piranhaI thought this story was shocking enough when I read that a pet piranha actually bit off the tip of a toddler's finger recently. I mean we always hear about the dangers of dogs and small children, but I never really stopped to consider the fish tank. Of course, most people don't put piranhas in the fish tank ... but that's another story.

This incident happened last week in Chicago, and an 18-month-old girl was the victim. According to the Chicago Tribune, when the family first saw the bleeding remains of their daughter's finger, they feared it was their dog, a 65-pound pit bull, that was responsible. But after an ambulance whisked her to the hospital, doctors told them it was no dog bite.

The father -- who was still at home --  quickly realized what must have happened after the family called with the news, and then he did something really shocking.

He plunged his hand into that fish tank, grabbed one of the two piranhas, and gutted the thing. A spokesperson for the sheriff's department told the paper:

He had no fear; these were truly fatherly instincts. He grabbed a knife and cut it open and found her fingertip right there.

He took the fingertip to the hospital where they tried to reattach it. It's unclear whether it worked or not, but that's a pretty intense dad demonstration of love regardless.

I would hope I could do the same, but I'm not sure. Of course, I'd never keep piranhas in my house either, which sounds like a pretty bad idea from the get go with small children around. I'm thinking maybe a nice new goldfish should perhaps be their next pet.

Do you think you'd be able to do what this dad did? Do you think it's irresponsible to have piranhas as pets if you have small children?

 

Image via The_gut/Flickr