Great distress..help!!!!

[cat slave]

There is a dog who has lived hear for over four years. We
were only able to catch him last summer when he got bitten
by a snake at which time he was fixed, vaccinated etc.

He has been lethal to possoms.

Two feral cats who had been through the feral cat program
and could not be released where they were trapped. They
escaped the holding pen and the dog has killed one of them

I am actually considering having him destroyed. I now have
do doubt that he would kill any other cat if it got out of the
house. This is no place for a cat killer.

The only option I see is a wire muzzle. Can they wear them all the time?????

I am so distressed. I dont know if the other feral cat is
still in the vicinity and if I find him dead Freckles will have
sealed his fate!

There is a dog proof feeding station set up and water at the
edge of the woods. I HATE this.

[Gaffer]

If the dog is that vicious by all means put it down. It's probably not safe for humans either.

[cat slave]

That is my only conflict. He wont come near anyone and when cornered he
freezes, the only times I could get him care was when he was cornered and
I could grab him. Ive not ever seen any aggression except for the proof
of his nocturnal binges on possoms...now the kitty.

Hes been the source of many laughs, he dances, smiles and is so happy to
see us when we come up to the barn.

He "tends" the other dogs ie when it is going to storm he tries to round them
up to make them go in their pens. I can say "where is _____"? And he points
his nose in the correct direction. He knows the other dogs have to go "up"
at night and he helps gather them if they are not coming fast enough.
But no aggression to anything but possoms and now the poor little cat.

However, cats are my love and far above any dog. He has crossed a forbidden
line and the conflict is will I regret it? I am so angry at him I just cant stand
it. If when I go up this morning, he has killed the other one, my neighbor will
be called and the whole thing will be settled. It may already be if I can get
past the "will I ever regret it" part.

[PostmodernProphet]

you would kill a dog simply for protecting you from the dangerous cats?......you should gived him a medal......

[SassyLady]

Just curious Cat .... are you sure the cat didn't attack the dog and he was defending himself? We had some feral cats that would jump on our horses backs when they were in the barn and claw them. If we didn't find the wounds right away they would get infected .... and when they jumped on the horses it would scare them and at times would hurt themselves from spooking.

I love cats and I love dogs .... but that dog sounds very smart and useful. The feral cat???

[DragonStryk72]

That is my only conflict. He wont come near anyone and when cornered he
freezes, the only times I could get him care was when he was cornered and
I could grab him. Ive not ever seen any aggression except for the proof
of his nocturnal binges on possoms...now the kitty.

Hes been the source of many laughs, he dances, smiles and is so happy to
see us when we come up to the barn.

He "tends" the other dogs ie when it is going to storm he tries to round them
up to make them go in their pens. I can say "where is _____"? And he points
his nose in the correct direction. He knows the other dogs have to go "up"
at night and he helps gather them if they are not coming fast enough.
But no aggression to anything but possoms and now the poor little cat.

However, cats are my love and far above any dog. He has crossed a forbidden
line and the conflict is will I regret it? I am so angry at him I just cant stand
it. If when I go up this morning, he has killed the other one, my neighbor will
be called and the whole thing will be settled. It may already be if I can get
past the "will I ever regret it" part.

Well, to a certain extent, you're asking a bit much out of the dog. This is a stray dog who has had to defend himself for years, including defending himself from feral cats. He killed one most likely not because it was a cat, but because it was in "his" territory. He has made a "pack" of those other dogs, and he can even be trained to include cats as members of his pack, but you can't just expect that to happen

Feral cats will kill just as readily as your dog does, but yes, using a muzzle will be fine, you just need to figure out how to train the behavior that you want, and train out the behaviors you don't want, so that the muzzle isn't a permanent solution. Caesar Milan has made a career of dealing with dogs like this, and he has several very good books on this subject.

[Psychoblues]

DS72 is giving you the best advise I have seen and I don't think you will find any better. If you do decide to rid yourself of the dog could I suggest contacting the ASPCA? They are virtually everywhere and they don't euthanize or so I understand them to be.

God bless you, cat, for your love and compassion for the animals as God surely knows those same animals would give their own lives to save ours. Dogs and cats are indeed blessings to humankind.

Could I offer you a drink?



Psychoblues

[cat slave]

you would kill a dog simply for protecting you from the dangerous cats?......you should gived him a medal......

Typical response from a needy dog person.

It was a vicious act of murder just like he offs the possums which I dont care
because they are filthy vermit who have their place but not my place. Though
I have been kind to them ie when they would enter my barn and get into my
animal food I would humanely trap them and take them to the dead end of
my road that ends on the river.

I will put you on ignore along with click male or whatever his name was....anyone who is so hateful toward cats is no one I wish to converse with.

[cat slave]

Just curious Cat .... are you sure the cat didn't attack the dog and he was defending himself? We had some feral cats that would jump on our horses backs when they were in the barn and claw them. If we didn't find the wounds right away they would get infected .... and when they jumped on the horses it would scare them and at times would hurt themselves from spooking.

I love cats and I love dogs .... but that dog sounds very smart and useful. The feral cat???

No, everything around here is well fed and the only one confined where anything
could jump on them are the dogs at night (so they dont get into trouble if someone decides to bother neighbors cattle) and my cattery is animal proof.

Good grief, I never heard of cats jumping on horses backs! Why did they
do that?

But no. Freckles stalked, killed and brought his trophy to his grassy knoll
behind the barn where he brings all his trophies, possums I have to bury,
bones during hunting season, his toys etc. There is no cat food enough to
jump on a dog unless it has kittens at least not around here.

This was my fault. Period. Ill never get over it and Ill hate that friggin dog
till the day it dies. If he gets into another round with a poisonous snake
this summer, well, Karma! Just desserts. It took us hours and hours to catch him last summer to get him to the vet which was the first time I had
been able to but he got fixed and everything. He doesnt deserve saving
again.

No, this was a vicious murder and I would see it as such if the situation
were reversed. It wasnt.

[cat slave]

Well, to a certain extent, you're asking a bit much out of the dog. This is a stray dog who has had to defend himself for years, including defending himself from feral cats. He killed one most likely not because it was a cat, but because it was in "his" territory. He has made a "pack" of those other dogs, and he can even be trained to include cats as members of his pack, but you can't just expect that to happen

Feral cats will kill just as readily as your dog does, but yes, using a muzzle will be fine, you just need to figure out how to train the behavior that you want, and train out the behaviors you don't want, so that the muzzle isn't a permanent solution. Caesar Milan has made a career of dealing with dogs like this, and he has several very good books on this subject.

One, he has had it made for 4-5 years since imposing himself into my group of
dogs. He NEVER eats what he kills. He only till now killed possums which he
drags to his grassy knoll as a trophy that I have to bury. Hes not been hungry since hes been here complete with assorted treats, good big house
under roof and really a good friggin life. He didnt NEED to do this. It was
pure murder for fun.

Feral cats hunt for food. Owned cats are closer to their wild ancestors than
dogs are and their hunting is to keep their skills in shape because they have
not a long history of having their food presented to them as have dogs.
This is part of the fascination I have with cats, they are so close to wild
things at heart it appeals to me greatly.

No, this cat was not food, nor was he defending himself against a scared
little cat that had been ripped from what it thought was home and deposited
in a strange place (the fat drunk lowlife loser did not want the cats back,
which is the reason for Snip & Tip, TNR (trap, neuter, return). May his liver
fail from the booze. I had had him do some work for me around here and I
was going to ask him to do a rather large job which would have meant much
beer money but after finding out he just wanted the cats taken away, I
informed how it would be a cold day in hell before I ever gave him anymore
work! Didnt change anything but I had my say and that is something.

[cat slave]

DS72 is giving you the best advise I have seen and I don't think you will find any better. If you do decide to rid yourself of the dog could I suggest contacting the ASPCA? They are virtually everywhere and they don't euthanize or so I understand them to be.

God bless you, cat, for your love and compassion for the animals as God surely knows those same animals would give their own lives to save ours. Dogs and cats are indeed blessings to humankind.

Could I offer you a drink?



Psychoblues

I could use several drinks and I dont even drink but now is the time if ever
there was one. Things only die around here of extreme old age. This was
so wrong and so unnecessary. It is my fault for thinking I could have free
roaming cats with this murderer around. I also thought he was too fat to
catch anything as nimble as a cat. If I had not put them in the holding pen
and they found the one little spot in one corner that was not firmly planted
on the ground this would not have happened. If I had taken them directly
into the cattery to join the five nursing moms without kittens that
the scum of the earth drunk probably killed, this would not have happened.

It is my fault but I still hate Freckles and will never have another kind word
for him. I will never ever take in another dog. Not ever. When these 11
are gone I will adopt a couple from a rescue group for sentries. Thats all.
Ive been to the point for some time now that when I pass a dog on the road
I go right on....hope some dog person comes by to help...Im not.

This has reinforced my previous feelings. No more dogs rescued. Done.
Cats, ok, if in dire need of help, but only under those circumstances. I
cant deal with this anymore.

And the muzzle? Good idea, but he would find some way to get it off. He
is way too cunning for his good or mine.

[Abbey Marie]

CS, if the dog kills possums just because he feels like it, I expect he killed the feral cat for the same reason. I don't really believe he did it to defend himself.

I am a huge animal lover, I volunteer at shelters, send money, and have fostered orphaned kittens in my home. However, I would not keep a dog that I could not trust.

I have a relative whose dog bit 4 different children in the head/face, including their two children, and my daughter when she was about 18 months old. When we went to get her wound treated (right by her ear) the doctor said had it been a teensy bit closer to the ear, she would have lost her hearing in that ear. The doctor reported the bite (as req'd by law), and they ended up putting the dog down. I wholeheartedly approved.

As I know you know, with so many nice animals out there who desperately need a home, why keep one who's that vicious? I would give another a chance instead.

[PostmodernProphet]

I will put you on ignore along with click male or whatever his name was....anyone who is so hateful toward cats is no one I wish to converse with.

lol.....

[Psychoblues]

I could use several drinks and I dont even drink but now is the time if ever
there was one. Things only die around here of extreme old age. This was
so wrong and so unnecessary. It is my fault for thinking I could have free
roaming cats with this murderer around. I also thought he was too fat to
catch anything as nimble as a cat. If I had not put them in the holding pen
and they found the one little spot in one corner that was not firmly planted
on the ground this would not have happened. If I had taken them directly
into the cattery to join the five nursing moms without kittens that
the scum of the earth drunk probably killed, this would not have happened.

It is my fault but I still hate Freckles and will never have another kind word
for him. I will never ever take in another dog. Not ever. When these 11
are gone I will adopt a couple from a rescue group for sentries. Thats all.
Ive been to the point for some time now that when I pass a dog on the road
I go right on....hope some dog person comes by to help...Im not.

This has reinforced my previous feelings. No more dogs rescued. Done.
Cats, ok, if in dire need of help, but only under those circumstances. I
cant deal with this anymore.

And the muzzle? Good idea, but he would find some way to get it off. He
is way too cunning for his good or mine.

The complications of animal life will forever confuse and teach us, cs. I am confident that you will make an intelligent decision whether I agree with it or not.

God bless you, cat slave.



Psychoblues

[SassyLady]

No, everything around here is well fed and the only one confined where anything
could jump on them are the dogs at night (so they dont get into trouble if someone decides to bother neighbors cattle) and my cattery is animal proof.

Good grief, I never heard of cats jumping on horses backs! Why did they
do that?

But no. Freckles stalked, killed and brought his trophy to his grassy knoll
behind the barn where he brings all his trophies, possums I have to bury,
bones during hunting season, his toys etc. There is no cat food enough to
jump on a dog unless it has kittens at least not around here.

This was my fault. Period. Ill never get over it and Ill hate that friggin dog
till the day it dies. If he gets into another round with a poisonous snake
this summer, well, Karma! Just desserts. It took us hours and hours to catch him last summer to get him to the vet which was the first time I had
been able to but he got fixed and everything. He doesnt deserve saving
again.

No, this was a vicious murder and I would see it as such if the situation
were reversed. It wasnt.

If Freckles is killing just for the fun of it then perhaps it's time to send him to the next stop in his journey. If he's running with your other dogs I'd be worried about one or two of them joining in his fun and then you'd have a larger problem. Good luck Cat.