# Woman gets a bloody fortune for "emotional distress" after her cat is mauled by a dog **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 10, 2005, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200 "2005-05-10T10:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/101 "2005-05-10T15:45:54Z")
> [@Hentor the Barbarian](#): > > Wait a minute - isn’t this true? I don’t know about needing to vociferously claim it, but that’s only because it is fairly obvious. Right? I mean, they aren’t human, are they? > > whoosh! (I freaking hope, anyway) I should clarify. People who get all bent out of shape about how cat lovers are denigrating their children seem to be clueless to the fact that most people are not, in fact, clueless about the differences between pets and children. Somehow that doesn’t seem any clearer. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/102 "2005-05-10T15:47:44Z")
> [@PinkMarabou](#): > > He also thinks that if someone came into your house or your yard and was beating your pets, you should just let them do it. And I’m the one who’s crazy. If someone came into my house and started beating my pets, I think I’d try to subdue them until the men in white coats came. However, if I actually had a plan as to what to do in case of a breaking-entering-petbeating, I would likely be the crazy one. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/103 "2005-05-10T15:48:18Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Gee. You sure have shown yourself to be psychologically issue free, haven’t you? What is the issue with disliking children who steal (one child tried to run off with the stuffed animal I bought and his mother was offended that I asked for it back) or children that scream non-stop during a show I have paid to see? Sure hope you aren’t really a nurse, since you show an extreme lack of compassion and empathy. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/104 "2005-05-10T15:51:37Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > To late. > > “Flesh Babies vs Fur Babies.” > > I think we have the makings of an SDMB classic here, folks. Flesh babies, if they’re prepared. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/105 "2005-05-10T15:53:27Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I certainly would not use lethal force, especially not to defend a pet, since you’re asking. Well I would. Do you honestly thnk I’d just sit there and let someone commit murder to a family pet and not try to kill the fucker myself? They have lives, feelings, and mean the world to me and my family. There’s NO WAY IN HELL I would let someone come on MY PORPERTY and try to kill my pets. > [@Knorf](#): > > And with that, I bow out of this thread. I’m sorry I said anything. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/106 "2005-05-10T15:53:39Z")
> [@Snakescatlady](#): > > children that scream non-stop during a show I have paid to see? Now that’s not very cool. Where was the show? > [@Snakescatlady](#): > > Other people’s rude, obnoxious and smelly children totally ruined my trip to Sea World last week. HOLY CRAP! Children! Screaming!! At (gasp) SEA WORLD!!! Have they no decency? Have they no SHAME? The nerve of those ill-bred little bastards, expressing wonder, amazement, and juvenile ecitement at a show that is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ELICIT… wonder, amazement, and juvenile excitement. Lighten up, lady. It’s frickin’ Sea World, not the symphony. And at Sea World, cats would be treats for half the exhibition animals. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/107 "2005-05-10T15:54:38Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > However, if I actually had a plan as to what to do in case of a breaking-entering-petbeating, I would likely be the crazy one. Damn funny. God Damn Funny! ---
**Author:** ![Maendosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Maendosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maendosa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/108 "2005-05-10T15:55:03Z")
Holy shit, ‘furbabies’ and ‘fleshbabies’ - neurosis indeed. This thread is almost too good to be true. And Excalibre’s nailed it on every point. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/109 "2005-05-10T15:55:10Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Flesh babies, if they’re prepared. 😃 Ah, but who would win in a fight between an enraged flesh baby and ten furbabies with swords? ---
**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/110 "2005-05-10T15:56:01Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Excuse me? Disagreement is not “intolerance”. It’s a word with a specific meaning, a pretty loaded one at that, since it refers to the opposite of bigotry. Are you claiming that those who disagree with you are bigots? Because that’s the implication of this sentence. No, calling someone metally unstable because they love their pets is intolerant. Having a differing set of opinions is not. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/111 "2005-05-10T15:56:41Z")
Whoops. Almost forgot this: > [@Snakescatlady](#): > > Sure hope you aren’t really a nurse, since you show an extreme lack of compassion and empathy. Rolleyes rolleyes rolleyes. ---
**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 10, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/112 "2005-05-10T15:58:31Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Ah, but who would win in a fight between an enraged flesh baby and ten furbabies with swords? I complain! FOUL!! Under all that fur, furbabies have flesh too! They should be called… err… Fur fleshbabies!!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/113 "2005-05-10T15:59:25Z")
Yeah, Happy, I was thinking the same thing. Imagine how bent she must get when she goes to Disneyland. “I wanted a balloon from Mickey but these little brats got them all first!” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/114 "2005-05-10T16:02:36Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Ah, but who would win in a fight between an enraged flesh baby and ten furbabies with swords? It depends on which one has the Ripped Shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/115 "2005-05-10T16:07:54Z")
Ok, I know I said I’d leave, but here is one last-ditch effort at instilling a little reason into this argument. For what it’s worth… **Scenario:** Your neighbor, who is an ill-tempered asshole, decides that he can’t take your dog shitting on his lawn anymore, and deliberately runs your dog over with his SUV at the next available opportunity. Your beloved dog dies, bleeding and whimpering in your arms. Which of the following actions will _not_ get you arrested for homicide? A) Grab your sawed-off, 12-gauge shotgun and blow the sick fucker’s head off before he has a chance to escape. B) Call the police, report the crime, and allow the courts to pursue justice and mete out the appropriate punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/116 "2005-05-10T16:08:16Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > I complain! FOUL!! Under all that fur, furbabies have flesh too! They should be called… err… Fur fleshbabies!!! 😉 So when I eat lamb or veal…I’m eating the flesh of furbabies? Oh, the humanity!!! ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/117 "2005-05-10T16:15:26Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I should clarify. People who get all bent out of shape about how cat lovers are denigrating their children seem to be clueless to the fact that most people are not, in fact, clueless about the differences between pets and children. > > Somehow that doesn’t seem any clearer. No one has claimed that loving your pet is denigrating to human children. Most of the people who disagree with you and your crazy girlfriend have stated that we are catlovers as well. Again, you need to work on your reading comprehension problems. > [@Maendosa](#): > > And Excalibre’s nailed it on every point. Aww, shucks. :: blushes :: > [@PinkMarabou](#): > > No, calling someone metally unstable because they love their pets is intolerant. Having a differing set of opinions is not. No, firing someone because they’re gay is intolerant. Trying to force someone out of your neighborhood because they’re black is intolerant. Trying to get a mosque shut down is intolerant. If you think being called crazy is intolerance, then you, sweetheart, have led a charmed life. Enjoy it. Because most people have experienced _actual_ intolerance at some point, and you obviously haven’t. And I gotta say, it’s in really poor taste to try to hijack what some people have gone through because of their religion, or their race, or their sexuality in order to puff yourself up like a victim because someone called you “crazy”. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/118 "2005-05-10T16:15:36Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > So when I eat lamb! That’s more of a wool baby. The topic of a different thread entirely. _Don’t get me started on wool babies._ ---
**Author:** ![PinkMarabou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PinkMarabou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkMarabou)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/119 "2005-05-10T16:19:29Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Ok, I know I said I’d leave, but here is one last-ditch effort at instilling a little reason into this argument. For what it’s worth… > > **Scenario:** > Your neighbor, who is an ill-tempered asshole, decides that he can’t take your dog shitting on his lawn anymore, and deliberately runs your dog over with his SUV at the next available opportunity. Your beloved dog dies, bleeding and whimpering in your arms. > > Which of the following actions will _not_ get you arrested for homicide? > > A) Grab your sawed-off, 12-gauge shotgun and blow the sick fucker’s head off before he has a chance to escape. > > B) Call the police, report the crime, and allow the courts to pursue justice and mete out the appropriate punishment. If it was on my property that he ran over my dog, yes, I would kill the fucker. But my dogs do not leave my yard. So the reason for someone to kill my pet would be malicious only, so the bastard would get what he deserved. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200/120 "2005-05-10T16:20:20Z")
**Knorf** , do NOT change the wording when you quote someone. Ever. Lynn For the Straight Dope [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/woman-gets-a-bloody-fortune-for-emotional-distress-after-her-cat-is-mauled-by-a-dog/303200.md?page=7)