Parents go to Vegas, get dogsitter, leave autistic son and his brother home alone
July 27, 2006 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
I did not hear about this story from January of this year until now, and wished still to post on it. As reported by ABC News, a California couple found a dog-sitter for their puppies while they went on a five-day trip Las Vegas, but left their nine-year-old son in charge of his five-year-old brother, who is autistic. Jacob Calero and Michelle De La Vega were arrested at the Oakland International Airport on January 4, 2006 “on suspicion of two felony counts each of child endangerment.” Calero’s sons, Joshua and Jason, were found in their beds in their San Ramon home by police, after being left alone for a day.
Joshua said it wasn’t the first time he and his brother were left home alone. Last fall, his dad and stepmother kept him out of school for a week so he could baby sit his brother while they went away.
The two boys are now living with Libbey Holden, their maternal grandmother. Their mother, Cristina Calero, died of breast cancer in 2003.
Of his father and stepmother getting dog-sitter for their new puppies but not a babysitter, Joshua said, “‘”I thought they loved them more than us.’”
lets just thank god they are fine and not hurt or anything.What is wrong with people anymore?What makes people do these stupid things.It really angers me to hear this stuff.I hope the judge throws the book at them for this to care more for your pet than your own kids thats crazy.part of the punishment should be to take their pets and not let them have anymore.That has me thinking of my mother in law she has a really mean little dog and she takes it into stores and buys it take out food like kentucky fried chicken she treats this dog better than her kids she will let this dog bite everyone in the house including her grandkids and she will say it was our kids fault that she bit them.We dont take our kids there anymore.Crazy crazy people out there.
And I also keep thinking about the fact that the two boys lost their mother three years ago—-what a lot for them to live through.
Oh, my — I remember seeing this case and just hurting for the boys. I didn’t realize that one had autism! While my oldest (19) will stay home with my other teen (with Aspergers), I would never think of leaving them alone for long periods of time like overnight. It would be unfair to both.
And these kids were very young—whether or not one is autistic, they ought not to be left alone.
Pretty horrifying, and that it had happened before.