Photo: @klara_tsetkin / TikTok
She says her dog is part of her family.
By Megan Quinn — Written on Mar 21, 2023
As parents, we may sometimes have to make difficult decisions for the sake of our children’s safety. This includes giving up anything that can pose a danger to them.
However, one mother is facing backlash after revealing why she chose to keep her beloved dog, who caused their young daughter to wind up in the hospital with permanent scarring on her face.
The mother defended her dog after he bit her daughter, claiming ‘we all make mistakes.’
Nadia, a mother of two kids, three if you count her dog, Bart, has shared multiple videos on her TikTok account of her daughters playing with Bart. They all appear smitten with each other, and it is clear that the girls love their dog. It is hard to believe that three years ago, Bart bit into Nadia’s eldest daughter, Milana’s, face. The little girl required stitches, had a black eye and suffered permanent scarring on her face.
On the day of the attack, Nadia claims that her dog was feeling unwell.
In what she calls a “mistake” rather than an “attack,” the mother reported that Bart was very sick and attempted to hide under the bed as his hind legs gave out from under him. Milana, who was three years old at the time, did not understand her pup’s condition and urged him to play with her.
“[She] did not understand that the dog needs to rest and not to touch him,” Nadia explained in a text overlay in one of her videos. “She began to touch him even more, sit on him, and climb onto his face and hurt him.”
That’s when Bart’s mood suddenly changed and he snapped at the little girl’s face. The parents were forced to make a decision regarding their dog’s placement. 10 days after the incident, they came to the conclusion to keep their dog in their family instead of rehoming him or putting him down. “We all make mistakes in this life… we forgave our boy,” Nadia reflected.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, ore than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States, and more than 800,000 receive medical attention for dog bites. Children are the most common victims of dog bites and are most likely to be severely injured.
The AVMA encourages dog owners to be responsible when it comes to disciplining dogs, socializing them, teaching kids to be cautious around pets, ensuring dogs get regular exercise and understanding dogs' body language in order to prevent dog bites.
However, other parents completely disagreed with her decision.
“Nope. My kids come before any person let alone animals,” one TikTok user commented.
“As much as I love my dogs, they will never come before the safety of my kids,” another parent shared.
“Who's to say that this won’t happen again?” another user pointed out. “Are you guys waiting for the dog to finish the job?” another user wrote.
Others believed that while Nadia did not have to euthanize Bart, she should have rehomed him to a family without young children. And people even called the mother out for not teaching her daughter boundaries when the dog was not feeling well.
“We as parents need to teach our children to respect our animals!” one user wrote. “Kids don’t understand but mom and dad should,” another user argued. “Don’t set him up in the position to do it again. Protect them BOTH!!” another user encouraged.
However, other users praised Nadia for her decision to spare her dog’s life.
“You guys handled this very well! Moving forward all animals and kids need to be watched. That’s what we do,” one user believed.
“Thank you for loving both your child and your dog… I would’ve done the same,” another user shared. “Thank you for forgiving him, he’s family!” another user wrote.
“You all do realize there’s a big difference between aggression and a dog just simply defending itself from pain?” another user pointed out.
Even little Melania appears to have forgiven her pet, as her mother shared in a video of the toddler expressing how much she loves him, with her wounds still fresh on her face.
“I love him…he is my friend…my dog… and he loves me too,” she says.
Nadia revealed that Bart has since undergone an operation to resolve his health problems. Today, he is happy and healthy and has not bitten anyone since.
“Now, I see only a happy family where two girls grow up, with huge, kind hearts who know how to love and forgive!” the mother proclaimed.
She has since launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for Melania’s ongoing medical bills.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.