TikTok mom Madison Barbosa quickly divided the internet when she posted a video saying that, as a mom of two toddlers, she was kind of looking forward to when her three dogs would die, and lessen her overall responsibilities. "Like, I'm ready when they are if you catch my drift," she said in the video. "I love them, but I dream about the idea of not having dogs in my house anymore."
Madison has two Australian shepherds and a 100-pound bulldog that she managed perfectly well before becoming a mom. Now, she said, "Having dogs while having a 1- and a 2-year-old is so overstimulating."
According to People magazine, her comment section was soon flooded with an array of responses (some agreeing with her and others very much not), and she had to turn the comments off. In mid-July she doubled down, posting a second video further explaining her controversial opinion.
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'It is completely valid and normal for your children to come before your animals.'
In Madison's follow-up TikTok video, she said that she stands by her thoughts in the original video. "It is completely valid and normal for your children to come before your animals," she said. "If you're putting your dogs before your human children, I'm sorry, but we have nothing in common. Nothing."
She added that she would die for her two kids, but she wouldn't do that for her pets: "I love them dearly. Would I give my life for them? No."
She further addressed some of the vitriol in a statement to People magazine. "I absolutely do not condone animal abuse or violence; I love my doggies very much, and I will spoil them rotten until their last breath," she said, adding, "My children quite literally NEED me more and while I prioritize my care for my HUMAN children, that does not mean my doggies are not loved and cared for."
Madison's original video led to death threats for her children.
Madison turned the comments off on her original video when people started "wishing death" upon her kids. She warned commenters on her second video that she wouldn't hesitate to block anyone spewing such hate.
However, there are still some negative comments on her follow-up, with some people calling her "insane," "sick," or "disgusting."
One commenter said, "I would die for my pets if you wouldn't you don't deserve them."
Another added, "I feel like u shouldn't have pets if the responsibility of them is so high you’re going to feel relieved when they die."
At the same time, there were a lot of moms in the comments who feel similarly to Madison.
"I have ONE kid and two dogs and it is sooo overstimulating," one said.
Another added: "I adore my fur babies. But no-most definitely not coming before my child."
Someone else wrote, "I love [my pets], but when they're gone we're not replacing them."
She never expected to feel this way.
In her original video, Madison shared that she was surprised that she ended up feeling this way about her dogs after becoming a mother. "My dogs were my everything before I had kids," she said. "I didn't know that I was going to have human children and [the dogs] were kinda just gonna be, like, kicked to the curb emotionally."
Now that she has her two kids, it's been harder than she ever expected. "I am simply recognizing that this is a s— load of work, and, yeah I signed up for it, which is why I'm doing it to my best f—ing capability," she said in her response video. "I am literally just recognizing the fact that when they are no longer here on earth my … daily responsibilities is going to significantly lighten."
She's not alone in those feelings.
It may have been controversial for Madison to put this opinion online, but she's far from the only one thinking it. In February 2024, ManyPets surveyed 1,000 new parents who also had pets and found that 97% of the parents felt their dogs' behavior changed after bringing home their new baby. And 34% had "moments of annoyance or frustration" with the pets, while 26% felt it difficult to attend to all their dogs' care and exercise needs postpartum.
Still, the majority of parents planned to keep their dogs — while a smaller 21% said they'd consider rehoming the pets, and 7% planned to rehome or already had done so.
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Madison doesn't have plans to rehome her dogs.
For parents who don't want to rehome their pets but are struggling with balancing care for their animals and their children, the ASPCA has a guide for easing that transition — from teaching dogs how to be more careful around kids to helping the children respect a dog's space as well.
Having dogs at home doesn't have to be all negative. Traci D. Howerton, a volunteer coordinator for Animal Rescue New Orleans, told NOLA.com that "pets can be helpful to a child's development in a number of ways," from teaching responsibility to helping with social skills.
For her part, Madison has said she will not rehome her dogs. "I love them, OK?" she said in her first video. She added to People, "At the end of the day, my children are my world and my pets are a part of it."
