When our golden retriever, Beau, started behaving strangely after our daughter Zoey was born, we assumed he was having trouble adjusting. He barked constantly at our new nanny, Claire. He blocked her path to the crib, growled, and once even bared his teeth. We were exhausted and overwhelmed, and we started to wonder if Beau’s behavior was becoming dangerous. For the first time ever, we even discussed rehoming him.
But everything changed one night when I reviewed the footage from our home security camera after another tense encounter between Beau and Claire.
What I saw left me speechless.
The video showed Claire setting a bag behind the couch and pulling out a tablet. She placed it on a stand, pointing it toward the nursery. Then she began narrating Zoey’s bedtime, reacting to a live stream full of likes and comments. She had earbuds in and seemed completely focused on the screen.
That’s when Zoey started coughing and struggling to breathe in her crib. Claire didn’t notice—her attention was on the tablet. But Beau noticed. He barked and nudged the crib. When that didn’t work, he barked louder and snapped at the air near Claire to get her attention. Startled, she finally turned around and rushed to help Zoey, who thankfully was okay.
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