No one wins.

[ysobelle]

I got a call a little while ago. A message on my voicemail from the man who owned Rets.

It went something like this, "Hi...this is the owner of the dead Labrador. I...just tell your friend...the next time she wants to be kind to an animal, she should go to the SPCA and pick out a dog there. That dog slept beside me for ten years, and now...yeah. That's all."

He sounded like he was close to tears. I'll assume he called the numbers I gave him, and found Rets had indeed been put down. I won't call him back, and I won't be passing his message along to Renee. But if I WERE going to call him, here's what I'd say:

You told me he knew how to open your gate. You told me he loved to wander, and usually went straight to our apartment complex. Why didn't you get a better gate? And why the fuck didn't you have fucking tags on him? Or if you ever get a dog again-- and I hope you don't-- you might want to consider getting the dog chipped. Thirty fucking dollars-- if that-- and any vet or shelter can get him back to you.

You told me he killed at least eight cats that you know of. Incidentally, and now that it's at least nine, how do you know the others were all strays like you said? Your dog roams-- you think other people might not have been waiting for their cats to come home? Someone else isn't sitting by an empty food bowl? Point is, he's not 100% warm and cuddly. You should have taken better precautions.

Your dog had a pronounced limp. How were we to know, dirty and thirsty and hungry and covered in ticks as he was, that he hadn't been hit by a car somewhere and needed help? How were we to make the call that he was somehow safer on the street? Oh, and one word: Frontline. You keep him outside in the summer without any kind of tick protection? Shame on you.

I have your phone number. All I have to do is give it to Renee or the police, and you're going to be incredibly lucky if you don't get sued. She tried to help your dog, and wound up in the hospital, and with a dead cat. You might want to think about that before you call me again.

If you loved him so much, why did you go on vacation knowing he'd disappeared? If you'd started calling around the day he'd run away, he'd be with you right now.

You didn't want to know if he was dead, so you had a friend call me. You didn't want to speak to me directly, so you left me a voicemail. You knew your dog could get out and you did nothing about it. I'm sensing a trend, here.

Another thing? Male dog. Opens gates. Hates cats. NOT FIXED. Can you honestly say you didn't see this coming? A female in season anywhere near you, and OF COURSE he's going to take off. A tabby wandering down the road? Off he goes.




I don't like being the instrument of inevitability, but that's how it turned out. This was tragic. It could have been avoided, but it wasn't. I did everything I could. I even tried to track him down to see if a Lab rescue could come get him. This was a train wreck caused by one person. And that person was not me. That person was not Renee.


And Rets and Nessie paid for it.

Comments

[surlywench.livejournal.com]

what a fucking jackass.
but it's not his fault, 'cause he loved his dog....
If he calls again, tell him to go fuck himself.

[surlywench.livejournal.com]

or you could just leave him a voicemail that says
"Hi, this is the friend of the owner of the murdered cat. We wanted to tell you that the next time you know your dog is a catkiller and make no effort to get a better gate, well, yeah...that cat slept beside her every nite for 10 years, and now....yeah...."
I want to punch this man.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

And y'know, were you closer, I'd just point you in the vague direction where he lives and let you go do it. He's somewhere on Mario Lanza Blvd, behind the complex. That's all I know.

He fucking KNEW...and...fuck it. Trainwreck.

[snipeyhead.livejournal.com]

Meh. Gimme a name and I could prolly pull up an address.

[snipeyhead.livejournal.com]

Or even a phone number might work.

[kylecassidy.livejournal.com]

wtf? how did i miss all this?

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

I didn't want to post a lot about it when it happened, cos it was just so fucking traumatic. About 2am July 1, my neighbours and I found a stray dog, with a collar but no tags, limping around the complex. Renee gave him food and water, and we called around to see what we could do for him, but every animal shelter said he'd probably be put down if they got him. Our neighbours came home, and we all stood around and played with him, and tried to plan what to do. Eventually, we decided to give him a bath-- he was filthy, shedding, and had ticks-- and leave him with Renee until we could put up signs and call around. He was so good-- he even jumped into the tub for us. Loved the bath. But 15 minutes after I went home, I got a call from one of the neighbours, Tiffany, that the dog had attacked Renee's cat, and Renee had gotten between them.

I ran back, Renee was bloody and almost hysterical, the cat was gasping. We all thought little Nessie-- only 9 months old-- was just freaked out. So Tiffany and Jeanine took Renee, who was a mess, to the hospital. I stayed with Greg and Matt, and Nessie. About fifteen, twenty minutes later, I realised Nessie wasn't freaked, she was dying. Greg and I dove into his car and raced to the emergency vet, but Nessie died in my arms on the way. I was nearly hysterical-- it was somehow so much like losing Kayli all over again-- but Renee was devastated. The girls told her at the hospital, and she insisted on coming straight over to the vet's.

Matt, meanwhile, stayed at the complex with the dog, waiting for the police, whom we had to call, now having no other choice.

It was dawn before we all got home. One of the worst nights of my life.

And the missing dog sign didn't go up until this weekend: two weeks later, when it was far too late to do anything. I'd even called the SPCA to see if they knew what had happened to the dog, but I had no luck. When I saw the sign, I called the number and left a message, saying, "I'm sorry, I don't have good news, but I do have news. Please call me. A guy called me and said he was calling for his friend, who said if it was bad news and the dog was dead, he didn't want to know. Eventually, though, the owner called me himself. He said he'd gone on vacation the morning after the dog disappeared, and had had his daughter put signs up. I guess she just didn't know where to put them.

It was just all horrible. We so tried to do the right thing, and two beloved animals wound up dead.

[bronxelf-ag001.livejournal.com]

Youre nicer than I am. I'd send just that.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

I don't even know his name, much less his address. And no matter what, that lovely dog (aside from the cat-killing proclivities, he WAS a decent animal; it wasn't HIS fault) is still dead, and this guy has to live with that the rest of his life.

No matter what, he still loses. No matter what, he was still the primary cause for his beloved dog's death.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Actually, you know what I really want to do? I want to hit him. I want to hit him and just scream at him, "YOU DID THIS!"

Poor fucking dog. Poor fucking cat. Dammit.

Did you get an address?

[well-artesia.livejournal.com]

When the bill for the emergency room visit comes, I certainly hope Renee calls a lawyer, and that the lawyer sends it to this piece of work.

Not one word about being sorry it attacked her? Instead he wants some sort of apology for the fact that she tried to help it?!

The world is just chock full o' assholes, isn't it?

Re: Did you get an address?

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Don't you just love it? I'm going to assume he'll be sorry later he said it. He seemed far more rational when we spoke on the phone the other day.

Re: Did you get an address?

[emalia.livejournal.com]

I think that the guy should cover the emergency vet bill and the ER bill. Period.

Re: Did you get an address?

[foxglove-8778.livejournal.com]

I agree that the owner of the dog should foot the bill for the person that his dog made bleed.


the passive-aggressive-self-centered jackass.

Re: Did you get an address?

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, her insurance covered it all.

[psychemarlies.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just my hormones being evil, but I would definitely pass that phone number along to both the police AND Renee. I know in our area, pet owners have done jail time when their pet has attacked another pet or human, and they were proven negligent.

Reverse look-up should be able to get you a name and address as well.

In the very least, he owes Renee the cost of her ER bills. Hell, she could go after him for the loss of her pet as well.

Not that I am sue happy, I am not. But unfortunately, the only way I think this guy will learn is if this were to get legal. I would hate to see him do this to some other poor innocent animal.

Damn... I want to beat the crap out of him, and get HIM fixed. Think my hormones will give me an alibi?

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

Jesus, woman, next time I need a smackdown, I am SO calling you.

[snugglyevil.livejournal.com]

If he calls again.... dial *54 before the next phone call out. Doing *54 on your phone logs the last number to dial into you with the police. You could always block the guy's number.

Of course he's going to blame everyone else but himself for what happened. It's far easier to blame someone or something else other than one's own mistakes.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling he'll regret that call later. Honest to G-d.

Still. I know.

[eponas-pen.livejournal.com]

Jesus, Nikki... I'm so sorry. I'm really, really sorry. Please reconsider not forwarding his info to the police. Things like this happen too often and every circumstance reported counts. If these things were reported every single time they happened people would start taking the laws more seriously. There's probably a leash-law where you live - at least you could get him on that. The man wasn't concerned about the life of his pet or your friends - he was concerned about how he felt at not having his dog around anymore. People need to start thinking about the lives of the pets as individuals, not as accessories.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. My heart goes out to you, my friend.

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

You're so fabulous. I just got your message today, btw.


This guy's already been thoroughly punished. This is one time stupidity is very, very painful.

[imafon.livejournal.com]

You have a bigger, more forgiving heart than I do.

If it were up to me, this guy would be neutered without anesthetic and then euthanized.

Stupidity to this extent is still astounding to me, even though I see it on an almost daily basis.

And yes, that phone number would make it to Renee and the police.

Hopefully, the law in your area would enforce something so senseless and negligent. (Unlike in my small little town. BTW: Did you know that my neighbor killed Spaghetti and Meatball, and then bragged about it. The police here in Smallsville told me that I have no proof, other than the fact that I heard him threaten to do the same thing to one of the others. And get this, I will be fined next time for allowing my cats to roam. There are what...5,000 people in this area that encompasses my school district? And, I live in the freakin' boonies!)

Sorry for the tangent...I feel that it's hideous to let your pet endure the kind of life that he obviously did.

I think that you should give Me, my 3 dogs, 7 (remaining)cats, 3 fish, 2 turtles and Uncle Guido his number.

Prosecution is too good for the bastard!

Let Vido, Vinnie, Jimmy, and Guido do this for us. They owe me, and after all...I'm family!

[foxglove-8778.livejournal.com]

OMG Bobbie... you neighbor is a psycho. I am so sorry to hear about S'ghetti and Meaty. **hug**

[ysobelle.livejournal.com]

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!

I'll kill him. I'll kill him myself. Mother fucking ASSHOLE BASTARD!

I am so, so sorry. PLEASE set Uncle Guido on him! PLEASE!

[nytcrie.livejournal.com]

Assholes like that need to be...you know, I'm just not going ot get into it. if I do, by time I am done typing it I will be so rage filled that somebody wll get hurt tonight. I'm already pissed beyond belief jsut reading the whole thing....

Fucking assholes....