Dog Suicides-And to think you had a laugh at my expense!

[Porty]

Some months ago I was harangued and savaged in PM's by many POL'ers for relating the following story. It came to light shortly afterwards that local animal lovers had got together and planted a rogue plumber in my house extension project, in order to exact revenge. Here is the story:

Ive had a few drinks. It has been and is, very difficult for me to feel affection for pets, although I would never wish them harm. When I was about 9 I had the awful experience of liviing next door to a gorgeous springer spaniel that took its own life. More than 30 years later I can barely bring myself to relate the story.

The dog, who will remain nameless in case the owner posts here, was a very intelligent animal and just like some very intelligent people had a capacity or predilection for madness, as it turned out, suicide.

Like most dogs this one loved going for a walk and detested being fettered by a leash. As he was an intelligent animal, the owner rarely felt the need to use a leash when walking the dog. On the fateful day the dog pitched up for his usual walk with the leash in its mouth and refused to cross the threshold until the owner had put its lead on. The owner thought this was a bit strange but was used to a slight mad streak so carried on. Shortly after beginning the walk the dog went missing in the Figgate Park, the owner called its name over and over and grew increasingly concerned. After about half an hour he encountered the dog hanging from a spike in a fence. He had presumably jumped up hooking himself by the neck.

Whilst the above would perhaps suggest suicide it is hardly conclusive, however, later the same day the owners found a plastic bottle of painkillers that had been gnawed and destroyed, most of the contents had been eaten. The dog had tried to overdose.

A truly tragic tail.

The final irony was that a few days after the tragedy the owner was clearing out the dog's basket and under the cushion the dog slept on, he discovered a copy of Goodbye to Love by the Carpenters with a carefully placed paw print.

As you will no doubt know, just a few years later, Karen Carpenter also died in tragic circumstances.

"There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine
Surely time will lose these bitter memories
And I'll find that there is someone to believe in
And to live for something I could live for"

Goodbye to love, indeed.

Although I was vilified at the time, the following story, from not too far away, was published in The Times on Wednesday of this week. Read it and weep:

Dog suicide hot spot 'nonsense'
By Gillian Harris, Scotland Correspondent

ANIMAL workers have rejected suggestions of a spate of dog “suicides” at a 40ft bridge.

Five dogs have jumped to their deaths in the past six months at the bridge at Overtoun House, Dumbarton, according to locals. The most recent was last weekend when an owner was unable to stop her dog leaping over.
Joyce Stewart, an animal behaviourist, said the deaths were abnormal as dogs were usually able to gauge the heights and depths they could jump. “If they know they are going to die they might go into hiding but I have never heard of them taking their own lives,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said: “Animals do not commit suicide. (This) shows the need for dog owners to keep their dogs under control. There is perhaps something over the bridge attracting the dogs’ attention.”

The bridge, over a tributary of the Clyde, lies within the grounds of Overtoun House, an A-listed baronial building currently run as a Christian centre. It was the scene of a family tragedy in 1994 when Kevin Moy threw his two-week-old son to his death believing him to be the Antichrist.[/quote]

[ecm]

[Porty]

[bellybabe]

I didn't laugh, Porty. My dog tried to commit suicide when I brought him to Portobello to live. I don't think he liked it here much. He decided to jump out of the upstairs window. He survived but broke three ribs. The vet said "That's funny, it's usually cats we see with "high rise syndrome"!".

I never saw the signs....never knew had bad he was feeling... *sob*...

[CatzVP]

[foxy]

[CatzVP]

[bearcub]

[foxy]