Dogs are truly incredible creatures. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with one can attest to the fact that they share an intimate bond with humans, unlike any other animal. Loyal to a fault, kind-hearted, and protective to the core, it’s no wonder that they have been our faithful companions since time immemorial.
Every day, we hear stories of how dogs have saved lives or warned people of impending dangers. Their extraordinary senses enable them to detect things that we cannot. When Benjamin and Hope hired a babysitter to look after their newborn son, Finn, their dog, Killian, sensed that something was off.
He would growl at the nanny whenever she got too close to Finn as if he knew instinctively that she was not to be trusted around a vulnerable member of his family. Although they thought they had found the right person for the job after doing their due diligence, the parents began to notice a change in Killian’s behavior five months after the sitter was hired.
Benjamin reported, “He started getting real defensive at first, he would stand in between her and our son, and then gradually turned into more aggression towards her. That’s when Hope really started to notice something’s wrong.” Benjamin continued, “He’s a very personable dog.
He’s easy-going, an eighty-pound lap dog, so for him to show aggression towards anyone is a sign that something’s wrong because he never shows aggression.” As Hope’s suspicions grew, the couple decided to set up an iPhone to record background noise. They left the phone under the couch for seven and a half hours to capture what was happening when they weren’t around.
When Hope played back the recording, she described it as “a nightmare.” “For seven and a half hours, my son cried nearly the entire time. She was cursing at him, calling him horrible names, and the thing about it is it came for no reason. He wasn’t acting up, he hadn’t been crying until she left him alone in his crib for hours, or, of course, the physical abuse.”
Benjamin and Hope also heard a “slap noise” on the recording and sounds that suggested that Finn was being shaken. The babysitter was charged with assault and battery and sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison.
In their state, child abusers must add their names to a statewide child abuse registry to prevent them from ever again working with children. We are republishing this story to raise awareness about child abuse and the importance of trusting our furry friends’ instincts when it comes to protecting our loved ones.
