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Horrible experience |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2007
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Horrible experience
On Wednesday I witnessed my neighbour's cat being attacked by a dog visiting another neighbour. It took at least five minutes to get the dog off him - the dog was being dragged by its back legs down the path with Rupert's head between its jaws and it still held on. Once he was finally freed I held Rupert and talked to him and stroked him while my neighbour got the car to rush him to the vet - Rupert knew me well as I looked after him whenever they went away. I tried to be positive to give the owners a bit of hope but I was fairly sure he was very close to the end as we wrapped him in a towel and put him in his carrier. The vet confirmed that there was nothing they could do and he was put to sleep.
The owners rang the police who told them to inform the Dog Warden. The warden has interviewed the owners and me but unless the dog has attacked before there is apparently little he can do. The dog was being minded for a few days by the other neighbour, who had let it loose in the communal gardens. The most the warden can do if it's the dog's first offence is 'strongly suggest' to the owner that the dog be muzzled when it goes out. It's a different matter if it's done it before but it's still not a done deal that it would go to court. Please, if you have a dog and let it out in a garden when you're visiting friends, keep it on a lead. The dog was only doing what came naturally and defending what it thought was its new territory. I firmly believe that, unless an animal has brain damage or has been abused, there are no bad dogs, just bad, or badly informed, owners. But surely once a dog has attacked and killed it can't be trusted. If it's left to next time it could be a child. Bad enough that an adored pet suffered agony and terror - for it to happen again doesn't bear thinking about. Sorry - this is long winded but I'm still very shocked and shaken. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Apr 2007
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It all depends on the dog's circumstances, it could've been the first time it encountered a cat. For instance I've fostered greyhounds and always took them out muzzled til I could judge how they were with other animals. My own dogs are around cats quite a lot and they dont bother with them. However, a cat near us has killed two kids rabbits and a guinea pig and everyone just rolls their eyes as if to say cats will be cats and I'm not sure how theyd be with an aggressive cat.
It must've been a horrible thing to see though.. |
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#3 |
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I'm sorry for what you saw and it must have been unpleasant to experience, but just because a dog catches and kills a cat, doesn't mean it is going to attack people. Most dogs instinctively have a high chase drive and will chase cats given the chance, just like they would with rabbits, squirrels, rats and most other things, and once caught will follow their next instinct to give it a good shake to kill it. My dog caught hold of one of my aunt's chickens once, she will chase squirrels and cats if the opportunity arises on walks, it doesn't mean she's going to start biting people, she's just being a normal dog.
I'm surprised the police or dog warden were even bothered to be honest, a dog chasing and catching a cat isn't exactly a crime. Must have been a slow day at the office! |
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#4 |
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Quote:
I'm sorry for what you saw and it must have been unpleasant to experience, but just because a dog catches and kills a cat, doesn't mean it is going to attack people. Most dogs instinctively have a high chase drive and will chase cats given the chance, just like they would with rabbits, squirrels, rats and most other things, and once caught will follow their next instinct to give it a good shake to kill it. My dog caught hold of one of my aunt's chickens once, she will chase squirrels and cats if the opportunity arises on walks, it doesn't mean she's going to start biting people, she's just being a normal dog.
I'm surprised the police or dog warden were even bothered to be honest, a dog chasing and catching a cat isn't exactly a crime. Must have been a slow day at the office! The cat was a chubby 15 year old and the dog attacked him out of the blue - he wasn't running, he wasn't attacking the dog, he'd just frozen at seeing a strange dog. As I said, I wouldn't trust a dog who'd done that around small children but in any case it and any dog most certainly should be under control in public places. However mild mannered they seem, no one can ever be 100% certain what a dog will do in every circumstance. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Poor Rupert. He sounds like a sweetheart. My husband, as a kid, got a kitten for his birthday and the neighbour's westie jumped the fence (that very day) and killed it in front of everyone. I can't even imagine what that must have felt like for him as a child seeing that. The neighbours offered to buy him a new kitten but his parents refused.
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#6 |
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Quote:
Except that in this area a dog must be on a lead in a public place - this wasn't in someone's back garden, it was a public area surrounding a small block of flats.
The cat was a chubby 15 year old and the dog attacked him out of the blue - he wasn't running, he wasn't attacking the dog, he'd just frozen at seeing a strange dog. As I said, I wouldn't trust a dog who'd done that around small children but in any case it and any dog most certainly should be under control in public places. However mild mannered they seem, no one can ever be 100% certain what a dog will do in every circumstance. However, you say this was public land. Whenever people let their cats out to roam freely then they are pretty much washing their hands of any sort of responsibility for their cats. Cats are responsible for decimating populations of wild birds and other wildlife. I have a friend who used to keep racing pigeons and he knows people who have lost scores of birds due to cats raiding their pigeon lofts. Cats are also allowed to get into other peoples gardens and use them as toilets. Such behaviour from dogs would NOT be tolerated. I am not saying that what happened to the cat in this case was acceptable, but I am just pointing out the double standards when it comes to cats and dogs. Additionally it isn't just dog attacks that cats are at risk from. They can get hit on the roads or cause an accident. They can eat something toxic or be poisoned deliberately by some nasty human. Or they could fall down an open manhole or fall from a height and injure/kill themselves. I think if people truly cared about their cats then they wouldn't put them into situations where the risk of danger to them is as high. I would also like to say that a dog who attacks a cat is NOT automatically going to pose a danger to kids. Dogs know the difference between a small furry creature and a human. |
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#7 |
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Not nice at all, but it's a fact of life I'm afraid. Some dogs do have a very strong prey instinct.
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#8 |
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Very distressing to witness.
However, I think you need to accept it was a tragic accident. Responsible owners weigh up quality of life v the risk in their local environment but you just accept that if you have outdoor cats, there is always some degree of risk. A dog who attacks a cat, or even another dog, does not automatically pose a risk to humans. (I have 2 outdoor cats and a whippet.) |
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#9 |
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Quote:
snip The dog was being minded for a few days by the other neighbour, who had let it loose in the communal gardens. snip
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#10 |
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That's the bit that is an issue for me. Was the dog being left to roam unsupervised as that would be unacceptable?
And I'm not, as I said, blaming the dog. I agree too about not letting cats roam - mine don't and never will and are fit, happy and active. Most people don't, though. In this case it was just outside the owners' flat in an enclosed area of communal gardens - by law this is public ground, apparently. All I'm saying is that any dog, especially a breed bred for hunting or fighting, is not far away from its wild ancestry, and should be kept under control, especially in unfamiliar surroundings, and even more so if it's killed once. I'm surprised some people seem to have found that unreasonable. |
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#11 |
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[quote=Aarghawasp!;80168713]
A dog who attacks a cat, or even another dog, does not automatically pose a risk to humans. /QUOTE] It's not just about that though is it. I would be very upset if a dog went for my dog - especially as she is infirm and the shock could kill her. And while dogs often chase cats, tearing into them is a bit more rare. A dog that does this sort of thing should be controlled, rehomed or euthanized. Ditto for cats - we had a cat near us that would attack dogs, people, other cats.. |
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#12 |
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[quote=mrsgrumpy49;80243024] Quote:
A dog who attacks a cat, or even another dog, does not automatically pose a risk to humans.
/QUOTE] It's not just about that though is it. I would be very upset if a dog went for my dog - especially as she is infirm and the shock could kill her. And while dogs often chase cats, tearing into them is a bit more rare. A dog that does this sort of thing should be controlled, rehomed or euthanized. Ditto for cats - we had a cat near us that would attack dogs, people, other cats.. .
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#13 |
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[quote=CollieWobbles;80245429] Quote:
I agree that a dog tearing into another dog should be seen as a problem, as thats aggression, just like a dog tearing into a person is aggression and needs dealing with properly. I don't agree that a dog chasing, catching and tearing into another smaller animal should be seen as a problem, as that' isn't aggression it's just natural instinct. A dog should not be euthanised for chasing and tearing into a cat anymore than it should for doing it to a rabbit, rat, squirrel, pigeon, chicken, fox or anything else that to a dog's mindset is 'fair game'. Dogs hunt, chase and kill other animals, it is in their nature and it's what we have deliberately bred most of them for. A dog that acts on that bred in trait is not suddenly going to attack people, if they did people who hunt with hounds and work terriers would be savaged after the dog caught its target .The fact that I personally wouldn't trust a dog that had attacked and killed a static cat hiding under a hedge is by the way. The owners still need some kind of sanction for allowing the dog to be uncontrolled in a public area - the person they left it with is a small elderly woman who isn't the sharpest tool in the box by a very long way. At the very least, they need to ensure that the dog is always under their control in a public place. If their conscience doesn't tell them to do it voluntarily, it's breaking the law not too. |
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#14 |
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It's probably not a criminal offence tbh.... unless the dog threatened a person.
As said, the trade off for cats being permitted to roam is that they have no rights or protection really. You could bring a civil case under the Dogs Act 1871 to maybe recover vets fees Sad all round
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#15 |
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We catnapped a cat from a distant neighbour earlier this year because it was being neglected and left to fend for itself. It's brother from the same litter was killed and eaten by one of the neighbours dogs.
For the first three days of this cat being with us all he did was eat and sleep in my arms. Once he got used to us all he became a very gentle laid back kitten, whom our dog of 7 years loved to play with. Sometimes it looked like the dog was going to kill him, wrapping her mouth around his neck, but the kitten always went back for more. It was better than watching tv. The point of this is that dogs and cats can be friends if treated right by owners. Sorry for what you witnessed it must have been awful. |
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#16 |
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Quote:
The point of this is that dogs and cats can be friends if treated right by owners. . Depends on the dog, the cat and the circumstances. Cats are prey items to many dogs, both species need to be cared for and kept under control. |
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#17 |
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Yes, it was. It was let out without a collar, let alone on a lead.
And I'm not, as I said, blaming the dog. I agree too about not letting cats roam - mine don't and never will and are fit, happy and active. Most people don't, though. In this case it was just outside the owners' flat in an enclosed area of communal gardens - by law this is public ground, apparently. All I'm saying is that any dog, especially a breed bred for hunting or fighting, is not far away from its wild ancestry, and should be kept under control, especially in unfamiliar surroundings, and even more so if it's killed once. I'm surprised some people seem to have found that unreasonable. My own cat, Lucy, had a very narrow escape a year or so back, when she was out at the front one day - in my front garden. I heard a lot of barking and commotion, opened the door and there was what I think was a bull mastiff pushing it's nose into the tiny gap (6 inches) between my garage and my next door neighbour's garage. Fortunately, Lucy had realised the danger in a millisecond and rushed up the small gap, which was too small for the dog to get up. Owner had rushed up and said the dog had slipped it's lead - "sorry mate" he said. Meanwhile I had lifted the dog off its feet, using its collar,and handed him back. Lucky outcome and could have been much worse. Even then it took her 3 hours to come back out. |
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#18 |
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Location: Cambridge
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Sorry to hear your tale OP
![]() A few weeks ago I was outside the house and the Beast was wandering about, and a some randoms visiting neighbours had a golden retriever, off the lead. The dog spotted Beast and rushed across the courtyard at him, and beast was gone like a flash over the fence to the bridleway. I grabbed the dogs collar, and the owner came over, to be fair he was apologetic, but the Beast isn't used to dogs, and is getting on now, and I don't want him getting panicked with dogs, when he is just faffing about outside doing his do. Perhaps to my discredit , I wasn't very amenable back; responsibility and leads were mentioned in not very civil terms.I am in no way anti dog, but what annoyed me was the that the randoms thought it was perfectly ok to have a dog off the lead, outside its/their normal environment, in a housing estate. |
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However, I think you need to accept it was a tragic accident. Responsible owners weigh up quality of life v the risk in their local environment but you just accept that if you have outdoor cats, there is always some degree of risk.
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, I wasn't very amenable back; responsibility and leads were mentioned in not very civil terms.