Dog Saves Baby From Abusive Babysitter
A family dog is being credited with saving a seven-month-old boy from his abusive babysitter. The babysitter, 22-year-old Alexis Khan, pleaded guilty to assault and battery in court on Monday afternoon.
Benjamin and Hope Jordan hired Khan to babysit for son Finn after they moved to South Carolina. She had no history of trouble on her resume and references all checked out, so the Jordans felt comfortable leaving baby Finn with her. Yet something didn't sit right with their dog, Killian.
"About five months into her being our babysitter, we started to notice that our dog was very protective of our son when she would come in the door," Benjamin told WCSC News. "He was very aggressive towards her and a few times we actually had to physically restrain our dog from going towards her."
The couple grew suspicious of Killian's behavior, which was out of character for the loving dog. They decided to use an iPhone to tape what happened during the day while they were gone. They hid the iPhone under a couch and let it record the audio of those in the house. When they returned home, they were stunned by the recording.
"It started with cussing," Benjamin said. "Then you hear slap noises and his crying changes from a distress cry to a pain cry. I just wanted to reach through the audiotape, go back in time, and just grab him up. To know that five months I had handed my child to a monster, not knowing what was going on in my house for that day."
The Jordans took their son to a doctor for evaluation, and while he was cleared physically, the doctor alerted police to the situation. When police interviewed Khan, she confessed to abusing the child. She has been sentenced to three years in prison and her name will be listed on the registry of child abusers, meaning that she will never work with children again.
"Had our dog not alerted us to the trouble… it could have been Finn that was killed by the babysitter. You never know," Benjamin said.
Killian is currently training to be a psychiatric service animal and will use his good senses to help others.
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