Watch Tip for week of April 17:

Watch for people in your neighborhood who would do harm to pets. They might hate free-roaming cats and dogs in their yard or pets making noise at night when they are trying to sleep. In more rural areas, if they keep chickens or farm animals, they might shoot to kill because it is legal when livestock is threatened. Be protective—not everyone loves animals like we do!

Family dogs shot and their bodies dumped in a ditch

In a small midwestern town recently, two beloved family dogs were inadvertently let loose from their fenced yard by one of the children; the friendly, chubby, collared dogs wandered off and turned up at a rural homestead not far away. It appears they may have worried a flock of chickens but no chickens were actually harmed. Still, both dogs were shot to death and their bodies dumped near a river; the family and many in the town are grieving for them. The shooter has not been identified.

No animal lover would dream of killing pets without severe provocation. But this true story is important because it reminds us that there are people out there who will kill pets without good cause … lots of them.

In just one Wisconsin town, three stories:

A wandering dog was shot to death just one block away from his home as he was crossing an empty lot, I was told by his tearful owner, a woman who owns a pet store and has done much to help shelter dogs and cats in the region. The shooter was never identified.

A family found one of their family cats shot dead and not long after found another of their three cats with one leg shot off (he survived, although the vets were very worried at first, and now does well as a “tripod” cat). They own over 10 acres and wonder if a neighbor actually crossed property lines to shoot at cats. They have since posted their property and the shooter was never identified.

A town newspaper reported that a family dog was found poisoned; he died at the vet. Law enforcement found that a neighbor had intentionally fed the dog antifreeze because the dog had pooped in their yard. Charges were filed.

One more, from another community… At a family barbeque, tempting odors lured a neighbor’s dog to the grill; he sniffed at the meat. The cook kicked the dog so hard that it flew backwards 8 feet and landed hard; the kick was observed through a window. The dog pulled itself upright and limped slowly toward his home but he didn’t make it. He laid down under a tree in another yard and soon died there from internal bleeding. Thanks to the observer, the killer was identified.

They are out there!

Spread the word; many pet owners would never dream such people existed. At all costs, prevent your pets from wandering even one block!

Did I mention that you should never let your dog eat an unknown substance on a walk?  I will pass along a deeply shocking remark that was posted online recently (foul language alert):

“Go to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and spread around plenty of frozen meatballs mixed with rat poison, it is beautiful scenery, and those little faggoty dog owners will cry like bitches when they see their barking shit machines yowling in agony, writhing on the ground in death throes.”

This killer said it so much better than I could. They are out there.