You may have been aware last week that there were a few Daily Record headlines about animals mauling children. There was one where a girl got kicked to death by a horse* and another where a seven year old boy was savaged by a dog.
I think we can fairly safely say that innocent children being mauled by dogs is a BAD THING. And I would like to stress that in this particular case, all the child did was go to pet the dog, which then went for him, and it was awful.
However, the headline did briefly put me in mind of that awful advert for oreos. You know, the one where the small boy tortures his dog by showing it how to eat a biscuit in the most patronising manner imaginable (since when did dogs not know how to eat stuff?) and then going "but mum says dogs aren't sposed to eat biscuits, so I'll have to eat yours too."
Then the dog whimpers unhappily, and a voiceover man says in a laughing voice, "Only Oreo!"
Only Oreo what? Condones the psychological torture of household pets?! That's not something to be proud of, guys.
In the spirit of speculation, if I was that dog, I'd certainly consider mauling the kid. Maybe I'd play the long game, and wait for him to get chronically obese through excessive biscuit consumption first, so he couldn't run away. But I definitely wouldn't take that kind of teasing lying down. Would you think it acceptable to munch on an Easter egg in front of a hungry diabetic? Or chow down on a tub of Ben and Jerry's in front of someone trying to come to terms with lactose intolerance? No. So why is it OK to wave a biscuit in front of a well behaved dog and then go "ha-HA, no treats for you, Chummy!" As if naming something 'Chummy' hasn't compromised your suitability to care for an animal enough!
Anyway, long story short, if that ad starred a snarling pitbull instead of an infinitely patient fox terrier, the dog would have definitely gotten those oreos and the child would be lacking a face. Only in this scenario, for once you'd be hard pressed to blame the dog.
*The headline used made it sound like a deliberate attack, which it wasn't - there aren't rogue gangs of horses targeting defenseless kids with an evil glint in their eyes.
You bring up a valid point that not too many would like to hear. I'm a mommy of 2 and my husband is in the reptile industry. Once a year we allow my daughter to pick out a bearded dragon or gecko so she can help raise it at the house. Keep in mind these are very docile animals. There were plenty of times she would hold it, get scared and drop it or begin to hold it in a rough manner. There were numerous times where our house guests would say "be careful that it doesn't bite her". Of course I wouldn't put my child in danger & to be perfectly honest I often feel bad for those poor little lizards. Anyways, I wanted to let you know that I could relate.
ReplyDeleteJenn
Mommie of 2 always looking for a great reptile show!