# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/61 "2005-05-26T17:25:40Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > May I suggest we back off? While I agree with the overall sentiment in the thread, we don’t need to prove which of us can come up with the nastiest insults to hurl at **Spongemom**. And we really don’t need to be invading her forum. > > **Spongemom** , I’m sorry for your grief, and I hope you get a chance for some serious introspection here about how you need to deal with your animals and with your neighbors. > > Daniel I think this is excellent advice. > [@Contrapuntal](#): > > **She stepped on a kittens’s head and then let it starve to death**. And she wants to be a vet. I’d say she’s fair game. You make it sound like this was intentional and wilfull, rather than an awful accident. > [@archmichael](#): > > In regards to this, there is nothing to indicate that she has logged on since her last post, or is even aware that a pile-on is taking place Exactly. Her profile, as of right now, says that her last post was at 3.39am Eastern. That would be, i think, 2.39am in Kansas. People have to sleep too, you know. And she may have had to go to work or run errands today. Much as we might love to, not everyone can spend 24 hours a day replying to Straight Dope threads. > [@askeptic](#): > > Well, she can learn not to drop “Stupidity Bombs” in the Pit and leave. If I started a thread I would certainly wait around to see how it is received. If I did not have time to wait I would post it later when I did have time. Give her a break! She hung around for two hours after posting her OP, and made quite a few follow-up posts. Is there some rule i’m not aware of that says she has to stay in front of her computer until _every single doper_ has had a chance to give her a kick? FWIW, i agree with most people that her rant at her neighbors and their dog was misplaced, and that she needs to seriously re-evaluate the way she looks after her cats. And she might well realize that after reading the responses in this thread. But, much as i love to engage in a pile-on when i think the circumstances are right, i do try to stay off when the person’s post might have been affected by grief. While castigating **SpongeMom** for her rather narrow view of her situation, we could also show a little sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/62 "2005-05-26T17:26:03Z")
> [@Cemetery Savior](#): > > Anecdotal. What specific state has “Too Good For You” on the license plate? > > If my dog were to kill a neighbor’s cat (unlikely, as he’s a spaniel puppy), I would probably be too embarrassed at first to talk to them, even with condolences. the second time, I’d probably be angry with the neighbor for allowing this scenario to continue, and the third-fifth times…in shock at the unwillingness to change. Geez…upon re-read, I think Trunk whooshed me. Must…read…rolleyes. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/63 "2005-05-26T17:27:23Z")
Sorry **Giraffe** , it certainly was not my intention, while I know board wars happen I have seen plenty of invaders come to the Dope, it just did not occur to me that Dopers might instigate one. My bad, sorry. It won’t happen again. And **Lefty** if you were talking to me I am flattered. ---
**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, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/64 "2005-05-26T17:30:54Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > The link to her forum was in her signature. That’s not an invitation to take this thread over there. And even if it was, don’t do it. Who has done that, or even suggested that it be done? The link is most certainly an invitation to **view** her forum, which is all anyone has done. All you’ve got is **Lefty** on his high horse telling us not to do stuff that no one has done. I ask again, where was it even implied, except by **Lefty** , that we “take this thread over there”? ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/65 "2005-05-26T17:31:47Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > She hung around for two hours after posting her OP, and made quite a few follow-up posts. Is there some rule i’m not aware of that says she has to stay in front of her computer until every single doper has had a chance to give her a kick? You and\*\* Lefty \*\* are right and I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/66 "2005-05-26T17:44:25Z")
> [@Cemetery Savior](#): > > Geez…upon re-read, I think Trunk whooshed me. Must…read…rolleyes. **Trunk** : 1 **Cemetery Savior** : 0 OK, I’m done with the pig-pile on **Spongemom**. I didn’t have to make that last crack about Kansas, but that state’s been pissing me off lately, too. I remember after her very first post here, about how she was going to post in purple, she got pig-piled and handled it all right. Of course, posting in purple isn’t quite the same as crushing kittens’ heads and feeding them to rottweilers, but whatever. . . ---
**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, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/67 "2005-05-26T17:44:40Z")
**Anaamika, mhendo** , From the OP: \*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**. \* (Bolding mine) As I noted before, I just love the passive voice. No sense of responsibility there at all. Shit happens. Nothing we could do about. No one is suggesting that she killed the kitten on purpose. She did, however, know that a human being had stepped on the head of a creature that weighed at the most a couple of pounds. That should have triggered a vet trip right there. Failing that, close observation for several days is absolutely called for. She was not even aware that the kitten was not eating. I simply meant to juxtapose this apparent lack of empathy and observation skills with her stated desire to become a veterinarian. ---
**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, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/68 "2005-05-26T17:52:52Z")
\*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/69 "2005-05-26T17:54:52Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > (1) The dog is a Rotty. (2) It is vicious. (3) Homeowner’s liability policies take a dim view of (1) & (2) above. These two things are not mutually exclusive. My sister bred and raised rottendogs for several years. Her two cats considered her dogs nice warm cat beds. They dog slobber they got on them was from absent minded licking not viciousness. The animal’s behaviour has to do with its upbringing NOT its breed. That said, even a misbehaving dog has a right to go into its own yard without warning the neighborhood animals that it is going to do so. I’m sorry **spongemom** about your kitties though. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/70 "2005-05-26T17:55:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 1000x a poster has posted something and then come back and realized just how horrible it sounded. _Four cats, **Anaamika** , four of them!_ Sometimes I cool down later and regret things I said. While I regret my violation of board rules earlier, I find that my rage towards **Spongemom** has not abated in the slightest. I don’t think folks are upset with her for what she said - her insults towards her neighbors are merely the icing-sugar glaze on top of it. I just don’t see this as something you can come up with a subsequent justification for. I’m not enraged because of what she’s saying in her grief. I’m enraged because she let such an awful thing happen - _four times over_. When I worked at a vet clinic, a client once came in with their second cat dying of feline leukemia, a disease that’s preventable with vaccination. One of the doctors told me that she really wished she could sit the client down in her smacking chair and slap some sense into her. I can understand making a mistake, but four times? I’m a cat lover, and this thread is making me slightly hysterical. I had better not look again. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/71 "2005-05-26T17:56:56Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > \*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. \*\* And on posting, I see that even **Spongemom** recognizes that her behavior was unconscionable - she has nothing to say to justify it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/72 "2005-05-26T17:58:58Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > \*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. \*\* How to win friends and punish enemies ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/73 "2005-05-26T18:01:33Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > \*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. (Size reduced by myself) \*\* Overreact much? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/74 "2005-05-26T18:03:07Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > \*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. \*\* You’re making it very hard to justify asking people not to pile on, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/75 "2005-05-26T18:05:06Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > \*\*Fuck you all. Every fucking one of you. \*\* Subtle. ---
**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, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/76 "2005-05-26T18:08:59Z")
I never thought a message board could make me cry. A fucking _message board_. You people are ruthless in your attacks. I never thought I’d run into so many insensitive, uncaring, and flat out mean people at one fucking time. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/77 "2005-05-26T18:14:23Z")
**Spongemom** : You’re obviously in the wrong here. If you don’t want your cats to be eaten by your neighbor’s dog, then keep your damn cats on your property. We live in a very rural area. Cats that happen onto _my_ property become moving targets for my .308. ---
**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, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/78 "2005-05-26T18:15:24Z")
**i Don’t Need Any More Of This!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/79 "2005-05-26T18:19:22Z")
First off, ignore Crafter\_Man when it comes to cats. He’s got his own rules that most people don’t agree with. Second, what’s gone down here is hard, but you should take it as an opportunity to take a step back and look at yourself. We are not all evil uncaring people, most of us do care and empathize with pet owners. Your actions, as described in your OP do not suggest a set of bad dog owners, but a cat owner who did not fulfill her duties to protect her pets. That does not make you a bad person, but you need to see this and appreciate why people are taking you to task. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561/80 "2005-05-26T18:19:36Z")
> [@Spongemom](#): > > **i Don’t Need Any More Of This!!!** **Crafter\_Man** is a despicable cat-hater. I can’t see what you did as anything short of utter neglect, though. I guess you can’t explain it away either. I nearly cried reading your message this morning, out of sorrow for your cats. I still can’t muster any sympathy for you, though. I hope that in the future you realize the responsibility that pet ownership entails. And I think you should have this thread locked. It’s very unlikely to get any better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-as-i-throw-the-neighbors-dog-into-the-pit/305561.md?page=5)