malicious dogs they know that have hurt children.
But that isn't what happened here at all, and it's even worse to have to try to explain and defend our dog. No, our dog is not vicious whatsoever. He is a really good dog that did something instinctual. And yes, we still love him, but we do treat him differently.
I can't go back in time and change things, but I can write this so that other parents are aware. The best dog in the world can do something terrible just because they're guarding their food from something they think is below them in the pecking order. Don't assume an animal will never act like an animal.
When we saw a litter of hound mix puppies, we fell in love. They were so cute with their floppy little ears and extra folds of skin. We had it narrowed down to a brown one and tri-color pup. We decided on the little guy with the black face, brown eyebrows and black and white body. He had come up to us sniffing in a curious, sweet way.
 |
| The cutest pup in the litter. |
After that, he was like our child. We took him to ride in the car with us to run errands letting him hang our the window with his ears flapping in the wind. We taught him how to do tricks and got up every 3-4 hours to let him out while potty training.
Neither one of us had ever had a dog that was so obedient and sweet. He tried to console us when we were upset, snuggled with us on the couch and wanted to please us in every way, it seemed.
 |
| Now, I'm nervous looking at this picture. |
Five years later, we brought home our daughter from the hospital. We followed all of the guidelines you read about letting him adjust to her and keeping a watchful eye. After a week or so, he seemed adjusted-sleepy, but adjusted to having a little human around. As she started talking, "Bay" (short for Bailey) was one of her first words. She would ask where he was, call for him, she fed him under our supervision, and she gave him commands that he listened to...
That's why what happened a few weeks ago shocked us beyond belief.
It was a Saturday evening, and we had just finished dinner. The kitchen and living room are closed off from one another. We had moved from the kitchen after cleaning up and turning the light off to the living room. We were letting our almost 2 year old daughter play before bath time.
Sitting on the couch watching her play with her tea set, she saw us give each other a kiss. She wanted to give us kisses and then asked to give Bailey kisses. We told her she could, and she proceeded to go find him. About a minute passed with silence. And then we heard a growl and snap from kitchen.
We went into the ER and immediately got a room. We waited an hour or so for the doctor to assess the damage. She needed stitches, and since we knew our dog had his shots, she didn't need any vaccinations.
It was over 3 hours before the doctor came in with two nurses, a long board with straps to hold her, and the supplies needed. She did amazingly well, not squirming at all. My stomach sank when the doctor inserted the needle into my baby's face. I turned my head into my husband's chest and held back the tears. She got 5 stitches overall.
When I asked about scarring, the doctor stated he was most concerned about infection. Of course, this was my first concern. However, I didn't want my little girl to have a dog bite scar at the age of one. I didn't want my precious baby's face to bear the scar of something that was avoidable.
Maybe it was kind of selfish, too. I also didn't want to explain to people that our dog did this to her. Not because I am embarrassed...because it's heartbreaking on multiple levels. The dog we love could have seriously injured our baby girl.
We proceeded home with an antibiotic and finally got her to bed around midnight. Our snowy evening turned into a scary night out-at the last place you want to be with your child.
She started healing very well that next week with three bandages on her cheek. She wasn't afraid of Bailey when we got home, but wary of him. And I'm glad she has learned to stay away from his face.
I was so angry at him. Not only did he hurt my baby, he changed my view of him. I couldn't look at him for days, and probably said some things to him that I wouldn't want others to hear.
But I think we needed to change how we treated him.
I look back now and see our mistakes.
He is a dog. Not a human. We never should have treated him that way. We never should have assumed he would never do anything to our child, because he's still a dog. He still has innate instincts.
He was in the trash knowing he wasn't supposed to be. He was in the dark. His back was turned, and a small child, much like a small animal, got close to his face while he was devouring something coveted.
We didn't see it, but I'm sure knowing him, he abstained from snapping as long as he could. She probably tried to kiss him and he moved his head, and then she tried again.
He did what I think any dog would do.
Since then, she knows not to get close to his face. He isn't allowed in our kitchen when food is present or anywhere near our daughter if she has food.
Some have asked if we're going to get rid of Bailey. Well, the thought has crossed our minds. But then I think, how can we fault him for something we chose? We chose to treat him more like a human than a dog. We chose to let our daughter invade his space by giving him kisses. We weren't remembering he is still an animal.
 |
| My sweet girl with her bandages. |
But that isn't what happened here at all, and it's even worse to have to try to explain and defend our dog. No, our dog is not vicious whatsoever. He is a really good dog that did something instinctual. And yes, we still love him, but we do treat him differently.
I can't go back in time and change things, but I can write this so that other parents are aware. The best dog in the world can do something terrible just because they're guarding their food from something they think is below them in the pecking order. Don't assume an animal will never act like an animal.
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