I LET OUR DOG SLEEP NEXT TO OUR TODDLER—AND

A Peaceful Night, A Costly Decision

When our toddler Levi was inconsolable, I turned to our gentle rescue dog, Miso, for help. She’d calmed him before, so I placed her in his crib.

“Within five minutes, Levi was asleep. Deeply. Peacefully. So was Miso.” I thought I’d done something good.

The Fallout

The next morning, my partner Salome saw the baby monitor footage. Her reaction was quiet but chilling: “You put a pit bull in the crib. With our baby.” She didn’t yell. She packed a bag, took Levi, and left. Later, she texted, “You don’t get how serious this is.”

The Deeper Wound

Days passed. When I visited her sister, I was told, “She’s not just mad. She’s scared. And hurt. You broke a deal you didn’t know you’d made.” Salome eventually opened up. As a child, her cousin was bitten by a dog, and the adults ignored it. “That day, her sense of safety changed.” Seeing Miso in Levi’s crib reawakened that fear. “It was her five-year-old self screaming: Not again.”

Rebuilding Trust

We met at the park, talked, and began mending things. I admitted, “I think I keep trying to fix everything fast… because I’m scared to sit in the mess.” Salome said, “I need to know you’ll protect Levi the way I do. Even when it’s inconvenient.” Now, Miso sleeps just outside Levi’s room—close, but not too close. I’m learning that safety isn’t just physical—it’s emotional and shaped by our pasts. Listening—really listening—matters more than we think.