Wilmette Mom Investigated For Letting Daughter, 8, Walk Dog Alone

WILMETTE, IL — A Wilmette woman was investigated by police and state child welfare officials after allowing her 8-year-old daughter to walk the family dog around her block earlier this month, the Chicago Tribune reported. The mother told the paper she could supervise most of her home-schooled child's walk with a Maltese puppy named Marshmallow from the windows of her home. Nonetheless, she was reported to state and local authorities by one or more anonymous callers.

The Wilmette Police Department decided not to press charges, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services eventually determined the complaints were unfounded, but the 48-year-old parent said state investigators subjected her family to a roughly two-week investigation and several interviews before clearing her of neglect, according to the Tribune.

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