Recently a 17 year old girl from New York was angry with her roommate so to get her revenge, she put the roommates kitten in an oven and let it cook to death.
A woman, mad at her husband for leaving her, put her high heeled shoe through the eye of his kitten and into its brain, filming it for him to see.
These are not isolated cases, but they are shocking, especially since the abuser was a woman. Not to be outdone there are stories where men have thrown their partners beloved pet off a balcony, or
You often hear stories where cats are tortured or dogs are poisoned in various neighborhoods. Typically for no fault of their own, only because their owner let them wander (cats) or bark (dogs), and decided to take the law into their own hands by killing the animals, or by torturing them and letting the owners find them.
A clip in the movie, Fatal Attraction, showed a woman left a families pet bunny in a pot of water, boiling it to death for them to find. Why? Because the father was not willing to continue an affair with her. The movie was not real, but sadly events of this kind all too often do occur when one person becomes angry at another and kills, usually by painful means, their pet.
Photo by Author
Why?
Why do people kill an innocent animal when they are clearly angry at somebody else.
It happens a lot, and rather than sicken you with too many details and more examples, I can simply assume we all know of more cases than those I mentioned earlier. If you don’t, then you are lucky.
I can only guess that they kill, or torture, animals, because they were never taught proper conflict resolution skills. They were never taught compassion. Their parents allowed them to display anger when mad, rather than showing them how to deal with their anger, or simply not be angry.
I presume they were raised by parents who, perhaps, were angry themselves, often blaming others for their own problems and sort coming. Perhaps they were catered to, always allowed to get their way, thus when they grew up and found out that the world does not revolve around them, they respond unfavorably, taking their anger out on something weak and innocent.
Perhaps they were never allowed to speak their minds when they saw something wrong, and never learned how to overcome a problem. Perhaps they simply never learned how to deal with disappointment, were never told “NO”, and were never given the mental skills to cope with negative situations.
Maybe it starts in children who never learn that two wrongs do not make a right. Maybe it starts when kids are taught that revenge is okay, if you knock down my Lego tower, I can knock down your Barbie house.
Surly it is a combination of parenting mistakes and todays modern, rushed, culture, where parents think they are too busy to set rules for their children.
How can we raise our kids not to be pet murderers?
We can start by teaching them compassion. If we have a pet, we can teach them by example that pets are not to be harmed, or abandoned. If a pet scratches us or knocks down our Lego, it is not doing so to be mean, it is an accident.
We can teach our children that stepping on bugs for pleasure is wrong. Punishing something for being in the wrong place at the wrong time is not an excuse to get any thrill for killing it.
We can lead by example, if our neighbors dog is a problem pooping in our yard, we need to control our selves from saying thinks such as “That dumb dog!”. Rather we need to remember the dog is controlled by its owner, the owner is the one we need to direct our anger at.
How can we keep our pets safe?
Our pets become blamed for our wrongs when we do not keep them in our yard and out of causing problems, a good owner keeps their pet in their house or yard, whether the local laws require them too or not.
A good owner does not allow their dog to bark all day long, nor do they go on walks without poop bags.
Keeping our pets safe from obsessed, angry individuals who are acting cruelly to our pet because we have hurt them as people is more difficult. Learn how to spot the signs of a dangerous personality type.
Many pets are killed by scorned lovers, this is tougher to control, but if you think your relationship break up could put your pet at risk, send them to a friends house or boarding kennel.
If a person is threatening to harm your animal, document it, call the authorities, also be honest and direct tell the person “Your problem is with me, hurting Fluffy is a poor way of dealing with your problems with me, let us deal with our problems and leave Fluffy out of it.”.
If they do harm the pet, call police immediately, this is a criminal action in most places, your case will be stronger if you have documentation showing they threatened the pet before hand and you had launched prior complaints over concerns for your pet. Nonetheless, it is important to expose what the person did, rather than becoming fearful. Sadly many men use killing a pet as a way to control a woman into being quiet, and many cases of pet abuse or murder do not get reported because the person was told “If you say anything, you are next.” Chances are you will be next, whether you say something or not, so it is better to say something and get proper protection for yourself.
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Liked it
ken bultman
On July 26, 2009 at 4:50 am
Excellent. One faces jail time where I live for the abuse you described and stiff fines for a lot less. The same zero tolerance is attempted for animals as for domestic partners but with less success.
Lostash
On July 26, 2009 at 5:06 am
It is incredibly cruel to take out ones problems on a pet! This article really highlights a problem that a lot of people will not have considered important!
RAJEEV BHARGAVA
On July 26, 2009 at 6:05 am
I agree with you 100% and you have my full support 100%. A brilliant and flawless article which hopefully will open many eyes to the reality of the cruelty some people infilict on thier pets. Well done!!
DAVE
On July 27, 2009 at 10:31 pm
IF SOMEONE TRYS TO HURT MY DOGGY I WILL BLOW THERE HEAD OFF WITH MY SHOT GUN
OR BEAT THEM TO DEATH WITH A BAT
doglover
On July 28, 2009 at 2:14 am
I love my puppy so much but one day when i was walking him in the neighborhood some punk 10 year old skater wannabe asked me if he could olley my dog????!!!!!!! the nerve of some people.
Patricia01
On July 29, 2009 at 2:30 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Patricia
http://largepet.info
BradONeill
On July 29, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I was having problems with a dog continually crapping in my yard. It was driving me nuts because I was working from home and somehow I never managed to see the dog or the owner. One day I saw a lady walking a little dog leaving the park that bordered my home. I was very busy with a time sensitive project and so I could not leave my computer. this lady stopped at the edge of my house and sure enough her dog crapped right on my lawn. I was livid. The next day I saw the same lady and this time I was not tied into my work. I waited and sure enough she paused by my mail box and just as her dog began his business I threw open my door and began cussing and swearing and told her to get the hell off of my property. This lady turned and I saw her face for the first time. She was about 35 and severely retarded. She began Crying and apologizing she then picked up her dog and ran down the street. I still feel guilty over that. Damn it.
Brenda Nelson
On July 30, 2009 at 10:56 pm
You shouldnt feel bad over it Brad, if she could own and walk a dog, she too can pick up after it. In most areas it is the law. Hopefully she knows to clean it up now. One thing about mentally handicapped people, until they are told something is wrong, how do they know? Really she should have had somebody with her I guess…
cleaning up after our pets is not only neighborly but diseases can spread to other dogs so its responsible. …
Jean Anne
On July 31, 2009 at 1:12 am
I am happy to see someone bring this to attention. My family consists of six devoted animal lovers, needless to say, our home is often like a petting zoo. We have snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, cats and a pit bull someone had thrown out like trash. Animals do have a soul and a personality and should be treated accordingly.
lanfear97
On January 31, 2011 at 1:40 pm
I have first hand experience with this retaliatory behavior. I was the owner of a senior cocker. My coworkers first threatened me and then my dog. A year later after several employees were fired the dog died under suspicious circumstances. These people are beyond redemption and deserve severe penalties. However, my employer is more worried about their reputation than cooperating with a criminal invstigation. All this over a poor review, work ethic and lazy behavior.
jane
On April 28, 2012 at 1:36 am
I have a much older half-sister (22 years my senior) who I suspect has killed some of her own pets whenever she goes into a rage. I do not know this for sure, but I have suspected this for sometime. Everyone else in my family seems to be oblivious to the red flags that are there. Even if they knew, they would still protect her. I come from a family of enablers it seems. I recently had a falling out with some family members over my father\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s estate, and she is one of the main ones that I have a problem with. My siblings (there are six of us and I am the youngest) all know that my sister has had issues with her depression and EXTREME ANGER and has even been hospitalized twice that I know of and that was not by her own choice, either. I think that my family situation is not typical by any means, but I realize that every family has its own problems. Anyway, my sister is a virtual HERMIT. She has been married only once and divorced years ago. Her children left home as soon as they were of age. She is quite wealthy from her divorce and has NEVER WORKED since she first married her ex-husband. Naturally she would have a pet to keep her company. At first glance, she seems to have genuinely cared about ALL the pets she has had over the years – BUT THAT\’S JUST IT: SHE HAS HAD A HUGE TURNOVER OF PETS IN THE PAST TEN PLUS YEARS (even when her kids lived at home), AND THIS CONCERNS ME.
jane
On April 28, 2012 at 1:36 am
(Continued)
I can totally understand her kids having been a bit fickle about pets and their parents indulging their whims about different types of pets, but my sister by herself has had far too many and she DID NOT have them all at once, either. Dogs usually live a little more than ten years, and she has had several in the past decade or so. I haven\\\\\\\’t seen her very much in many years, but I love animals (dogs in particular) and I remember ALL of her pets distinctly (they even had a cat or two when her kids were little). You may not think that her having a high turnover of pets is in any way proof that she would kill any of her pets, BUT I know what a rotten temper she has and I have witnessed her be violent on more than once occasion. If she did not live alone, I don\\\\\\\’t think she would harm a pet, but if she\\\\\\\’s by herself and gets into one of her extreme moods, I think she could. It concerns me that I have mentioned some of the pets she used to have to her in past conversations – CUTE things that I remember about them – and she either claims not to have any recollection of that pet or she doesn\\\\\\\’t show any emotion about the pet like I would expect her to and like most people do who love their pets. In fact, she almost seemed to be defensive about the subject and not eager to talk about it. I remember she put one poodle to sleep because he was \\\\\\\”getting too old\\\\\\\” and he had \\\\\\\”soiled\\\\\\\” her nice rugs or carpet or whatever (my sister is a very selfish person and an avid collector of antique furniture). I can understand the annoyance of having a pet relieve himself on one\\\\\\\’s nice rugs, but I really thought that she was very cold about the whole thing and she seemed to be glad to be rid of this pet because he was annoying her. I have not had any kind of pet in many years because my husband is not a huge fan of them, but I have know some people who have either lost a pet or had to have one put to sleep and they were ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN about it. To them this pet was like a family member. I cried and cried when my beloved cocker spaniel died when I was 15. I even dreamed about him a few times years later. He was a like a dear friend to me during my childhood. So, my sister has these different pets going in and out of her home (mysteriously) and these pets seem to be more like props than anything else. She seems to be so indifferent to their deaths. I wish I had proof. AND BY THE WAY, DON\\\\\\\’T BLAME THIS ON MY PARENTS!!! I hate that! She is just pure selfishness and pure EVIL! She is evil about more things than just her pets…