A poor little 6-week-old baby just had the unthinkable happen to him after his family's new puppy bit off his pinkie finger while he was asleep. The incident is nothing short of horrific and sad, especially because doctors were unable to attach the finger, so he will be forced to grow up without it.
I'm sure you're asking the same questions that I was when I heard this story -- how did something like this happen, and where was the baby's mother when the puppy was treating his tiny hand like a chew toy?
Well, it turns out she was taking a nap -- probably in an effort to follow the age-old advice of "sleep when the baby sleeps." And now she's being investigated for child neglect -- and she should be. Someone has to be held accountable for this incident, because something like this never should have happened to a sweet, innocent baby.
While it is highly doubtful that this woman intentionally placed her baby in a situation where he could be harmed, common sense should have told her not to put him to sleep in a place where the puppy could get to him. She didn't specify where she had laid him down, but it had to be somewhere that was low to the ground in order for the puppy to be able to reach him. Small dogs generally can't jump up into a crib or anything like that.
It's also important to note that the puppy belonged to her 3-year-old son, and they'd only had the animal for a week when he bit off the baby's finger. Don't you think it would've been smart for this woman to crate the dog before she went to sleep to make sure that it didn't get into any sort of mischief? Because puppies tend to do that.
While being interviewed by the local news about the incident with her baby boy, she really didn't seem as mortified or shaken as you would expect a parent in that situation to be. She made sure to note that her baby will still be able to do all of the same things her 3-year-old does as he grows up, and she also pointed out that the baby did not cry when the puppy went after him. To me, something about her reaction seems a little bit too calm and collected, leading me to believe there's a reason that investigators are digging deeper into the situation.
Take a look at the video clip below to hear more about what happened from the baby's mother.
Do you think the mother is to blame for her baby's finger being chewed off?
Image via wcsh6.com