My downstairs neighbor is a horrible, abusive cunt. I have always heard her screaming at her dog but I haven’t ever said anything to her about it. Until yesterday.
I passed by her apartment on my way out of the building and stopped to listen to her screaming at the dog for a second when all of the sudden I heard the sound of either a fist or a foot connecting with the dog, a yelp, and then the sound of the dog hitting the ground. I banged on the door and screamed at her to stop hitting her dog and finished taking out my garbage. When I came back up the stairs her apartment was quiet.
I wrote her a letter explaining to her what I had heard and the fact that if I hear it again I will call the SPCA from outside her apartment so that they can listen to her beating her dog too before they come take her dog away. I have never been so angry at a neighbor in my life, and that includes the guy who used to live above me and made sounds like he was masturbating with his vacuum cleaner.
The worst part of all of this is that while I am at work all day she works at home watching other people’s dogs for them. She has about 6 regular customers who all bring their pets to her during the day so she can watch them while they go to work. This is how she earns her money. By fucking abusing animals when their owners aren’t around. Now every time I walk by her apartment I fight the urge to spray paint a warning to her customers on her door. Fucking bitch.
I can’t wrap my head around people that literally scream at their pets (or children, for that matter).
If discipline is in order for the animal, a firm but even tone is all that is needed. And there is certainly no call for physically abusing the dog. A light tap on the rear or on the snout is as far as I’ve ever gone, and my dogs get the point, and once out of puppyhood, don’t repeat the behaviors.
I would call the SPCA anyway, were I you, and just tell them what you think is going on.
Anyone that beats their pets is deserving of being brought up on charges of animal cruelty.
Add to that that these people choose to have the pets, even more so than the child. You don’t just accidentally wind up with a pet. You have to actively choose to have one. So why would you choose to have a pet if all it does is make you hostile toward it?
The fact she dog watches is even worse. I would clue in somebody that this is happening. Record the shit happening if you can. Yelling is bad, but when you hear beating and kicking it’s time to report her.
Also, out of curiosity, what exactly does she scream at the dog? I have a hard time understanding what one would yell at an animal that can’t understand speech.
WAG - it isn’t so much that they feel hostile towards it, it’s that they lose their temper easily and don’t deal with anger in a healthy way. They can love the dog to death and still have a raging, uncontrollable temper.
Sorry to post twice in a row. It doesn’t matter that the dog can’t understand what she says, it’s an outlet for anger and frustration. Knowing that your car can’t understand spoken language doesn’t stop you from cursing at it if you’re in a hurry and can’t get it to start, for example.
When I heard her screaming yesterday it was because the dog peed on the floor. Her dog can’t help it if she doesn’t take him out before she leaves the house! That is part of having a dog in an apartment, you have to take them out before you go to work or the store or whatever. He can’t hold it just because she felt like getting a manicure or something and I don’t think she gets that at all. I still can’t believe she physically hit him for going to the bathroom instead of paper training him if she can’t take him out regularly.
Yeah, hostile wasn’t the right word, but I was posting on the fly at work and couldn’t think of how I wanted to say it, but my point still stands. If you know something is going to make you angry, you don’t do that/be around it. And the loving the dog to death isn’t the death I’m worried she’s going to inflict on the dog.
And they also may be overwhelmed with things in their life and are taking that out on the pet. I do not say this is OK. IMO, many people, when screaming at their dog, cat, kid or spouse are really screaming at themselves on some level. That’s a scary thought, but people who feel loved and secure in themselves tend not to take their anger out on others.
Given that she operates a business taking care of dogs and is abusive to them, I don’t think it’s reasonable to wait and just call the SPCA next time. Please call them now and ask them what the best way is to get them involved in the situation – ie, can they act now, would it be best for you to call them while abuse is happening, etc?
If I was a client and was trusting this woman to take care of my beloved pets, I would REALLY appreciate a heads up that she’s an abusive monster who may be terrorizing my pets.
I vote flyers up around the complex and a post to Craigslist, in addition to calling SPCA.
Yelling at an animal is in bad taste, but hitting a dog and making it yelp crosses the fucking line.
I wouldn’t bring my children to a person who beats their own kids either. Grr.
I went to the SPCA website and found the email address for our local branch. I will check her apartment number when I get home and email them tonight to report her and hopefully they will take away her dog (he is a really small chihuahua/poodle mix) and force her to shut down her business.
I just sent an email to my local ASPCA with her address and an explanation of what appears to be going on at her place, as well as a mention of the fact that she runs a dog sitting business. I hope that they are able to do something about the situation very quickly and that they find her dog a loving home.