Sarah Palin’s Kid Steps On Family Dog

The omnipresent political fame seeking Sarah Palin is once again in the news.

A photo of Sarah Palin’s son standing on a dog to reach the kitchen sink is drawing sharp reactions.

Apparently her son Trig, a six-year-old, couldn’t quite reach the counter, so instead of using a footstool, he chose to step on the family dog.

Ms Palin then thought this to be a news worthy picture, recorded it for all to see, and posted it on her facebook page with the following caption.

“May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward. Trig just reminded me. He, determined to help wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for ‘up!’ found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. He made his stepping stone,” she wrote.

Not surprisingly, many people responded to the picture, and not in a supportive way.

The animal rights group, PETA had this to say..

“PETA simply believes that people shouldn’t step on dogs, and judging by the reaction that we’ve seen to Sarah Palin’s Instagram photo, we’re far from alone in that belief,” Ingrid Newkirk said.

Palin responded: “Dear PETA, Chill. At least Trig didn’t eat the dog.”

Here is my take.

The Palin Black Labrador is obviously a great natured dog who will do whatever he is asked to ‘please’ his people.

Even if it means experiencing some discomfort while being stepped on.

A six year old is just learning what is right or wrong, and needs some guidance from a responsible adult.

It’s called parenting.

It’s not OK to step on animals.

And that is what I find upsetting, as do many people. Her dog is just being a good dog, her kid is being a kid, and she thinks it is fine to step on the dog…

A basic parenting value to pass on to your children is having a healthy respect for animals, compassion for what they may be feeling, and then acting accordingly.

It’s called empathy, and I don’t see much of that coming from Ms Palin.

So in summary I’ll leave some parenting/responsible pet ownership tips for her, for I do empathize with her lack of ‘common sense’ parenting, and animal ownership skills.

1.People should not step on animals

2.Teach your children to not step on animals

3.Don’t take pictures of your children stepping on animals

4.Kids model what their parents do- if you show respect for animals, then they will- although this may be difficult if you are a hunter and prefer to kill animals

5.You can ‘move forward’ without stepping on people/animals, – it’s called sharing, and it’s one of those basic cooperative life skills you should acquire in kindergarten…it’s another good one to teach your kids

Dr Andrew Jones