Hey all. You are such a wonderful group of folks, so I though I would toss this out here and see what you all think I should do.
There is a lot of back history here that would take too long to write, lets just say that there have been issues with my SIL who is married to my DH's brother.... the last event was her screaming across the room at me after my DH's Grandma's funeral....
A few years back we got a new dog for my DH at Christmas, a little terrier mix. Fast forward to the following Thanksgiving and my 5 yr old niece. We are all at my in-laws (and the families always bring their dogs), and this was the first big Holiday for our pup so he was skittish and nervous. We kept telling my niece to leave the dog alone. A few hours pass and my BIL and SIL leav to they can join some friends at a bar, leaving their kids at the in-laws with the rest of us. My in-laws head out to church leaving the kids with us and my other SIL and her DH. This whole time my niece is still harassing the dog (pulling his ears and chasing him around the house) and we are constantly telling here to leave him alone. Eventually we were not paying enough attention and sure enough, she was bitten. In the face. One single puncture mark on here cheek where a dimple would be.......
We quickly grab her, check her injuries and take her to the ER. While on the way there, I asked her different questions about what she wanted for Christmas and so on...... anyway, her parents show up at the ER and just whisk right past all of us without a word. The bite was reported and so on but nothing much was done since there were seperate counties involved. After the whole incident they acted as if nothing had happened the entire time they were there. About a week later I get a phone call from my BIL asking me what exactly did I ask her on the way to the hospital and that it would be a very nice gesture on our part if we would send their daughter a card in the mail, telling her how it was not her fault she was bitten and that we were very sorry. I told him I would if I had the time (but of course never did). For the past 5 years now every time we have seen them their daughter reminds us of getting bitten by our dog..... who is a very nice dog btw..... yes I know he should not have bitten her in the first place but I chalk it up as nervous puppy and rotten kid tormenting the dog.
Fast forward to last weekend. My kids were sledding at my in-laws and my BIL and SIL were there with their dog (some lab mix). My youngest DD(who is 11) took a run down the hill with the dog there. After she took her trip down the hill (no screaming) and was fully stopped, the dog pounced her and bit her arm. Hard. He bit her though a down coat and her sweater and left a huge bruise that almost wrapped around her whole arm (without ripping the fabric). Now the bite bugs me since from what I saw he was playing and not trying to hurt her, but he was WAY too rough. The big problem I have is how my BIL and SIL behaved. Not once did they ask my DD if she was ok, or say to me, my DH and my DD that they were sorry. The entire event was treated as if it never happened. The only thing they DID say to my DD was that the dog should not have been out by the hill and it was an accident. When they left, that is when they told my other SIL they were sorry about the event.
REALLY????? You can't talk to my FACE!!!!! You can't talk to your own niece!!!!!
So, right now I am thinking of sending an email to my BIL about the whole thing. I am not going to call them since I would say something I 'might' be sorry for later, and with an email I can edit myself.
What do all of you think I should do?????
There is a lot of back history here that would take too long to write, lets just say that there have been issues with my SIL who is married to my DH's brother.... the last event was her screaming across the room at me after my DH's Grandma's funeral....
A few years back we got a new dog for my DH at Christmas, a little terrier mix. Fast forward to the following Thanksgiving and my 5 yr old niece. We are all at my in-laws (and the families always bring their dogs), and this was the first big Holiday for our pup so he was skittish and nervous. We kept telling my niece to leave the dog alone. A few hours pass and my BIL and SIL leav to they can join some friends at a bar, leaving their kids at the in-laws with the rest of us. My in-laws head out to church leaving the kids with us and my other SIL and her DH. This whole time my niece is still harassing the dog (pulling his ears and chasing him around the house) and we are constantly telling here to leave him alone. Eventually we were not paying enough attention and sure enough, she was bitten. In the face. One single puncture mark on here cheek where a dimple would be.......
We quickly grab her, check her injuries and take her to the ER. While on the way there, I asked her different questions about what she wanted for Christmas and so on...... anyway, her parents show up at the ER and just whisk right past all of us without a word. The bite was reported and so on but nothing much was done since there were seperate counties involved. After the whole incident they acted as if nothing had happened the entire time they were there. About a week later I get a phone call from my BIL asking me what exactly did I ask her on the way to the hospital and that it would be a very nice gesture on our part if we would send their daughter a card in the mail, telling her how it was not her fault she was bitten and that we were very sorry. I told him I would if I had the time (but of course never did). For the past 5 years now every time we have seen them their daughter reminds us of getting bitten by our dog..... who is a very nice dog btw..... yes I know he should not have bitten her in the first place but I chalk it up as nervous puppy and rotten kid tormenting the dog.
Fast forward to last weekend. My kids were sledding at my in-laws and my BIL and SIL were there with their dog (some lab mix). My youngest DD(who is 11) took a run down the hill with the dog there. After she took her trip down the hill (no screaming) and was fully stopped, the dog pounced her and bit her arm. Hard. He bit her though a down coat and her sweater and left a huge bruise that almost wrapped around her whole arm (without ripping the fabric). Now the bite bugs me since from what I saw he was playing and not trying to hurt her, but he was WAY too rough. The big problem I have is how my BIL and SIL behaved. Not once did they ask my DD if she was ok, or say to me, my DH and my DD that they were sorry. The entire event was treated as if it never happened. The only thing they DID say to my DD was that the dog should not have been out by the hill and it was an accident. When they left, that is when they told my other SIL they were sorry about the event.
REALLY????? You can't talk to my FACE!!!!! You can't talk to your own niece!!!!!
So, right now I am thinking of sending an email to my BIL about the whole thing. I am not going to call them since I would say something I 'might' be sorry for later, and with an email I can edit myself.
What do all of you think I should do?????
