I never let my son handle any animal without supervision, not even my dogs. Is he responsible for his age, yes, but he is still a child, and children make mistakes. This is another demostration of ignorance. All of my dogs are abused rescues. When I brought my wolf hybrid home he latched onto my arm (pure fear/lack of human trust) with what seemed like the intent to rip it off. Even then I didn't panic, did it hurt yes, it took 5 long minutes to get it loose. I would have never considered hurting the dog, heck I didnt even kick at it. I don't understand the mentality of people that feel its ok to treat a reptile a certain way because its not a "furry friend". It makes no sense, a pet is a pet, bottom line! I know this will never happen, but in my mind the parents should be charged with cruilty to animals.
