Major scare here which gave me a panic attack...
The living room is Mikro's playroom. It has a rubber tile floor, and baby gates, and even a baby sized couch which he naps on. In that room, he is as safe as we can make it for him. It's really sort of an oversized playpen at this point, at least until he figures out how to climb up on the big people couches, and falling off becomes a danger.
We have two dogs, one of whom is intensely jealous of the baby, because her career as a working dog came to an end at his birth. She has a back problem, and can't do service work anymore. She has gone from being my constant companion inside and out of the house, to just an ordinary dog who stays homewhen we go out. Unfortunately, due to the timing, she sees it as: the little critter came along, and I got exiled. She hasn't ever done anything aggressive towards the babe, but at 85 lbs., with nearly two inch long fangs, I am resolved never to give her the chance. I love my dog, but I will not risk my son's life.
She is absolutely not allowed to be with the baby unsupervised.
Well, my sick and muzzy headed husband didn't latch the baby gate right.
I was in the kitchen waiting for my tea water to boil, where I can't see the living room. The dogs were in the dining room, which is in between. Unbeknowst to me, the big dog was in there chewing up a pair of my underwear, when the babe figured out that the gate wasn't latched and made his bid for freedom. He crawled over the dog and into the kitchen, without a sound.
Of course, all I can think of is, he could literally have been torn to pieces by the dog, if she had decided that he was attempting to steal the purloined panties she was snacking upon. She has been known to be guilty of resource guarding, and like most German Shepherds, she is territorial to boot. She also has very strong prey drive, and loves to chase small fast moving objects like squirrels and cats... So far she's only ever been aggressive with other dogs, but I have heard to my horror that dogs do not really comprehend that babies are little humans, and thus above them in pack order... which makes tragic mistakes all the more possible.
On top of the dog danger, there was the fact that the dining room has become the repository of all the stuff we didn't want the babe to get into, and he just took an unescorted tour of it all. Granted, it was only about a minute and a half long, but that's long enough for him to have found trouble.
Needless to say, I am a basketcase. This can NEVER happen again.
No comments:
Post a Comment