This just makes me sick.

[Kimbers]

So I have a friend who's uncle lives way up in some rural part of the mountains and keeps cattle. I've heard several things about this uncle that are passed off as "well, he's a rancher, so that's just the way they do it". One such thing being that he seems to keep dozens of un-fixed cats on his property that supposedly catch mice in the barn, but I'm sure they tend to nibble on song birds too, and they have scores of kittens each summer.

But what pissed me off the most is the treatment of his dogs. One in particular. Apparently, he adopted an ACD that was part of an accidental litter- that right there leading me to believe that the "breeder" hadn't a clue what they were doing or was just someone too lazy to fix or keep an eye on their unfixed dog. Anyways, the ACD grew up some and was found to play too rough with their older border collie. Like puppies do, it got into trouble. From what I hear, I think it was suffering from a lack of mental stimulation, but the man decided that it was going too far. His solution?
Shoot the poor thing somewhere out in the woods.
And my friend just passed it off as "well, he didn't have time to deal with a dog like that."
@!$*%#!!!
If you have time to drive down and buy a puppy, you have time to at least drive down to a shelter and surrender it because your ignorant ass didn't do enough training and/or picked up a breed that would be too much work for you!
It just makes me so angry, especially because I have an ACD myself and know how spazzy they can seem but how they can also be great dogs if you invest your time in them.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I have a friend who lives in the rural deep south, I hear stories like this all the time. Not from her, of course, but friends, neighbors, family, etc. The whole culture of pet owning is so different down there.

 

[OutlineACDs]

Yeah, It's just the lifestyle. I know a lot of people disagree or don't understand, and I don't live that way, but it was his dog.

If your dogs gets old and sick, or hit by a car, or severely injured while hunting/working it's commonplace to just take care if it yourself. They don't think of it as mean, but that's how it's done. Like in Old Yeller, I guess.

 

[Kimbers]

I know it's "just the culture", but, as I said, if you had the time to get the dog, you have enough time to drop it off at a shelter. I do think that if the dog is extremely sick, it's different. I just think it's stupid in any case to get an animal you can't handle and then end up killing it.
Also, my dad had a lab that was terrified of thunder storms and would tear up the house during them. At the time, my family lived in the city, but he had lived on a farm most of his life and had the same attitude. Took her to a field and shot her in the head. I know I might offend some people with this, but I've come to the conclusion that "it's just their lifestyle" is an excuse for "they were too lazy to do the right thing".

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Yeah, It's just the lifestyle. I know a lot of people disagree or don't understand, and I don't live that way, but it was his dog.

If your dogs gets old and sick, or hit by a car, or severely injured while hunting/working it's commonplace to just take care if it yourself. They don't think of it as mean, but that's how it's done. Like in Old Yeller, I guess.

Sure, if it's an infirm animal I can understand that, that's how it was when I was growing up in the country. But you did not just shoot a healthy dog! If you couldn't handle it, you find another farm in the area that will take the dog and probably get some pocket change out of it. Even in that culture, shooting a young dog for being rowdy borders on barbaric.

 

[Maxy24]

And that is why I will never move to the south. Pets just are not viewed in the same way (obviously this doesn't apply to everyone down there). I don't care if you shoot your dying/dangerous/needs to be euthanized anyway animal, so long as you can do it right, but to kill one because he's become inconvenient is just sickening.

 

[lizzybeth727]

And that is why I will never move to the south.

It's not just the south. Most rural areas of the country are like this.

Heck, most shelters in this country are like this. "Dog seems DA, it'll never find a home anyway, let's euthanize it."

 

[CharlieDog]

I'm not saying I agree with what he did, but a clean shot is going to cause FAR FAR less stress on the dog that being dropped off at a probably overcrowded rural shelter.

We preach that people need to be responsible for their pets, and yet when someone makes the decision that they can't handle the dog, and decides NOT to pass the buck off on someone else, but to deal with it the way that it was dealt with for generations, they catch hell for it.

And I'M REALLY SICK of the "down south" comments.

 

[Backward_Cinderella]

I hate hearing stuff like this, my family has a ranch and the only dog that got treated that way ended up being like that because it attacked my brother in law and my sister shot it in the process because it would have killed him otherwise. The rest of the ranch dogs get the humane treatment and are loved just as much as Doom and Bobsie are. Blackie was loved too, until he lost it one day, and the old Blackie, precrazy, is still missed. My sister and BIL were really upset when they called and told us what had happened. I know its a "lifestyle" but its a painful one for a lot of people.

 

[JessLough]

What CharlieDog said (I can't quote on iPod)

 

[Pops2]

I'm not saying I agree with what he did, but a clean shot is going to cause FAR FAR less stress on the dog that being dropped off at a probably overcrowded rural shelter.

We preach that people need to be responsible for their pets, and yet when someone makes the decision that they can't handle the dog, and decides NOT to pass the buck off on someone else, but to deal with it the way that it was dealt with for generations, they catch hell for it.

And I'M REALLY SICK of the "down south" comments.

absolutely agree
there just aren't enough homes. and the dog may have had real issues that necessitate putting it down (not being an eyewitness 24/7 we just don't know), in which case rehoming it is taking away a home for a dog that isn't broken & is putting a hazzard in the community.

 

[Xandra]

absolutely agree
there just aren't enough homes. and the dog may have had real issues that necessitate putting it down (not being an eyewitness 24/7 we just don't know), in which case rehoming it is taking away a home for a dog that isn't broken & is putting a hazzard in the community.

Yes, agree with this and CharlieDog's. But if it's true the dog was just being rowdy, I am a little shocked... I really would have expected a bit more appreciation for, or at least tolerance of, "rowdiness" from someone who was in the business of working dogs. IME that "sort" knows how to handle a rougher dog. If it's true the dog was just feisty... that's really sad.

 

[adojrts]

I'm not saying I agree with what he did, but a clean shot is going to cause FAR FAR less stress on the dog that being dropped off at a probably overcrowded rural shelter.

We preach that people need to be responsible for their pets, and yet when someone makes the decision that they can't handle the dog, and decides NOT to pass the buck off on someone else, but to deal with it the way that it was dealt with for generations, they catch hell for it.

And I'M REALLY SICK of the "down south" comments.

This ^^^, agreed.

 

[Kat09Tails]

I'm not saying I agree with what he did, but a clean shot is going to cause FAR FAR less stress on the dog that being dropped off at a probably overcrowded rural shelter.

We preach that people need to be responsible for their pets, and yet when someone makes the decision that they can't handle the dog, and decides NOT to pass the buck off on someone else, but to deal with it the way that it was dealt with for generations, they catch hell for it.

And I'M REALLY SICK of the "down south" comments.

Thank you for saying it. IMO there is nothing wrong with putting a well placed bullet in a dog that probably has zero to less than zero chance of meeting a good end at a shelter. Personally I wish more pit bull owners and breeders took this route than dolling this job off on the tax payer. Maybe then they'd think twice about breeding another litter that there isn't a home for.

Do I wish he had worked with this dog? Yes. Do I have the whole story? Prob not but I defer to the owner of this dog. He knows his dog better than I do.

 

[CharlieDog]

I think sometimes that if people had to be there when the dog they drop off at the shelter was ethuanized there'd be less pet overpopulation.

 

[Xandra]

I think sometimes that if people had to be there when the dog they drop off at the shelter was ethuanized there'd be less pet overpopulation.

I've thought about that. A "clean up your own mess" policy may work nowadays, since most people are squeamish about killing dogs, and they'd be traumatized enough by having their dog killed in front of them, or the thought of it, that they would change their behavior. (keep the dog/don't let it breed etc)

The other possibility is that they just grow insensitive/callous to it, as people have been before we had animal shelters and such, and as many people still are (as is maybe evidenced by the OP).

 

[cloudcandy]

I don't know,too me that is disgusting,but I've never lived,known or been around any farm enviroment so I don't know how it works.
I can understand why you would do this with a sick dog,or in the heat of the moment reach for your gun if the dog was attacking somebody.But to kill a pup,who sounds like he was being just a pup I think thats sick.I don't think owning a dog gives you the right to kill it,when you want.
I wouldnt have thought any other way but peoples other comments are different and intresting to
read.
@Charliedog..."We preach to be responsible..."(Sorry I can't quote) In my eyes being a responsible dog owner he should have tried his best to work with that pup and work things out!He decided he wanted it,he went out and brought the dog home,HE put it in that situation that made him decided to KILL it.

I guess I can't make decisions based on "the bigger picture",the fact that that would mean one less.dog in a crowded shelter etc,I just see a little pup with a gun to it's head.These kind of things are too emotional for me,so I would never be able to make that descion.Maybe there is logic in it but I cant see it.

 

[Kimbers]

CharlieDog, I do kind of agree with you, but I guess I'm also a bit sensitive due to the story I've mentioned earlier about my dad killing his lab. (And there, I do know 90% of the story and I do know my dad; he's just one of those people who can't control his anger.)
About there not being enough homes for every dog out there, I know you're right, but puppies go extremely fast around here. In fact, some of the shelters I know don't keep most of their pups for more than 24 hours. I know a lot of stress is put on a dog in a shelter; Schaffer nearly starved before we adopted him due to it. But, in my opinion, 24 hours of stress is worth it if the dog gets adopted.

And as far as the deep south comments; I live in Colorado. I know some people think it's south, but I don't exactly consider it to be so.

 

[~WelshStump~]

I know it's "just the culture", but, as I said, if you had the time to get the dog, you have enough time to drop it off at a shelter. I do think that if the dog is extremely sick, it's different. I just think it's stupid in any case to get an animal you can't handle and then end up killing it.
Also, my dad had a lab that was terrified of thunder storms and would tear up the house during them. At the time, my family lived in the city, but he had lived on a farm most of his life and had the same attitude. Took her to a field and shot her in the head. I know I might offend some people with this, but I've come to the conclusion that "it's just their lifestyle" is an excuse for "they were too lazy to do the right thing".

And here is what you don't understand. He probably, more that likely, didn't pay a single penny for that dog. In our area, even if you claim "stray" you have to PAY to surrender it! Why should he?
"The dog is trash, it has a problem, it needs to be disposed of, and I'm not about to PAY someone else to take it away when I can do it myself {for the price of one bullet>}" <in this context, many people just drive them out further in the country and let them run off for free.>
Look at it this way, you have a candy wrapper, the new laws states: "there is now a $15 per wrapper disposal fee", what would you do? Probably the smartest choice would be not to buy anymore candy, which could be the reason for the law (BSL anyone?), or when you do buy the candy you dispose of the wrappers yourself by say either burring them in the backyard, burning them in the fireplace, or tossing them out the car window in the most secluded country road you find. To "these" people, dogs are no different. "Why should I PAY someone else, to DISPOSE of the dog, when I can do it myself for cheap or even free?"


I'm not saying in any way, shape, or form that I agree with any of it. The best option would ultimately be, to not allow dog to end up in the hands of people like this to began with, but that is another can of worms in itself (more BSL anyone?).

 

[Doberluv]

I don't know,too me that is disgusting,but I've never lived,known or been around any farm enviroment so I don't know how it works.
I can understand why you would do this with a sick dog,or in the heat of the moment reach for your gun if the dog was attacking somebody.But to kill a pup,who sounds like he was being just a pup I think thats sick.I don't think owning a dog gives you the right to kill it,when you want.
I wouldnt have thought any other way but peoples other comments are different and intresting to
read.
@Charliedog..."We preach to be responsible..."(Sorry I can't quote) In my eyes being a responsible dog owner he should have tried his best to work with that pup and work things out!He decided he wanted it,he went out and brought the dog home,HE put it in that situation that made him decided to KILL it.

I guess I can't make decisions based on "the bigger picture",the fact that that would mean one less.dog in a crowded shelter etc,I just see a little pup with a gun to it's head.These kind of things are too emotional for me,so I would never be able to make that descion.Maybe there is logic in it but I cant see it.

I feel the same way exactly.