It's very easy for me as a non-parent to make comments on the raising of children, when I've never had to do it myself, but the recent mauling of a 3-year old boy by dogs in his own home certainly does raise eyebrows.

This little boy was attacked and killed by 4 dogs - 3 rotties and 1 border collie - while his mother slept in adjacent room. The dogs were locked in a basement, but the authorities feel that the little guy woke up and let the dogs out. Dogs aren't quiet at the best of times, and if they were threatened or agressive, it would have been an incredibly noisy affair. The mother slept right through this! She was apparently told by the older children that something was wrong with her youngest. She found him close to death, and he died on way to the hospital.

As part of the investigation, the three surviving children were removed from the house by the Ministry of Social Services and are staying with relatives. Today, there was a hearing in the courts to return the children to their grieving mother. Several relatives spoke on camera that they had feared for the children's safety in the past, and had hoped in vain things would change. I am gobsmacked at that! If you thought a child you knew was in immediate danger, would you stand by hoping things would be ok? How could you live with yourself if it wasn't? Now, it may not be going to the authorities, but there are many other options available to help.

Without too much detail, we went through a lot of this with Shannon when she first had Hayley. It was not a safe environment for a baby. We, as a family, came together and made it a priority that Hayley was cared for. For them, it was simply the cost of living was higher than what they had coming in, even for essentials. There was never a thought of Hayley not being treated well, as her parents both worship her, but there was many other factors in their home they had no control over (other roommates involved in drugs, violence in the house, etc.) I love children, and the thought of being a mom stirs something inside me so deep, it's almost unimaginable. But, I will never have a child if I cannot provide a loving, stable environment for it. I made this promise to myself many many years ago, and while sometimes I wonder if I knew I'd end up being single for so long, if I still would have made the same decision, I know a child is not something I can handle in my life right now. My health issues would make it much too difficult and personally, I don't feel that to be fair to any future children when there are days I can barely take care of myself as it is. What is meant to be, will happen and I must put my trust in that.

Anyway, digressing away from my original point here...this poor 3 year old is gone, his siblings are horribly traumatized by seeing their baby brother killed, then losing their pets and now the mother is questioning why she did not provide a proper environment for her kids? Give your head a shake, lady! Having these babies was a privledge you took for granted. It is not a right! It's not about money, some of the poorest homes in the world are the most loving. When you have children, your whole life should come second to theirs and this lady unfortunately and tragically forgot that.