As I was taking my garbage out tonight, I noticed a group of young boys on bikes stopped at the pond near my apt. I just sat there and watched them because there is a really pretty mallard that stays on that pond and I just had a bad feeling about the situation.
I watched one of the boys walk over to the back patio of a random neighbor and grab a terra cotta pot. He then proceeded to launch the pot across the pond at the duck.
He missed, but I was pissed. I yelled at them and they took off. An elderly couple was sitting out on a patio and yelled at them also when they saw them toss the object.
I was pretty steamed so I called the courtesy officer and reported it, well…within seconds I saw him drive by and then watched him in the distance pulling over to chat with them.
The courtesy officer called me back and wanted the full story and I almost felt bad. I mean I was young and mischievous once (even though I would have burned my favorite Kirk Cameron tee before I would have EVER hurt an animal) and I told him that I hope I was not wasting his time in calling the matter in.
He assured me that if situations like this go un-noticed that the kids will often get progressively more destructive and he very much appreciated the call.
I guess I am wondering if you guys think it was appropriate for me to report them, or did I over react at typical childhood mischief?
No, I don’t think you were overreacting at all. It’s not like you called the city police and had the little bugger arrested for stealing off your neighbor’s patio. I think your response was appropriate to the situation. I hope the duck wasn’t hurt or scared off.
Terra cotta pots are pretty heavy, and throwing one at a duck is pretty extreme for a normal little hooligan. I say kick their butts upside this week and all the way into next week.
I can see why you’re questioning yourself, but I don’t think you were wrong. It was up to the law enforcement officer to decide how far to pursue it once reported, and he made the decision to talk to the kids.
My guess is, a talking-to from a cop is all the reminder that they need that mischief is one thing, but mischief against a living thing (and in this case, a protected migratory bird) is another. It’s true that cruelty to animals is believed to be a precursor/warning sign of nastier behavior that kids may indulge in later, but it’s also possible that these kids are perfectly normal (if ornery) little scalawags who were just showing off for each other in the way that they do. Either way, I think it’s good that they got called on it.
Thanks, I did not want to be mean-old-spinster-lady in 2B but I have a sincere weak spot in my heart for animals and that duck was just minding his own. I was less worried about my neighbors planter, but from what I gathered…the security guy may have made them go apologize to the apartment dweller where the object was taken from.
And the duck was fine Myself and the elderly couple both walked out to look at him. We both just enjoy watching him swim and would hate to see him hurt.
Hopefully, if nothing else, they just wont bother the pretty mallard again.
You caught these kids committing theft/vandalism for the express purpose of inflicting harm or fright on an innocent animal, for which the entire severity of consequences they “suffered” amounted to having to listen to an adult (probably in inoform) talk to them, and you are feeling badly?
I think you did the right thing. I’m a little more lenient in my views of what the kid was trying to accomplish - at that age I might have thrown things as near a duck as possible just to see it fly.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have reported it, it just means he may not have meant as much harm as we are attributing.
Seriously, just in the short time you were watching, you saw them stealing the pot and tossing it into the pond, not to mention the animal cruelty. Sometimes kids need to see that someone in authority is paying attention to what they’re doing.
Now to add what I read on a pet board, before I left thinking loony people post here.
Some minor incident happened and the freaks on the board came up with “That’s what psychotic people do, they’ll murder people when they get older.” Doing something to an animal doesn’t mean the persons will become psychotic killers. I put it down to a board peopled by PETA.
Anyway, I’d worry as much about them stealing the terra cotta pot than heaving it into the pond to scare the ducks. I doubt they were seriously trying to kill a duck. That seems about similar to a kid at the beach running up to a bunch of seagulls to see them fly off.
But, I don’t know what “courtesy police” are. It sounds about appropriate for handling a little bit of mischief though. I’m guessing that “courtesy police” aren’t there for running down murderers.
Yes, the bill is where it would hurt the most. The rear might be easier to reach if the bird is fleeing from you, though. Still the OP said nothing about footing, they were throwing pots at the duck.
ETA: Oh, and calling the police to scare kids straight is a great educational tool. It reminds kids that there are consequences to their actions and that someone is always watching. I have seen it work wonders with some friends’ kids.
We had a friend who is a Customs Officer (kids don’t know the difference, they just see a black uniform and lots of guns and phones). He was the scarer of choice of the neighbourhood
But I agree, I’m distracted from the duck-molesting rugrats by the concept of a “courtesy officer.” What does a courtesy officer do, enforce manners? “Excuse me! You with the terra-cotta! Set it down slowly and tuck your shirt in!”
“kids who abuse animals tend to become serial killers”
And, your second article states that you need to be more cautious about kids who become a little more obsessed with it.
I remember getting in trouble for throwing rocks at ducks once. I also hit a woodchuck with an axe, and when I got older, I used to shoot birds and small game with pellet guns.
Myself and the elderly couple both walked out to look at him. We both just enjoy watching him swim and would hate to see him hurt.