# Stupid-ass parents who refuse to watch their children, and critters who pay the price **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 9, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939 "2006-08-09T00:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/1 "2006-08-09T00:28:14Z")
Watching your child to ensure they don’t get into dangerous situations is a given to most of us. [Apparently not for the parents of this kid](http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/15202942.htm): > [@](#): > > The girl had to work to get her hand inside the enclosure. Zoo officials said she must have crawled over a driftwood barrier, climbed up more than 3 feet of artificial rock and reached over 4 feet of Plexiglas to get her arm into the exhibit. > > Because meerkats stand just a foot tall on their hind legs, she had to have dangled her hand low for an animal to bite her finger, they said. Now, five meerkats were put down, despite them having been vaccinated for rabies, because the asshole parents didn’t want their little precious to undergo shots. :mad: Damnit! ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/2 "2006-08-09T00:29:36Z")
They should have put down the parents instead. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/3 "2006-08-09T00:34:26Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] They should have put down the parents instead. [/QUOTE] No argument here. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/4 "2006-08-09T00:53:08Z")
You know what I think is the worst part of all of this? > [@](#): > > The meerkats — two adults and their three babies born in spring — were vaccinated for rabies, but state health protocol required that they be killed and tested because the girl’s parents didn’t want her to undergo a series of six painful rabies shots. I think they should have let her get the rabies shots- teach her that idiotic actions like what she did have unpleasant consequences. (I’m one of the worst needlephobes that I know, and I wouldn’t have considered it cruel or abusive if they had made her get the rabies shots rather than have the meerkats killed) What do you want to bet that the parents are “rules don’t apply to me or my children” types? Maybe this kid should be raised by meerkats instead of by her parents- the meerkats are almost certainly smarter and more concerned with creatures other than themselves. Oh, and the kid was nine years old. That’s definitely old enough to know better than to reach into an animal exhibit at the zoo. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/5 "2006-08-09T00:58:32Z")
Whether or not the parents are negligent assholes, the _child_ would have to receive a series of rabies vaccinations unless rabies can be ruled out. If it were up to me, I’d have put the animals down whether I was the parent or zoo official. It’s not the meerkats’ fault that the girl put her hand in their cage, but it’s not the child’s fault either. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/6 "2006-08-09T01:00:05Z")
Nine? I thought she was four! Never mind. It was her fault. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/7 "2006-08-09T01:01:04Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] it’s not the child’s fault either. [/QUOTE] I beg to differ. I think nine years old is old enough to know that you shouldn’t do something like that, so it _is_ the child’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/8 "2006-08-09T01:02:18Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Nine? I thought she was four! Never mind. It was her fault. [/QUOTE] OK. I would agree with you if it had been a four-year-old. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/9 "2006-08-09T01:02:39Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] It’s not the meerkats’ fault that the girl put her hand in their cage, but it’s not the child’s fault either. [/QUOTE] She was nine years old. By that age, I was well aware that barriers were not put there as a fun obstacle course-- they meant “keep out.” If the girl was a toddler, I’d agree fully that it was the parents’ fault but this girl was old enough to know better. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/10 "2006-08-09T01:04:29Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Whether or not the parents are negligent assholes, the _child_ would have to receive a series of rabies vaccinations unless rabies can be ruled out. [/QUOTE] Yeah, and I’m thinking that’s a good object lesson in not touching strange animals. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/11 "2006-08-09T01:04:31Z")
Dumb ass parents indeed! How do they not see their kid climbing over/under barriers and holding her hand down? About rabies shots, just how painful are they? Are they six shots that are like other vaccinations or are they like spinal tap painful? I’ve heard conflicting information. Regardless, I agree that it’s the price you pay for breaking the rules. More importantly, how effective are the shots? I can see not wanting to give your kid shots if they aren’t all that effective. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/12 "2006-08-09T01:04:41Z")
Needle the kid, sterilize the parents, leave the meerkats the fuck alone. If the kid is going to be that stupid, she deserves whatever happens to her. She’s old enough to know that. Think of it as evolution in action. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/13 "2006-08-09T01:06:38Z")
Wonder what the clueless parents are going to do when little Princess gets back to school and every. single. child. there begins ripping her a new one for being the stupid little moron that killed the meerkats. Seriously, what the hell? Five animal lives are worth infinitely more than a little bit (or even quite a bit) of pain to be endured by a young’un, especially when it’s her own damn fault. I just asked my young’un about it and she agrees. “Getting shots is way better than killing innocent little animals!” she said, although she pointed out to me that she wouldn’t be dumb enough to stick her hand in the enclosure in the first place. She’s 7. She’s going to go far, that one. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/14 "2006-08-09T01:07:57Z")
You get 6 shots over a month period these days, in the arm. Back when my husband was bit by a dog which then escaped - and only later was captured, killed, and turned out to be rabid - he got a series of shots into the abdomen one after the other. As far as I understand (though I could be wrong) they’re pretty much like regular vaccinations, and I haven’t heard of any failure issues as long as you’re treated promptly. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/15 "2006-08-09T01:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=MaddyStrut] About rabies shots, just how painful are they? Are they six shots that are like other vaccinations or are they like spinal tap painful? I’ve heard conflicting information. Regardless, I agree that it’s the price you pay for breaking the rules. More importantly, how effective are the shots? I can see not wanting to give your kid shots if they aren’t all that effective. [/QUOTE] Modern rabies shots are not the painful horror stories we’ve all heard from our youth. They used to do a whole series directly into your abdominal cavity because of the volume and thickness of the stuff, but they don’t do that any more. The ones they use now are pretty much just your basic vaccine shots. And they’re completely effective. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/16 "2006-08-09T01:22:06Z")
I don’t know if the vaccinations given pre-exposure are the same as the ones given after a possible exposure, but the pre-exposure vaccinations I received when I started work in feral cat TNR were less painful than my Depo shot. Stupid parents raising stupid kids. I hope she’s smart enough (altho I doubt it) to feel guilty that the meercats had to be killed because she’s an idiot. And her parents ought to have to pay for replacing the meercats, then the entire family banned from the zoo forever. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/17 "2006-08-09T01:36:04Z")
Odd coincidence, but I actually know a guy who was recently bitten by a rabid cat. He was trying to keep the cat from biting his son, while on his own porch, so not quite the same situation. He had to get one at the site of the injury, one in the arm, come back in a week and get two in the arm, and come back in another week to get the last two in the arm. He said it only hurt when they stuck it in his hand, but that’s cause shots in the hand hurt. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/18 "2006-08-09T01:47:54Z")
They taste like chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/19 "2006-08-09T02:04:15Z")
[QUOTE=dahfisheroo] They taste like chicken. [/QUOTE] Idiot kids, bad parents, meerkats, or rabies shots? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939/20 "2006-08-09T02:05:06Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] And her parents ought to have to pay for replacing the meercats, then the entire family banned from the zoo forever. [/QUOTE] Bring back public shaming. Post the family’s name at the exhibit, stating that the meerkats are no longer there because of their actions. Let society deal with them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ass-parents-who-refuse-to-watch-their-children-and-critters-who-pay-the-price/367939.md?page=2)