Is calling the police enough?

Question

My girlfriend saw a 3year old getting attacked by their pet Rottweiler. Right next door. so my girlfriend called the police but did nothing more to help.
If it were me i would have jumped over the fence and helped the kid but she said that she did not want to interfere because she did not want to die
Who is wrong?

Answer 1

Your girlfriend did more than you.

If she felt incapable of breaking up a fight, she was best off staying away. I'd gotten a hose, rocks, or whatever, but I wasn't there to see all that was involved

Answer 2

When you look at it from the perspective that some people do nothing, not even call the police, then I'd say that she did a good thing. Your scenario description did not say that the child was subsequently injured, etc, so maybe from what your girlfriend actually 'saw', her response was very reasonable.

Rather than looking for wrongness, consider instead that she did something right. She doesn't really have a legal or moral duty to kill herself, or endanger her own life & limb, to intervene between a dog and a child. Someone else might feel that way, but it's a value judgment everyone has to make based on the circumstances at the time, and it's difficult to second guess someone else - when we were not there.

The sad reality these days is that sometimes a person 'does' jump in, then ends up being the object of a complaint by the other party saying that the dog was only playing, the child wasn't hurt, and they want you charged for trespassing and harassing their dog and scaring their child. Things like that happen too.

Just an opinion.

Answer 3

Very tricky. She would be more likely to be attacked jumping over the fence. The best thing would have been to have distracted the dog off the child first. Calling the police was really a waste of time by the time they got there the child could have been dead! Having said all of this, the thing is that you can't always say what you would do in the circumstances. Fear is a factor here. Fearing for her own safety as well as the child's. You can't judge. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Answer 4

We all think that in a situation like that, that we would jump in and help the child and we would hope that someone would do that for us or our kids... but we never really know until we are actually in the situation. Maybe she panicked and didnt know what to do, maybe at that moment: her fear that the dog would turn on her was overwhelming. I dont know because I wasnt there but I dont think either one of you is right or wrong. Maybe next time she'll do things differently. I hope the child is ok. Im sure your girlfriend would be torn up inside if the child got seriously hurt. I know I would.

Answer 5

It's natural instinct to fear for one's own safety. By jumping over the fence she would have been putting herself at risk and could have antagonised the situation - however I think I would have tried to help in some way rather than just phone for the police - a stick or tool to beat the dog off might have worked.

Answer 6

Well, mutiple thins could have been done. She called the cops, which is the right thing to do. Then being as a woman unless you Sheena, dosent have much of a chance against a rot. She could have attracted as much attention from everyone she could in hope of help. Noise sometime will distract the animal. Or, as a last result, and you would have to be so very damn careful, and as a last resort, three rounds center mass of the animal. But that is a last course of action. She wasnt so much wrong as she might have been able to do more, but I wouldnt fault her too much.

Answer 7

She must have achieved something yet some human beings in basic terms don't have the balls (braveness) it takes to get entangled. She became too terrified of being mauled herself, yet nonetheless, it became a baby and that i'd have a minimum of tried to distract it or achieved what i'd have without endangering myself. Calling the police and cowering in a nook is quite shameful. this would in all likelihood be something which will hang-out her for a lengthy time period and probably she will be able to modify and be more effective courageous next time round.

Answer 8

Your non-caring girl friend. She could atleast have yelled and screamed to get the dogs atention or run to the neighbours front door and banged on the door.

How would she act in this scenario.

She is sitting on a bench and sees a stroller slowly rolling towards a busy road. She is 15 feet away and the road is 40 feet away. Would she still sit on her a s s and call the police or would she actually try to get involved, stop the stroller and do something good for a change?

Answer 9

Is calling the police enough?

How could it be? It would have taken them how long to arrive? 15 minutes at best? In which time the three year old could have been dead.

You're right. She didn't have to put herself in danger to help - she could have chucked rocks at it, screamed at it to distract it, thrown water at it - anything to aid a helpless child.

And calling the police? Surely basic intelligence would suggest that an ambulance was more appropriate. What were the police supposed to do - arrest the dog?

Answer 10

It's smart to call the police if you feel you can not help the situation. You are stronger than her I am sure, so certainly, you could have handled the situation better.

However, I believe it's not a issue of who's wrong between the two of you...If you want to blame somemone that would be the neighbour..

Answer 11

Unless you are in such a situation it is hard to say. But I reckon I would've jumped in there with something to kill the dogs. Human life is worth more than canine life to me.

I used to live in Leicester, where 2 rottweiler savaged a baby girl. That was quite horrific.