Mum investigated by police for letting 8-year-old daughter walk dog alone

"No one will dictate my parenting choices."

A mum was investigated by the local police after her 8-year-old daughter took the family dog for a walk by herself. Earlier this month, the schoolgirl took her family dog, Marshmallow, around the block. The Chicago Tribune report that when she returned home, there was a knock on the door - but, instead of the expected pal, it was the local cops.   They had been contacted by a concerned neighbour who, after noticing the girl alone with the dog, claimed that the child was under the age of 5 - and had actually been outside alone for 90 minutes, according to NBC 5.  Dorothy's mum, Cory, told the Tribune that the 8-year-old had only been gone for "5 minutes" - and that she could see her through the yard. She said:

“For something like this to happen to me, there’s something really wrong. “She was gone for five minutes. I was in the backyard and I could see her through the yard. “The funny thing is … I’m a joke with my friends because my kids are around me all the time."

After speaking to the officers, Widen was cleared of any kind of wrongdoing - but days later, she got a call from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) after the same neighbour is said to have called the agency to complain. Widen took to Facebook to share her account of the incident, where she soon began to get messages from other mums in similar situations. She said:

“These are upper-middle class, stay-at-home moms who have been investigated because someone didn’t have anything better to do with their time and called police on them. “Everyone needs to allow the parent to do what is best for their family. “No one will dictate my parenting choices.”

The mum is keen to see a change and, according to NBC 5, is working with a non-profit to help reform the child welfare system. The DCFS said in a statement to the news outlet that, after an investigation, they had found the allegations of mistreatment were "unfounded". The spokesperson said:

“The hotline narrative said the caller reported that the child was five years old or less. “We went out and investigated, and the investigation has already been unfounded. "We don’t control the calls that come into our hotline. "Something made someone think that there was a concern, and we don’t know without checking it out.”