# Watch as I throw the neighbor's dog into the pit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 26, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561 "2005-05-26T05:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/1 "2005-05-26T05:37:41Z")
I have semi-nice neighbors. What I mean by that is when I wave at them in passing, they’ll keep their middle fingers to themselves. I’m pretty sure the reason they dislike me is because I dislike their dog. And by dislike, I mean boil with hatred. Perhaps I’m being rash, perhaps it isn’t _all_ the dog’s fault…after all, it _is_ in a Rottweiler’s natural instincts to eat his neighbor’s cats. Which brings me to my point. I started out with 7 cats. One belongs to my gramma (one we still have), one was mine, and 5 were mine’s kittens. One kitten died the morning after birth, ok, I dealt with that. One was stepped on, got its jaw broken and we didn’t know it, and it ended up starving to death because we found out too late and nothing could be done. I cried, I had a funeral, I moved on. Now we’re down to 5 cats. I hear a commotion in the neighbor’s backyard one day, I step out my backdoor, and see them pulling their dog off of one of my cats. Sandy. She was lying on the ground, no blood, so the thing I was most worried about was her incision (she had been spayed less than a week before this). I jumped the fence, picked her up, took her in the house, layed her on a towel on the table, and proceeded to check her out. As I expected, her incision was wide open. I attempted to clean it out with peroxide when I noticed that there were more holes. The placement of the holes meant she didn’t bleed hardly at all, but I knew then that she was done for, as it was around 7 pm, two hours after the vet had closed. I wrapped her in the towel and held her to my chest, and she died not five minutes later. Another funeral. Down to four. My gramma comes back to my room a few weeks after Sandy’s incident, and tells me I need to rush Patrick to the vet, he’s on the front porch. I go to the front porch, and I see him lying there, not moving, barely breathing, and it’s apparent by his face that he’s in shock. He’s covered in dog slobber from guess who. I wrap him in a towel, drive 50 mph down first street to the vet, Doc takes him back and tells me he’ll call with any information, and does everything he can to save my cat. I get a call an hour later, Patrick never came out of shock, and his internal injuries would have killed him anyway. Another funeral. Three left. My gramma’s cat, my cat, and one of my cat’s babies. This one happened a little over two weeks ago, on May 9th. (The others were in Feburary '04) I’m standing in the backyard talking to my cousin, when I happen to glance over into the neighbor’s back yard. I see my favorite cat, my momma cat, on the ground, broken and bloody. I’m freaking out now, you could hear me wailing down the block, I’m sure. I go over there and get my cat, and she’s already getting stiff. I carry her to my own backyard, find a box for her, and go in to change my shirt so I can wrap her for burial in the one I was wearing when I picked her up. Another funeral, this one the worst. I loved that cat, she used to crawl under the covers with me at night. Not anymore. Now all I have left is one of my cat’s daughters, and my gramma’s cat. Did you know I’ve never had the same cat for more than two years?!? Dogs always fucking eat them. Even when I was little, a dog ate my cat. I’ve decided that I’m not getting any more animals, I’ll just enjoy everyone else’s. Someone is going to pay. I’m either letting the dog loose for the dog catcher (which I doubt I’ll do, since it’s not really the dog’s fault, I know, the whole instinct thing), or I’m going to torment my neighbor’s for the rest of the time they live there. They moved here from some other state, I can’t remember where, and they have that “we’re from \_\_\_\_\_ so that makes us better than you” attitude. I have plenty of friends who would egg their house for ten bucks. So, there’s my first pitting. I feel better now. Well, not really, but still. Oh, I do have one last photo of my cat, one that I took the day after she died. Before you go accusing me of being some kind of beastiality/necro freak, have a look: [Banque en Ligne 2021 - Le guide étape par étape pour choisir facilement](http://img268.echo.cx/img268/3170/10001552xq.jpg) I believe that’s her, right there above the dumpster, in the neighbor’s yard. If you don’t think it is, please, leave me alone in my beliefs. I need this. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/2 "2005-05-26T05:52:46Z")
I grok just how painful this must be for you, and I really am sorry for your loss… but for the love of mercy, if you’re letting your cats go outdoors you need to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/3 "2005-05-26T05:54:52Z")
Oh, believe me, the two we have left don’t get to go outside at all, no matter how badly they want to (and trust me, they really want to). It’s a bitch keeping their sneaky asses inside, but I can’t handle another one dying. I have four graves behind the garage already. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/4 "2005-05-26T05:54:54Z")
I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounds like your neighbours’ dog has a pretty strong prey drive and is not often supervised. Have you spoken to them about this? I advise against turning the dog loose. First off, if it’s in any way aggressive, it could turn against you. Secondly, it could run off and take down a neighbourhood child, and that’d be awful… You may want to contemplate keeping your cats indoors - for their own safety - at least for now… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/5 "2005-05-26T05:58:24Z")
> [@Elenfair](#): > > I’m really sorry for your loss. It sounds like your neighbours’ dog has a pretty strong prey drive and is not often supervised. Have you spoken to them about this? > > I advise against turning the dog loose. First off, if it’s in any way aggressive, it could turn against you. Secondly, it could run off and take down a neighbourhood child, and that’d be awful… > > You may want to contemplate keeping your cats indoors - for their own safety - at least for now… ☹ They don’t give a shit. They’re pissed off at me for being pissed off at their dog, because my cats got in their yard. They say it’s my fault. They never even had the decency to say “I’m sorry about your cat” for any of them. That dog wouldn’t turn against me, I’m sure of that, but I don’t know about him and small children. That’s why I’m not letting him out. I’ll find another way to exact justice. See my last post about keeping them inside. It’s tricky, but so far I’ve been lucky. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/6 "2005-05-26T05:58:45Z")
Yeah… I know how cats can be. Hopefully you can keep them indoors despite their tricks. Have you spoken to your neighbors yet? Maybe they’d be willing to keep their dog on a dog run or something? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/7 "2005-05-26T05:59:54Z")
Shit… simupost. Your neighbors sound like real assholes. You might want to investigate civil court as an option. Maybe that’d put the fear of Bast in those fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/8 "2005-05-26T06:00:29Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yeah… I know how cats can be. Hopefully you can keep them indoors despite their tricks. Have you spoken to your neighbors yet? Maybe they’d be willing to keep their dog on a dog run or something? Their dog is their baby. They’re still pissed off at me for my cats getting in their yard. My being mad at them makes them mad at me. Go figure. They aren’t going to do a damn thing, and they’ve made that perfectly clear. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/9 "2005-05-26T06:02:25Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Shit… simupost. Your neighbors sound like real assholes. You might want to investigate civil court as an option. Maybe that’d put the fear of Bast in those fuckers. Won’t work, my cats got in their yard, nothing I can do. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/10 "2005-05-26T06:07:38Z")
That’s my thought too, but it couldn’t hurt to speak to a lawyer, preferably a vicious lawyer. It seems to me that if you had a child who’d gotten into their yard it’d still be their responsibility to keep their dog ‘on a leash’, so to speak. I mean… IANAL but I know that a swimming pool is considered an ‘attractive nusiance’. At the very least, maybe if you threaten legal action your neighbors might do something. That or you could always sic a wolverine on their dog… ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/11 "2005-05-26T06:10:32Z")
I could never afford a lawyer, and that would just tempt them to let their dog in my window or something. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/12 "2005-05-26T06:17:23Z")
Damn… well, then I guess all I can really say is that I understand that pets are members of the family, and I know how rough it is to see one of them die in the best of circumstances, let alone in pain. I’m sorry you can’t do anything about your neighbors… maybe a wolverine will just happen to wander through their yard. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/13 "2005-05-26T06:17:52Z")
One can only hope. ---
**Author:** ![fiztig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@fiztig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiztig)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/14 "2005-05-26T07:35:27Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > They don’t give a shit. They’re pissed off at me for being pissed off at their dog, because my cats got in their yard. They say it’s my fault. They never even had the decency to say “I’m sorry about your cat” for any of them. > > \ For the love of Christ keep your cats inside. And I’m sorry to say it during a time when you’re feeling down, but it _is_ your fault - you’re the one who let the cats get outside. Remember, from your neighbour’s perspective they’ve had a string of dead cats in their yard, all killed by their dog, which I know I would have found very distressing if I were them. I’m sorry your cats died. Keep them inside. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/15 "2005-05-26T07:36:49Z")
I love cats and I know how much it hurts to lose a beloved pet but I don’t see how your neighbors are in the wrong here. Are you suggesting that in order to make sure your cats are safe they shouldn’t let their dog out in their own backyard? ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/16 "2005-05-26T07:37:59Z")
I’ve already said that I intend to keep them inside for the rest of their lives, or the dog’s life, whichever comes first. I can’t take any more of this. They’re miserable, but I don’t care, at least they’re alive. ---
**Author:** ![Spongemom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spongemom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spongemom)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/17 "2005-05-26T07:39:18Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > I love cats and I know how much it hurts to lose a beloved pet but I don’t see how your neighbors are in the wrong here. Are you suggesting that in order to make sure your cats are safe they shouldn’t let their dog out in their own backyard? I know they’re not in the wrong, legally anyway. What really pisses me off is the way they think they’re too good to apologize for something their dog did. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/18 "2005-05-26T08:10:53Z")
This is a sad lesson you should have learned a long time ago. Cats just aren’t meant to be outside pets. Sure, they’re outside in nature, but modern America has nothing in common with their natural habitat. There’s lots of dogs, cars, and packs of feral cats out there that will make mince meat of a house cat pretty quickly. I’m not so insane about the cats–\>indoors thing that I start shrieking about it like many people, but I’ll advise anyone I know to keep their cats indoors at all times (don’t let them get in the habit of going out, its one they will never get out of) or tell them it’s their own fault when their cat which could live 15-17 years dies after 2-3. Anyways, I won’t pile on here as you’ve been told all this enough times. And in no way was this incident the dog owner’s fault. Dogs are supposed to be territorial and the cat got in the dog’s territory, bad result when the dog is a rottweiler. I’m almost too nice to people sometimes so if I was them I’d probably say, “sorry about you cat, keep them inside, or at least make sure they don’t go in my yard, my dog kills cats that are in my yard.” But I certainly wouldn’t be obligated to do that. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/19 "2005-05-26T10:08:34Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > This is a sad lesson you should have learned a long time ago. Cats just aren’t meant to be outside pets . Bollocks! I am willing to be proven wrong but I THINK that the US is the only place with predominatly inside cats. > [@](#): > > Sure, they’re outside in nature, but modern America has nothing in common with their natural habitat. There’s lots of dogs, cars, and packs of feral cats out there that will make mince meat of a house cat pretty quickly. There are cars and dogs everywhere. Feral cats? Yep probably. > [@](#): > > I’m not so insane about the cats–\>indoors thing that I start shrieking about it like many people, but I’ll advise anyone I know to keep their cats indoors at all times (don’t let them get in the habit of going out, its one they will never get out of) or tell them it’s their own fault when their cat which could live 15-17 years dies after 2-3. We have never had a cat live less then 19 yrs. The current cat was born in '88. It MAY best in your area to keep a cat inside…it is not a universal truth. Cats ARE NOT inside animals, well not until we make them be. Cats are hardy creatures, maybe that is why the Eygptians saw them as (outside) gods. I never heard of a dog killing a cat in my neighbourhood…maybe they are all too PC here. 😃 Just my experience of course…I shall tell the cat to avoid dogs tomorrow (shit she is 18, teenagers never listen). ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/20 "2005-05-26T10:25:09Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > They don’t give a shit. They’re pissed off at me for being pissed off at their dog, because my cats got in their yard. They say it’s my fault. It is your fault, plain and simple. After the first cat died you had fair warning that their dog would do this. Their dog is surrounded by a fence. Your animals were on their property. Repeatedly. And you have the gall to threaten them and their dog? I am sorry about your cats but you have no one to blame but yourself. What would you have them do? Check with you every time they let their dog out? You really need to be pitting yourself for being an irresponsible pet owner. Here’s a hint. If you don’t know where your animal is you are doing something wrong. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561.md?page=2)