Public parks are often the most fun places to be because the fresh air and amenities make a superb combo. They’re also the perfect place for parents to bringkidsso that they can have a moment of peace while the children do their own things.
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Pregnant woman with 2YO was told to wait 20 minutes to enter a public elementary school park because some adults wanted to play with their dog
Woman lives close to an elementary school park, which has the perfect play area for her 2YO son, she decided to take him there, but dog owners stopped her from entering
Image credits:C.T. PHAT (not the actual photo)
Since she was in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy, she wanted to sit down as soon as she reached the park, but the pet parents told her to wait 20 minutes
When she questioned them, they told her to take up the issue with the elementary school, so the mom decided to take her 2YO on a 40-minute stroller walk instead
Animalsand humans can totally get along and have a great time together. However, it doesn’t seem like these dog parents felt like their giant pet could behave itself around an adult and a young child. If they did think that, they didn’t share it with the poster. Instead, they told her to wait for 20 minutes and asked her to take up the issue with the elementary school when they felt she was confronting them.
Bored Pandainterviewed Nicholas Furtado, a canine behaviorist fromK9NICK, to get his perspective on the situation and understand what dog owners could do in such moments. Nicholas shared, “it’s very obvious that puppies are naughty and they could jump over someone and hurt somebody. As a caution, if those guys have asked her not to come inside, I think it’s fair to ask something like that. Obviously, is it a designated park for humans, is it a designated park for dogs, is a big question mark here.”
“The solution here is, the government has to be very clear of their stand on something. So you have a park for dogs, you have a park for humans, and make that very clear. Leaving it ambiguous creates a bridge in between society for the animal lovers and [those against]. At an individual level, how well is yourdog trained, well-behaved, rather, in social settings? That is the responsibility of the pet parent. It is a powerful animal, it’s got fangs, it’s got nails, it will hurt. We [humans] don’t even have fur to protect us,” he added.
Just like Nicholas mentioned, even if there are no signs stopping dogs from playing in aplayground, it’s still unsafe to assume you can bring your pets there. Before doing that, you need to understand how they act around children or how they may react to loud noises. It’s always better to be cautious.
Since it was also a school playground, it’s important to note that not allschools allow dogson their grounds, usually because of hygiene issues. The poster mentioned that she had brought her dog to the park before, so there was no issue with animals being there. The only problem was how the dog owners had taken over the park. Whether it was for safety concerns or some other reason, the people should have shared their reasons.
Image credits:Phil Nguyen (not the actual photo)
Many commenters wondered why the lady left instead of confronting the adults with the dog. She told netizens, “I should have mentioned, the dog was giant. My son loves dogs and is too young to leave it alone if it’s not friendly, so I just decided not to engage.” This makes complete sense because no matter how much of a gentle giant the dog seems to be, the Center of Disease Control says that children are the most common victims ofdog bites, accounting for 50% of all reported cases. So, it’s better to safe than sorry with a young child involved.
But then, how would dogs and humans ever learn how to live together peacefully? We askedNicholasif he had any tips for dog owners so that they could create a safe environment for dogs and kids to come together. He shared a few suggestions:
People were outraged on behalf of the woman and they felt that the dog owners were selfish for their actions
Image credits:Samson Katt (not the actual photo)
Thanks! Check out the results:
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