National Post (National Edition)
Young girl walks dog and chaos breaks out
Neighbour calls police and child welfare officials
When Corey Widen let her eight-year-old daughter take the family dog for a short stroll alone, she probably never expected it to cause an uproar.
The 48-year-old mother from Wilmette, Ill., a Chicago suburb, told Good Morning America on Friday she thought it was important to start giving her young daughter Dorothy a little more independence. Plus, she told the Chicago Tribune, it was all part of the deal; when her children wanted to get a dog, she agreed on one condition — everyone had to share the responsibilities, including walking it.
As Dorothy was out doing just that earlier this month, a neighbour called the authorities. Police and child welfare officials said the caller, who was not publicly identified, reported there was a child — maybe five years old — walking a dog all alone.
Wilmette police responded to the home, and Illinois’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) launched an investigation into the incident, according to CBS affiliate WBBM.
Although no charges were filed and the investigation was later dropped, Widen told Good Morning America that the ordeal was traumatizing for her children.
And now, Widen said, she is being “mom-shamed.”
“Every eight-year-old is different, every neighbourhood is different, and every parent is different, so you can’t make an overall judgment like that,” Widen explained on Good Morning America.
Shortly after Widen’s daughter and the dog, Marshmallow, returned home Aug. 2, officers came to the door.
Widen’s initial thought was it was about some fundraiser.
Her eight-year-old daughter, however, said she was scared.
Wilmette Police Chief Kyle Murphy said after speaking with the child’s mother, officers determined there was no issue.
The authorities did not contact child welfare officials about the incident, but Widen said the neighbour did.
“Apparently whoever called the police didn’t think the police were a good enough judge of what was okay and not okay. Then they called DCFS. The police did not call DCFS,” she told WBBM.
The Chicago Tribune reported the mother said DCFS opened a weeks-long investigation into the incident, interviewing family members, friends and even the Widens’ pediatrician.
A DCFS spokeswoman said the agency has no way of knowing whether a concern is legitimate without investigating it.
In this case, she said, the agency found no wrongdoing and closed the case.