Sarah Palin Dog - Former Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin has been subjected to a barrage of criticisms after she posted a series of photos of her youngest son Trig standing on a dog along with a New Year message on Thursday, Jan. 1.

The Facebook photos, which shows as Trig progressively climbs on the back of the black Labrador in order to access the kitchen sink, was Palin's way of expressing her faith and inspiring her followers to traverse their troubles in 2015.

"Happy New Year!" she wrote along with the pictures. "May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward."

But many fans did not find inspiration in the post. Since she uploaded the photo, up to 14,000 people have commented on it. Many of them have expressed disapproval of Trig standing on the dog and have questioned why Palin failed to stop the child, who reportedly has Down's syndrome, from potentially hurting the animal.

"This is not ok and DEFINITELY not funny or resourceful as the dog can be hurt but it is also not what [you] should be teaching your children in regards to respecting any living being in general and suppose the dog did move as many supporters are suggesting.....and then Trig falls and gets hurt? Everyone would blame the dog. Sarah, this is terrible parenting and a complete lack of common sense," Marie Tiffany wrote.

Even Palin's explanation that she was "oblivious" to Trig's signs for help and that he was "determined" to help her wash the dishes couldn't justify the fact that her son stood on the dog to her peeved followers.

"And besides......she claims she was "oblivious" so he just climbed up and she didn't know til he was beside her? So how does the series of pics begin with the boy with one foot on the dog preparing to step up? At that point, you tell the child no, not stand back and take pics. And how do you grab pics like this with wet dishwashing hands? No. she-or someone-stood back and either allowed or encouraged this (notice the dog is looking to someone, not the pic taker, for reassurance). So much for a warm homily over a random occurrence or even a mistake: this was planned, encouraged, and exploited," Prose Hack wrote.

But not all the comments were negative. "I'd like to apologies to you on behalf of all the haters who despise who for your success, and thank you for what you are doing for the USA. Thank you for sharing," Micah Rice writes.

It is unclear if Sarah Palin's dog suffered any injuries from Trig stepping on it.