KIM’S ATTACKED FOR BEING A BAD MO THER
Kim Zolciak-biermann hid the truth after her child was severely injured. Now family, fans and experts blast her for keeping the dog
It was one of the most terrifying moments of her life. In April, Kim Zolciak-biermann’s son Kash, 5, was bitten in the face by a dog, nearly blinding him in one eye and landing him in the hospital for four days. “The last 14 hours of our lives have been a living nightmare,” the Don’t Be Tardy star, 39, said at the time, providing few details about the dog or its owner. “I’ve never prayed so hard, or been so scared in my life.” It took her seven months to finally share the shocking truth: It was their family dog Sinn, a husky-boxer mix they rescued three years ago, who had attacked Kash — and she and husband Kroy, 32, were keeping him.
That decision has enraged fans. “You are a moron to keep the dog that hurt your child. [Child Services] should come take away your kids,” railed one Twitter user. “Stupidity! Animals are unpredictable,” wrote another. Others have dubbed Kim and Kroy — who are also parents to KJ, 6, twins Kaia and Kane, 3, and Kim’s daughters Brielle, 20, and Ariana, 16, from previous relationships — “horrible, horrible parents” and questioned why they didn’t tell the truth after the incident occurred. “Kim hates the fact that everyone is accusing her of being a reckless parent, but at the same time, this is the very reason she didn’t want to share all the facts at first,” a source tells In Touch. “Kim knew that if people found out it was her family dog that attacked her child, there would have been pressure to remove the dog from her home.”
Fans aren’t the only ones questioning Kim’s choice. “If I had a dog that attacked one of my children, it would be gone,” Kim’s dad, Joe Zolciak, tells In Touch exclusively. If she and Kroy “want to keep the dog that bit my grandson in the face, then shame on them! You don’t know if it’s going to happen again.” Kim’s Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Shereé Whitfield, 47, thinks everyone needs to cut Kim some slack. “I’m sure it was a hard, long-thought-out decision to keep the dog,” Shereé tells In Touch. “Only Kim and her family know the dog’s normal temperament and behavioral patterns, and obviously they feel comfortable. She and her husband know better than anyone what’s good for their family.”
Experts say it can happen again. Even if a dog is not vicious, it can bite a child when provoked inadvertently. Children can’t read dogs’ body language and that causes big problems. “The likelihood is that this dog is going to bite again and that it is dangerous around children,” Caryl Wolff, a dog trainer and certified dog behavior consultant, tells In Touch, noting that if it were her dog, she “would not keep it.” Georgia-based canine behavioral expert Angie Woods feels similarly. An attack “certainly could happen again if [the dog] did it once,” Woods tells In Touch. “Quite frankly, I would probably lean toward not having the dog in the house.”
But Kim, who has four other rescue dogs, is keeping Sinn. “We love Sinn, he’s part of our family,” says the reality star, who adds that she has spoken with dog behavioral specialists, child psychologists and dog bite survivors before coming to her decision. But those close to her can’t help but worry. “Kim is a good mom,” says the source. “But after everything that happened to Kash, it’s hard not to question where her mind is at right now. Hopefully she’s not making a terrible mistake.” ◼