When You Enter The World Of Pup Parenting Blind, Bad Stuff Can Happen

It wasn't too long ago that I came across a Go Fund Me campaign for a family who's toddler had suffered massive facial wounds from a dog. The toddler was under 2 years old. The first thing I saw when I clicked on the Go Fund Me link was a photo of the child in a hospital. It was rather graphic. The first sentence clearly stated an in-the-nutshell recap of what happened. The child was allowed to play with their friend's newly adopted dog. That's all I needed to read. I left their Go Fund Me page.

Which, by the way had already raised a copious amount of money to help the family cover medical and other expenses.

I could feel my blood pressure rising. I had to sit on my fingers...the virtual equivalent of biting my tongue.

I'm fairly certain I took a break from my desk and did some angry housework.

I had to distract myself from the ugly thoughts swimming through my brain.

Seriously, you begin a plea for funds with an admission that you allowed your toddler to play with your friend's newly adopted dog?

There are 2 victims in this situation. The child. The dog.

The child will be scarred for life.

The dog will more than likely be euthanized. 

Who in their right mind allows their toddler to play with a dog that was just adopted?

What dog parent allows their friend's toddler to play with their newly adopted pup?

Hello! Decompression!

If you don't know what that is, there's plenty of online resources to guide you through the process of decompressing an adopted dog. 

I won't comment on the Go Fund Me page.

I won't comment on people's Facebook walls who shared the link.

What I have to say won't change what happened.

It won't change the outcome.

I wasn't there to witness the situation. My feelings are based on the story presented on their Go Fund Me page.

More than likely, people will accuse me of being insensitive to the families involved.

Not that I care what people think.

I'm not insensitive.

My heart goes out to the child and dog involved.

But, not the adults.

Being a dog parent is a BIG responsibility. Part of that responsibility is educating yourself before you adopt.

There's no shortage of resources, advice, and educational materials out there. With all that's available, if you enter the world of pup parenting blind, that's a choice.

When you make that choice, stuff like this happens.

And, sadly, it's the innocent ones who pay the price.