Would You Rather Be a Helicopter Mom or Have a Dead Doodle?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I heard a very sad story today. A beautiful doodle who was adopted from the DRC died yesterday while in his fenced backyard with his Golden Retriever brother.

The two dogs were alone in the yard for about 30 minutes. When the owner went to call them in, she found them lying together, the Golden's mouth caught in the doodle's collar.  Whether the doodle choked to death or his neck was broken by his frantic brother trying to free himself, we don't yet know. The owner is heartbroken, as are his former foster mom and the entire DRC family.

Please, everyone, supervise your dogs when they are in the yard. A fenced yard is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't prevent all tragedies. A little bit of overprotectiveness can be a very good thing.

[GBK]

How very very sad and heartbreaking!!!  This is why mine don't wear collars at home or in the yard, they have a doggy door.  We have ten feet brick walls and an always locked solid gate, and our front entrance is gated.  I feel very lucky to have these securities so I can feel comfortable in leaving them collar free.  What a nightmare.....

[L.M.]

So terribly awful  =(  All it takes is a minute for something like this to happen...I hope we all learn from this and spread the word.  My 2 hardly ever have their collars on...which I know can be risky in case of escape, but then I hear stories like this and know why I insist on them going collarless.  =(  

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

That makes me so sad!  Thanks for giving us a reminder just how quickly these freaky things happen. 

[BG and Gavin]

Terrible story Karen, just terrible.  Thoughts and prayer go out to all affected :(

[Lauren, Scooby and Bella]

How awful for this family.  I would be heartbroken.  That is one of the reasons I don't like doggie doors.  I want to know when my dogs are outside and supervise them.  I never leave my dogs out for more than 10 minutes without checking on them.  So sad to hear this story.  What a hard lesson to learn.

[Katie and Sophie]

Wow, what a horribly sad and tragic thing to have happen.  my heart goes out to all involved.

[Vivian & Mojo]

I'm so sad for everyone involved, this is so tragic. I've never had any shame about being a helicopter mom with my  human, canine or feline family members. Accidents can happen even when supervising and watching like a hawk so its unthinkable for me to  leave my doodle outside alone even for a few minutes. I've mentioned this before on this site...Last January my Siberian Husky  was out with me in our yard, without me knowing she ate an acorn, there was snow on the ground and she would often put her face under it so I never saw her swallow it whole. It lodged in her lower intestines. I woke in the morning and she had been vomiting, off we rushed to the vet because she did not look good. She went into surgery within an hour because they felt there was a blockage. She died shortly after surgery. Losing a beloved pet needlessly is a pain and heartache I hate to hear anyone dealing with.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hesitated to post it, Caitlin, but maybe telling the story will prevent this from happening to another dog.

[Vivian & Mojo]

I agree Karen, its sad and I'm crying but important for people to understand.

[Sheila & Finnley]

It's good that you posted it Karen. I think if I hadn't seen a situation like this myself before I might have just read the article and felt very badly. Seeing two dogs caught together like that was a horrfying sight, and if there is no break away collar you have to react quickly. That is what I did while my parents watched in shock when it happened to us. Of course I don't think they even made break away collars back in the 70's !

Definitely the break away collars are something everyone should have, especially if dogs are playing. You keep spreading the word ! 

[Betty Smolinski]

I ended up putting breakaway collars on my 2 dogs after they got tangled one time during horseplay...........good thing my daughter was right there to get the collars off.  So sad for this family.............things can happen so fast....

[Suzanne & Jack]

Heartbroken for this family and doodle.  Taking the boys collars off.  They'll be naked boys