your poor dog!!! That , to me , is the same as shooting an innocent child!! And BM bought it for him, and incoraged him to lie about it, and hide it. Way to go mom!! I guess he can now keep it at her house, and shoot some thing she loves dearly...and get away with it. Sorry, that just pisses me off! "~waiting on the world to change~"

I would have LOST it! That is sooo painful for the dog-unbelievable!

One and One make two in my book-I think the fact that SS was in possession of a BB gun puts him in the hot seat.

I would NOT allow him to have a BB gun (he can have it at his Mom's)in the house-and he can volunteer at an animal shelter for a consequence if he is old enough!

I hope Dozer is ok now....

Step Parenting – you might need to step back before you step in something!

Wow, what an a$$hole...both of them! What did you guys do with the BB gun? Did you punish SS? Poor doggy, that is so sad. And he shot him twice?! Two bullets, right? I'd break that gun in half & take away every luxury he has for a month, and not allow him anywhere near the dogs!

My head is just spinning about your whole story!!! That is so awful and shocking!!! I can't even tell you right now, what I would do!!! I just can't imagine that Bm encouraged him to smuggle a BB gun into your house. That has to violate something!!

Your Dh should be all over this!! He can't stick up for ss with this one. It's very serious.

You were definitely right. Your ss isn't mature or responsible enough to have a BB gun. You can now throw in untrustworthy!!!!

I hope your puppy is going to be ok!!!!!

Dawn

"To Thine Own Self Be True" William Shakesphere

I, like you, am an animal lover. This is too much. What kind of little monster would do such a thing, and just leave the animal to suffer? Had it with these men and their spoiled rotten kids who are never held accountable for anything!

My SD17 claims to love my golden retreiver Max so very much, that I've actually left him in her care when we've gone out of town. No more. Seems as tho she was letting one of her friends 4 yr old ride him like a horse. He's a large dog, suffers occasional hip problems-which she is well aware of. Last time she was her, I caught her feeding him jalepenos-and laughing at the look on his face when it burned. She's not going to have him with her ever again.

if someone did that to my baby, trust me, there would be hell to pay. that poor dog!!!!!

i hope DH called BM and laid into her about buying him one in the first place, letting him bring it into ur house against ur wishes...GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!! i am so mad!!!!

is the doggie okay? give him hugs from all of us.

"Given the right reasons and the right two people, marriage is a wonderful way of experiencing your life."
~the late great George Carlin

But make BM pay the vet bill!! As because of her thoughtlessness, this would not have happened."~waiting on the world to change~"

I think counseling for SS is a good idea...I'm no C.S.I., but how do you accidently shoot a dog??"~waiting on the world to change~"

Good God, MissAngie, I am so sorry for you and your poor defenseless dog.

This is wrong, and I'd be pissed off, on SO many levels:

*the BM encouraged SS to sneak this dangerous "toy" into your home, and telling him to lie to both his father and you...WRONG!

*SS shoots a defensless animal. This is a RED FLAG and a sign of a serious emotional problem. Shoot empty soda cans or little plastic "army men", but YOUR PRECIOUS PET???? and then LIE about it when confronted...WRONG!

*your A$$hole DH refused to admit that his precious little 'angel' had anything to do with it AT ALL...even when confronted with the CLEAR EVIDENCE to the contrary. Are you kidding me?????
WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!

Oh my goodness, MissAngie, I don't know what I'd do if I were in your shoes right now, but I'd seriously be thinking of kicking their butts to the curcb over this one!

Give that sweet little dog of yours a big hug from me

"If you have never been hated by a child, you have never been a parent."
-Bette Davis

I love my dogs and I would have done the same thing to my SS and I would be LIVID with my FH if he did NOTHING< omg I would shoot both of them ok maybe not but I would think about it!!
"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one."

I just read your post and i am not shocked. I had a similar situation with my SD8. She was throwing rocks at my dogs. I have 3. 2 goldens and a jack russel. Well I flipped! This was months ago, since then everything has been fine. You seem to be handling the problem. Stick to your guns (no pun intended) and make sure ss gets counseling and DH needs to get his head out of the forest so he can see the trees!! Hope your pup is ok!!

Wait! Wait! Wait! How old is SS? If he is under 9 or so, he may have just not known that a BB Gun could actually hurt you. I agree he should have told dad that the dog was hurt but maybe he was really scared. My cousin shot my other cousin in between the eyes once. The BB Lodge itself in his forehead. He was probably 9 or 8. They were both scared to death to tell my mom. They just didnt realize the harm it could have caused. As for the BM, she should get a reaming. If it was known that a BB gun would not have been allowed at your house, she should have kept it at hers. Encouraging a child to lie is the worst possible thing in the world to do. What she is teaching him will cause him more misery in his life to come than anything else. Your anger should teach the SS that what he did was really serious and should not be taken lightly.

Not only is your poor fur-baby hurt, but the H is protecting SS and 'betraying' you. He's supposed to be on your side, and the two of you ar supposed to be a united front. But for him to not be on your side is a betrayal or whatever you want to call it...it hurts and it shows SS that the two of you can be divided, and he can do the dividing. H is giving SS power over both your lives, and even the lives of your animals...and it's one thing for a parent to let their kid walk on them, but for that parent to allow their kid to walk on the step parent and innocent, defenseless animals...that's just sooo wrong!
H owes you a huge, giant apology and most importantly, actions! He needs to stand up and grow a pair and put his kid in his place...it doesn't matter how old he is, wrong is wrong!
It sounds like the whole family should have some counseling to address these issues because H isn't showing you respect or good parenting, and SS needs to be held accountable fully for what he's done. And I agree that BM should be held accountable for her part. She sounds like a complete b!!!! She is responsible for her kid's actions...had she not bought the gun and allowed him to have it, AND encourage him to sneak it into your home, your doggie wouldn't have been injured. I think you definitely should force this issue and even if you have to go to court, make BM pay the vet bills. It's definitely not about money, it's about putting BM in her place and showing her that she does not control your home, and she is responsible for her actions and those of her child.
I really hope Dozer is going to be ok. Hugs to you and hope he has a speedy recovery.

I don't know how old your SS is, but he if he knew enough to hide the gun, he is old enough to know what he was doing was wrong. Kids don't hide things they think are ok to have. Secrets and hiding are not good, especially when a kid can play it against 2 families. Plus the lying and hiding when you've hurt someone/thing, even on accident, is wrong. You have a moral duty to get the thing you hurt help!

Your DH should have your back on this. What will happen when you find pot in the kid's room in a few years? Will he defend the kid then? I can't believe the BM, saying it is ok to hide ANYTHING in YOUR house.

Stick to your guns on counseling. For DH too. He shouldn't undermine you in front of ss. I think SS should have to work off the vet bill as well. And don't let him get out of it by deciding not to come for his EOW or whatever you have set up (that is what my SD did when she had to work off something she broke- just stopped coming over so she could avoid the punishment)

Hope your dog is ok. I would be furious too!

I am tempted to say, I don't want that kid in my house. He could have killed a defenseless animal!!! as I am sure you know. Isn't cruelty to animals a sign of a serial killer? Is there any way to have the cops come calling on your SS next time he is there. He needs to have the crap scared out of him or smacked out of him if anyone will - his life would be miserable if we could get a hold of him!! I really think you should press charges, on what I don't know but maybe there is something.-!

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." - Vladimir Lenin

I would have broke that gun into a million pieces in front of him... I would have taken a hammer to the sucker and shown the kid what I really thought of the toy.

I think missing Halloween will be good for him. He is old enough to know better, there are no excuses. Too bad for DH if he doesnt like it. That is just INEXCUSABLE.. and this lesson will teach him to NOT hide crap from you two, and that LYING is NOT acceptable in your home. I am sure if he had told your dh that the dog was hurt, and NOT lied when directly asked you would NOT have grounded him for as long as you did.

I think you made the right choices.

"To Thine Own Self Be True" William Shakesphere
your stepson probably knew the damage he could do, regardless of what his BM may have said. Kids talk at school, and boys love to brag about shooting things-trust me, I raised two sons.

Even if he didn't realize the severity of the damage, when he shot the poor dog the first time, he would have immediately realized he had hurt it-it would have yelped or whined or ran. So, what really bothers me, is the second BB. Playing army doesn't mean you hurt an animal and then turn around and do the same thing again. 10 is quite old enough-he was perfectly aware of the fact that he injured the dog with the first shot. Then followed it with a second shot. Sorry, I just don't buy the boys story of not knowing he had hurt the dog the first time. Accident? not.