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What the...?!: Veterinarian puts son in dog crate as punishment
The wife came home and found the 4-year-old boy in the crate, sleeping in urine-soaked clothes. She called the cops. (Youngstown, OH Vindicator)
December 12, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
I remember when I was 4.... that would have been like a Fort! "Adventure sleeping" is what Opie Taylor would have called it.
Posted by: Jack | Dec 12, 2007 5:26:47 AM
Yeah, Jack. Forced adventure sleeping in your own urine. Would you like to give it a try now? I'm sure you'll find it just as delightful as you did when you were a kid. Maybe some feces should be thrown in to enhance the experience for you?
Posted by: andie | Dec 12, 2007 5:44:12 AM
My reaction as well, Jack. Maybe it wasn't a punishment at all. Maybe the boy WANTED to be put in the crate. What boy wouldn't? The fact that he wet himself only adds to the adventure:P
Posted by: Dave | Dec 12, 2007 6:00:31 AM
Oh thats just a bunch of Mullarkey!
Posted by: Cherie | Dec 12, 2007 6:15:14 AM
C'mon...this has nothing to do with adventure. Even Opie could leave the backyard tent, go into the house, pee and snag a few of Aunt Bea's cookies and a glass of milk. He wasn't locked into anything. Besides...'ol Bea would have kicked stuffing out of Andy had any harm come to that boy. This guy should be stuffed into the smallest cell they can find - with no toilet - and see how he enjoys his punishment. Sick SOB.
Posted by: Chicken | Dec 12, 2007 6:18:49 AM
Good for the wife not letting the guy get away with it.
My 3 and 5 year olds play in a dog crate all the time - including having slept in it once. But the door wasn't locked and he didn't piss himself. Woke up a bit sore though.
Posted by: SteveO | Dec 12, 2007 6:21:46 AM
The Boy is 12 now, and he still tries to stuff himself into dog crates, but more for the laughs since he's a bit of a show-off clown.
The difference, as noted above, is that he never gets the door locked on him. At his age now, he might just be able to maneuver the door back open, but a 4-year-old? No way.
Idiot veterinarian = boot to the head
Posted by: Soo | Dec 12, 2007 6:30:09 AM
I know that guy ... he killed my cat for no good reason about 4 years ago.
Posted by: Chris | Dec 12, 2007 6:30:13 AM
LOL @ Cherie
What is a dog (or animal) crate anyway? Our dogs never had them. What are we talking about exactly? What is its purpose?
Posted by: Dave | Dec 12, 2007 6:48:32 AM
Dave, a crate is just a wire pen with a plastic tray under it for accidents and such. My dog's crate is in our bedroom, and it's stuffed full of cushions, his blankey, toys etc. It's like a play-pen for a puppy, and where he sleeps at night. We only lock him in at night or he'd be out chasing the cats all night long.
Posted by: d'ep | Dec 12, 2007 6:55:32 AM
One of the 3 of my dogs has a crate and they were all potty trained via the crate...its a great tool, and my lab actually prefers to sleep in hers. If we didn't crate her while we were out of the house she'd chew things. (she just turned a year old). However, I think it's cruel to crate a dog for 8 hrs or more a day. If you cant pay attention to your dog, why have one? My granddaughter climbs into the dog crate (its about 3 ft high and 4 ft long by about 2.5 ft wide) she thinks its fun in there...but we'd NEVER lock her in there. This guy had a screw loose.
Posted by: Cherie | Dec 12, 2007 7:05:36 AM
Daave,
Crate training FOR DOGS ties into the instincts of the dog. The nearest wild relatives to dogs are all den-dwellers. The den (and their crate) is their "safe place", its not the fact they are confined by it but rather that the den/crate confines anything from getting at them.
Crate training is good for some dogs, doesn't work so well with others (although I strongly suspect its the OWNERS it doesn't work well for). But crating a dog or even leaving it unattended for extended periods of time is bad for the dog and bad behavior for the owner.
As for putting a kid in a crate...WTF? This guy needs a few lessons in rudimentary B&D. Rule One being: You NEVER EVER leave a restrained person alone. Even the pervs know that.
Posted by: NellAgain | Dec 12, 2007 7:25:31 AM
Thanks for the info, guys. This is all new to me. I haven't had a dog since I was a kid. And I haven't owned a dog since I was a kid either.
Posted by: Dave | Dec 12, 2007 7:58:58 AM
Ok Dave...THAT was funny!!!
Posted by: Cherie | Dec 12, 2007 8:13:46 AM
Good on Mom for calling the cops. She should have taken it one step further and kicked the guy's ass before stuffing HIM in the crate.
Posted by: pnwgal | Dec 12, 2007 8:37:22 AM
Excellent suggestion pnwgal; may i suggest a finesse? wait a bit between locking the crate and calling the cops.
Posted by: NellAgain | Dec 12, 2007 8:40:43 AM
And he is indigent? Hmmmm... a vet in today's pet worshiping society that isn't bringing in mid-6 figures isn't really trying.
I also have to add that there may be a plausible and rational explanation for putting the kid in the crate. I've known a lot of parents who did things to protect their children that sounds funny or cruel later on but made sense at the time. Remember leashes for kids? Sure they looked cruel, but if they kept the kid from running into traffic....?
Posted by: mydogFoster | Dec 12, 2007 9:50:29 AM
ok mdf, sometimes kids need protection...
what they don't need is to be urine soaked and left for an extended period locked up
Posted by: Lambiepie | Dec 12, 2007 10:24:03 AM
My son loves the dog crates, and climbs into them - and has reached around and locked himself in several times (good thing I'm always nearby... and of course he can always reach out and unlock it, too). It is fun for him, because *he* is controlling the experience, and it is like a "fort" that he plays in. I cannot imagine how horrifying it would be to get locked in like that and knowing it was "punishment".
I'm so glad the Mom called the cops. It would have been an exercise in self control for me not to kill the son of a bitch right there and then. *sigh*
Posted by: LooseyGoosey | Dec 12, 2007 10:45:51 AM
Remember leashes for kids? Sure they looked cruel, but if they kept the kid from running into traffic....?<<
If I had a kid who ran around and was hard to keep track of, I would use one of those things. They have ones that attach to the wrist of the child to the wrist of the parent. A little less leash like.
Posted by: elaine | Dec 12, 2007 12:22:27 PM
My old babysitter had a dog crate for a puppy in her living room. I went to pick up my son one day and found him inside of it playing. The door was open, but he was inside of it. I yanked him out of her care that day and she never once tried to come back on me for that two week notice clause in her contract. I never could get past the fact that she may have placed him in there intentionally. It made me sick to my stomach.
Posted by: nlr | Dec 12, 2007 1:52:34 PM
Just about the only way to train a Jack Russel terrorist is by a crate. Pico loves his sanctuary.
THis guy should be tasered in his own urine soaked pants. What an effin freak.
Posted by: yucca | Dec 12, 2007 2:40:02 PM
Dave said:
"Thanks for the info, guys. This is all new to me. I haven't had a dog since I was a kid. And I haven't owned a dog since I was a kid either."
Had to read that a second time after Cherie's note. And yes, that's DAMN funny!
Posted by: pnwguy (no relation) | Dec 13, 2007 7:38:41 AM
