I just have to vent about this...

People love their pets more than their kids or spouses. Its true.

The worse part is that the 5 year old is autistic.  The kids mother died in 2003 of breast cancer.  The father re-married this woman some time last year.  Very sad.

Oh thats terrible.

I'd call them retarded, but to do so would be insulting to the mentally challenged.  Sic' em social services.

bts

These two birds are just plain irresponsible and self-centered.  What they did is criminal!  I hope that get charged with negligence, abandonment, child abuse and whatever else can be brought against them. 

Also, I agree with Brett, calling them retarded would be an insult to the mentally challenged.  I managed many handicapped employees during my career and found them to be honest, dedicated, hard working and responsible.  Most of these guys could not read a book, or a clock for that matter, but not one of them would even think of abandoning a child like that!

Sounds like we're wading in the shallow end of the gene pool here.  To me, situations like this are even worse when they're not some hopped up meth head.  Those types don't even know their own names or what year it is much less that they need to care for their children.  Its no less sad but there's no excuse for people who just leave their kids. 

Reminds me of a situation here in St. Paul.  The boyfriend of a 13 YO girl's mother decided that (on many occasions) the appropriate punishment for whatever she'd done was to lock her in a dog kennel naked.  Not the small crate kind of kennel but more like a 4' x 6' cage.  Apparently, mom didn't think anything was wrong with this.  So sad...

Now I am even more pissed off!  I thought it was terrible that they were left home but this is even worse!  Those poor children lost thier mother and then they are essentially abandoned by this self-centered piece of crap that cannot be called a "father" and his new wife.  And if the man and woman are locked up (as they should be) then the children will lose another parent and get shipped off somewhere else.  I really want to run up to my kids' school and give them huge hugs right now.  Why don't people understand that if you have kids, it is your primary responsibility above everything else in life to protect and nuture them?

YEP!

I used to work for Probation and Parole (office staff not an agent THANK GOODNESS!).  Every single day I saw, heard or read something that makes me think of something an old friend used to say:

"People are strange, the world is strange, I'm not leaving my house"

Mine:

"People amaze me".  And I don't mean that in a good way.

Just curious...are you saying it would be ok for parents to leave a 5 year old and a 9 year old home alone as long the kids do not have "issues" and if they are only gone for a weekend?  And according to the story, the "parents" bought puppies for each other for Christmas and dropped them off with his mother because they wanted to make sure the puppies were cared for.  The kids did not ask for the puppies.  As a matter of fact, there was a quote from the 9 year old saying that he thinks the parents care more about the dogs then him and his brother.  Sad.

An additional note, there was a story on one of those news programs this morning regarding what age children should be when they can handle being home alone.  The guy said age 9 is unacceptable - even if it is only for a short period of time let alone overnight or for a weekend.  I agree completely!  I think there are a lot of parents who do not think about what is best for the children - are they safe, can they handle emergencies, do they feel secure - but instead only think about what is convient for themselves.  I know sometimes I am home alone and I hear a noise in the house or the dog starts barking and I feel some anxiety - and I am 38 years old.  And there was a house down the street where a guy broke in while the family was home.  Could a 9 year old deal with that or any other emergency?

This topic really pushes my buttons!  There are so many selfish and stupid parents out there that don't protect their children.  I just don't get it.