Kids Ruin *Some* Things
 

I met a dog last night named Cody. His parents owned him for three years. In between that time, they decided to have a human baby. Well, the baby was born, but was allergic to Cody. The baby was developing a rash, so the parents decided to give Cody away. Now Cody (German Shepard) is homeless and up for adoption. He's extremely gentle, smart, and he totally loved Otis. We met him last night. No, I am not going to adopt him so don't even suggest that.

Now, I don't have kids so I don't really don't know how much of an impact they have on a person as a parent, but I do know I love Otis so much that if I ever had a kid that had a rash because of him, I don't care. I would never give Otis up. That kid would have to take Benedryl for the rest of his life before I give up Otis.

What do you guys think about this behavior? Acceptable or unacceptable behavior? Would you give up your Yorkie so your human kid could be rash-free?

Being a parent myself, it would depend on the severity of the allergy. If it was something that can be controlled with medication and possibly the pet spending most of the time outside. Which is where my lab stays because of my son's asthma as well as mine & his allergies. She has a huge dog house a huge fenced in yard. Two 5 gallon waters and two concrete patios and lots of trees to find shade.

But if I did not have these facilities they I would have to say yes I would give her up. But, since yorkies don't shed we don't have that problem in our house. If you had children you would definitely do what is best for them. I'm not saying this to cause an uproar this is just my opinion and what I would do. So don't anyone get mad at me.

Ha! I've always said this too. There ARE medicines (allegra?) that help with allergies.

Besides, yorkies ARE supposedly hypoallergenic dogs, so that shouldn't be a problem to begin with, thankgoodness!

I've seen this happen SO many times and it breaks my heart. Whatever human child I may one day give birth to, will be my 2nd child. Sully will always be our 1st "son".

Babies are cute, but only a dog can truly offer unconditional love.

This is a tough one. I love my dogs and would hate to give them up. However if my child had allergies I would give them up. I would find them a home though where they would be loved.

You change your tune when the baby comes home. I walked out the front door to the hospital crooning, "Don't worry, Horace, (the dog's name), you'll always be my baby." And I walked back in the door five days later saying, "One false move, dog, and you're out of here." No matter how much you love the dog, when you see those teeth marks (or rash bumps or whatever) on your own child's flesh, you'll do whatever it takes to protect the child, even if it means getting rid of the dog -- though most dog lovers will do so in a responsible way.

Now the baby I brought home is almost 24 and I NEED a Yorkie baby. Now I tell my son, "Don't you DARE do anything to frighten my dog!" And he doesn't; he knows when mother-instinct is in force, though is the first time it's been turned against him! So we've come full circle.

oh WOW. That poor baby. I DO have kids...always had pets and my kids as babys had rashes - I never blamed my pets ...is there actual proof the baby even got a rash due to Cody or does it sound like the parents are maybe being a little over protective ?

Every baby has a rash at one time or another - it's part of being a baby....If someone raised an infant that never had a rash - I would love to hear about it. Poor little Cody - I feel so sad for him....

I'm with you on this one - I could never give up my girls unless I was certain that the rash was caused by them - rashes are treatable...I would need alot of proof that the animal is causing this problem before giving him up - What about letting Cody stay with someone and see if the baby is ok - bring Cody BACK and see what happens ?

unfortunately many people, once they have a baby, do give up their pets for various reasons. I wish people would think hard about having a pet if they're planning children.

Egads, that is a tough one! I'm 100% sure we are so attached to Yoda that the skin kid would have to adjust, unless it was life threatening for the kid. But on the other hand, it really wouldn't be fair to the kid though, to always have a rash because of Yoda. If it was fixable by drugs or medication, well, then yes, that'd be fine and we'd do whatever it took so the child could co-exist with Yoda. I have heard of people giving up Yorkies due to problems with kids, and that's just very sad when I hear it.

Luckily, we know of at least two families (both close family members) that would spoil Yoda rotten (probably more than us even!) and could take him in as a last resort. One of the families is Yoda's godparents, in case something ever happened to us, they would take care of Yoda for the rest of Yoda's life, and we have financially arranged for them to do so as well. And they love him just as much as we do and he gets treated like royalty when he "vacations" there. :)

Giving Yoda to someone else would be the absolute last resort, though. We made a commitment to him when we adopted him that we would take care of him for all of his life as best we could and we think it's very important to stick to that commitment to him as he has given us so much love, happiness, joy, companionship, friendship, and good luck. ;)

Do you think the situation would be changed if the KID came first? And say, the kid was 2 or 3 years old, then the family got the Yorkie? Then later, the kid gets an allergy a year later?

My 32 yr old daughter has an allergy to Minnie. I will give up my daughter Minnie is cheaper.

If the kid came first, then a responsible parent would do research on what type of dog to get for their kid. They would probably expose their kid to different dogs to see if kid even likes dogs to begin with, and hopefully at that time they'll find out if the kid was allergic or not.

:) :)

Wow, this is a really interesting discussion. Something everyone should consider when getting a pet.

But how about other circumstances.....like getting a dog to be a companion to your lonely widowed grandmother? If the dog brings her a few years of joy, is it worth leaving the dog homeless when she passes away?

When we got Sully, I took him over to play with my little cousins nearly every day. I wanted to socialize him to children now - so that one day, in like 3 years when I have a baby of my own, he'll adjust easier. Sully loves my cousins. Heh, you've all seen the pictures, LOL!

it really depends. sometimes its so bad that someone's throat can close or whatever, and not much can help that, even the shots. if it was just a little thing absolutly not! if it was something that serious i have to say yes. of course i wouldn't just give my baby away he/she would have to go to a home where i could see him/her almost everyday. its very sad, and must be very hard to do, but sometimes it just can't be helped. :(

i'm so attached to bentley..i could never give him up!

i luvvvvvv lucky so much and i spoil him like he is my real son. but who am i kidding folks at the end of the day hes a well loved and spoiled "dog". not a human, not a child, but a cute and loving dog. hopefully i will never have to make that choice although i did consider it in the beginning since i have two children with very bad asthma. anyone who cant draw a line between a child you carried inside you for nine months and a dog has some issues. i couldn't imagine someone who has to debate who's more important their child or their dog. seriously. for those single people without children, your dog is like a child to you so of course you would put its needs befor your own but for those parents who have actually given birth i would hope priorties are in check.
my bf and i have been together for 15 + years and have 2 children together. he knows that i grew up in foster homes more than 20 and because of that i have channeled all my time and focus on my kids. and although he has help me get thru my own issues with being abandoned by my parents. i would drop his ass in a heartbeat if it meant a better life for my kids. luckly for me were total oppisite and it keeps us together.... he had great parents who loved them and took care of them and i spent most of my childhood wishing for a family who would love me and never leave me. guess i was lucky because i have it all now. a man who loves me, wonderful kids and a beautiful dog. i wouldn't change a thing......

Let me ask you this. When my husband was married to his first he had to dashunds and he had to give one away because, it bit my youngest stepson when he was a baby. I know this was hard to do. What would you do in this case? He for some reason just didn't like him. Never bit my oldest stepson..

Easy..the dog would go. It might be very hard but I don't see how it could even be a contest. No way would I make a BABY take meds all day if it could be prevented. You also mentioned they had the dog for 3 years... well I find this a bit different then going out and getting a dog AFTER Baby came home. Also how in the world could they predict 3 years ahead of time they were going to have a new baby who was allergic to dogs?
I completely understand the attachment of childless dog owners, but as someone else said... it's a whole different feeling if you actually had a child. It is something you could never speculate upon and would have to live it to really feel the impact.

yes they should try and find the poor doggy a new home but if it meant my child was going to suffer... I probably would use the shelter as a last resort

i am only 13 but nfortunatly, i would have to say yes. if the allergy increased that is. think about it. i dont know how to quite explain it but to me ur blood and flesh is more impt than our furbabies. i hate to say this but it is true. if i wud keep him outside i wud rather keep him until i cud fin a good home then give him up this ..IMO

look i have a baby sister. and if she had to take meds her WHOLE life then yes i would find rex a new home thank god its not the case

LOL Junebug!!! But I agree with this poster. I have both kids and dogs....you wouldn't love otis any less, just differently than the way you'd love a child. You can only know the kind of love you have for your children AFTER you have them :) I had to chuckle a little at your post...hope you don't mind. I thought it was so cute the way you put it:)

LOL! :p

awww you're such a nice big sister, i'm serious. my brother would have been like, see ya sis! :( lol!

I would't give up my dog. I have a cat that I love dearly and I've had him BEFORE my kids and my son all of a sudden is allergic. Well he takes meds when it bothers him but most of the time he's fine. So me personally even though I have young kids I wouldn't get rid of the dog. They're a part of my family too.

Amazing how a dog can be a disposable thing when !!!

Well It is sad to hear that they are having to find him a new home however being a mommy myself I can understand where they are comming from, My son comes first and formost no matter how much we love Gidget Vincent is my flesh and blood. However I do think there are other ways of handleing the situation. I myself have very bad allergys to pets (good thing yorkies are hypo alergetic (sp) but all growing up we had a black Lab and she just had to stay outside.......I would play with her and still will play with dogs till this day but I know that as soon as i am done I need to wash my hands very well and roll the hair off of my clothes. I don't know the situation but I think if they were to move the dog outside and deep cleaned the house and took percautions they could keep the dog.
And to say that they should give the kid medicine everyday is crazy...if i know I am going to be in contact with animals I will take pills but even the ones like Claritin and that still make you not "all there"
I am wondering though have they had the child in for a allergy test? most babies dont get allergies unless they are over a year (I had asked about this with my son since I have bead allergies) unless it is a food or something like that....are they sure it isnt anything like that? Anyhow just my 2 cents

Do you consider children disposable?


I don't consider them disposable but unless you have children and depending on the severity of the allergy if there is nothing else you can do. The dog would have to go. Just wait until you do have children. It is hard for you to think this way since you don't have but, there would be no other choice. Luckily yorkies don't shed so chances of someone being allergic to them would be slim.

When you have kids they have to and must come first. My opinion of course.

This is true buy you can develop allergies at anytime no matter what the age. I think of lot of it depends on if the baby was breast feed and for how long. That way they would have your immunity.

I have not posted this to make anyone mad this is just my opinion. My child comes first and then my animals. Luckily I haven't been faced with this diliema. I can't imagine having to make this decision. If it was a life threatening allergy my dog would be gone in an instance. If it were something that just poped up every now & then I would keep them but, I would make other arrangements. They would have to be kept outside I know this would be hard on the animal but, I've done it. I have a Chocolate Lab that stays outside because of my son's asthma. It was either that or give or up. I spend time with her everyday. She has a huge insulated dog house. All the fresh food and water that she needs. Plenty of shade and a huge patio(concrete) that she can lay on under trees if she gets too hot.

On extremely hot days or extremely cold ones she does come in.

[QUOTE=shecass]Do you consider children disposable?

No children are not disposable .

[QUOTE=Olivier]
I hope I didn't make you mad. I'm sorry if I did. I too feel very passionate about this. As I know you do. Forgive me if I made you mad. I hope that have throughly checked everything out before giving their dog up. If you know them personally I would ask lots of questions about this. If it's something that isn't life threatening then I really think it is a bad idea if it is something that only rarely pops up. That can be treated with medication when it does pop up.

Again I did not mean to make you mad. So please don't take it that way.

[QUOTE=shecass]No you didn't make me mad because I consider the opinions of the others . We are civilized peoples and able to talk to each others . I understand the point of view of parents .

People can attract allergies at any time.

What if the pet was first, they you had a baby who is VERY allergic? Sometimes allergies are sooo bad, that only shots can help just a little bit. My uncle died of an asthma attack in his sleep. He was allergic to everything. So, I guess this is a very touchy subject for me. I'm sorry, but my human kids come first. (But, they've been here for 11 and 7 years). :)

If I were in this situation, I WOULD do everything that I possibly could before giving the pets to someone else.

But, Yorkies are very good with people with allergies. That is part of the reason why we looked at getting a Yorkie.