The Oops! Puppy down the toilet!

So for this installment of paw corner, I'm commenting on an article I read where a 4 year old boy in Britain accidentally flushed his week old cocker spaniel puppy down the toilet as he attempted to give it a bath after his twin brother took the puppy out for a walk. The puppy was flushed nearly 20 yard away from the house where he was finally rescued. Here is the link to the story with a video of the amazing sequence of events for the tiny pup.

As I read through some of the comments, I realized that my questions and concerns were very much alike with others. Who takes a week old puppy out for long, muddy walks? Why was a 4 year old washing a week old puppy with no adult supervision? anything could've happened...the child could have drowned the dog in the sink! I believe that it is hard to watch your child at all times, but during certain activities where extreme caution and responsibility need to be instore, such as bathing an infant canine, an adult should be present.

On the other hand...where would a child get the idea to wash a dog in a toilet in the first place?? Very unusual. One of the comments noted that children often mimic what they have seen before and perhaps assumed that flushing the toilet cleans the toilet and therefore would be a good place to clean a dog? It's any body's guess...at least there was a happy ending and the puppy is fine and healthy after 4 hours in the pipes, poor guy! The family named the dog Dyno, after its resucer.

Reiterating on OWNER RESPONSIBILITY, please please take caution, care and responsibiltiy if you have a pet. A pet might be a good tool to teach children responsibility, but adults must realize that children still have so much to learn. Not every case may be so lucky as this one...