I let our dog sleep beside our toddler. I thought it was sweet. My partner thought it was a betrayal—and she left.
Before you come for me, please hear me out. I wasn’t trying to be reckless. Our rescue dog, Miso, is a gentle, flinch-at-a-paper-towel sweetheart. Our toddler, Levi, adores her.
That night, Levi was overtired and inconsolable. Salome, my partner, had just pulled a double shift. I didn’t want to wake her again. So I let Miso into Levi’s room. She curled up beside the crib, and he immediately calmed down. Then I made the mistake—I lifted Miso into the crib.
They both slept soundly. I thought I was a genius.
The next morning, Salome saw the baby monitor. Her voice was quiet: “You put a pit bull in the crib. With our baby.”
I tried to explain. Miso’s gentle. I stayed up watching. Levi slept. But Salome packed a bag and left with Levi.
Three days later, I visited her sister’s. Reema told me, “She’s not just mad. She’s scared. You broke a deal you didn’t know you’d made.”
Later, Salome texted. When she was five, her family dog bit her cousin. Her parents blamed the cousin. That moment shifted her whole sense of safety.
When she saw Miso in the crib, it triggered all of that. It wasn’t about trust in me—it was about fear rooted in her past.
Now, Miso sleeps just outside Levi’s door. And I’m learning: protecting your child isn’t just physical—it’s emotional, generational, and sometimes silent.
It’s about listening, even when nothing’s said.