Horrifying stuff does take us by surprise.

Yesterday at the feed store, I was putting cat food into the car when a guy said something like, "you want some more cats? I've got 3 momma cats, down from about 15, & I'd like to get rid of those 3."

He said they were supposed to be barn cats, but they came "up to the house" to get the dogs' food.

I was so infuriated, & so unprepared, that I didn't handle it like I should have.

I asked him directly if he fed the cats, & he said yes.
I should have looked over the feed in his truck & said, "oh yeah, where is their food?"

If cats are being fed, they will not leave their territory & face "outside dogs" to eat dog food.

The only comfort I give myself is that I'm ready for him next time, & I gave him the number of a spay clinic & gave him my "healthy well-fed cats are better mousers" speech.

We can speak up, we can look people in the eye & challenge their cruelty.

An old friend once told me that her new husband couldn't get his Border Collie to come to him.

One day when she was there, the dog went bounding off somewhere, & her husband yelled at the dog, demanded that the dog "come", & *hit* the dog when it crawled back with a submissive grin on its face.

Even though she weighed probably 90 pounds & this guy (just for the record, he's now her ex) was at least 220, she said she walked up & got "as close to him as I could with my clothes on", looked him in the eye & said, "Never. Never. Never punish an animal for coming to you."

I figured, if she can do it, I can do it.

& the words "the law" or "law enforcement" or "police" sometimes have a magical effect.

Another friend had neighbors who left their dog out in all weather, tied to a stake in the ground.

They had a dog house, but it was out by the fence, & the dog was tied too far away to get to it.

She talked to them, she begged them, she tried appealing to their better natures (they didn't have better natures), to no avail.

Finally, one day when they smiled patronizingly at her & assured her that the dog was "just a dog" & that they knew what they were doing, she said, "Well, I guess you've left me no choice but to call the law."

Within 20 minutes that dog's chain was moved to within reach of the doghouse.

With the toddler yanking the dog around, you could adopt a horrified expression & exclaim
"Oh, my goodness, *where on earth* did that child learn that appallingly cruel behavior???
That isn't even *legal* in this state.
You could have a whole lot of legal problems over this.
If that child doesn't have supervision, they could put your child in foster care."& your child is exhibiting sadistic behaviors, *your could lose custody of your child*."

As for the "throwing up", I think the horrified look & maybe something like
"Oh, my gosh, was there no adult there to put a stop to that?
You need to be sure that doesn't happen again:
That could have *killed* that puppy, & there are *cruelty laws* in this state! People go to *jail* over stuff like that.
& if your child is exhibiting sadistic behavior, *you could lose custody. Your child could be put in an institution.*"

It's difficult, & it may involve confrontation, but I figure that we're the only advocates animals in those situations have.

Best luck, & bless you for caring.

Mom obviously doesn't know any better or care to know. If you see them out next time and the same actions happening, maybe kneel down to the child and softly explain to be nice and that it hurts the puppy. If the woman gives you any lip, yank her chain :)

I groomed a poodle a few weeks ago that was 14 yrs old, blind and deaf. She was brought in by the new wife of a widower. When the widowers wife died 3 years prior, he put the poodle in a pen outside and left her. The new wife brings her to me for grooming. I was apalled.
The dog had matting that was so thick it was like a cast all over. We had to use a scapel to slice the matting open and work a #40 under it and cut away the loosened areas with cast scissors. It took me and one other person 6 hours to clean her up.
When new wife was in the lobby telling of how the dog has been neglected and she wanted to find it a new home, another client offered to give her a good home to live her remaining years in comfort. GREAT!!! No, the new wife calls back saying the husband refused to give the dog away and she would come get it. I told her that I saved the matted coat and took before and after pictures and that Animal Control could bring the dog back if they felt she and her new husband were properly caring for her. She agreed to let the other lady take her home. :)
Sometimes it's like Sylvia said, "some words have a magical effect."
It's good of you to notice when an animal is being harmed and to want to step in. I would say that the mother is as clueless as the child when it comes to pets, maybe you could help them (and the poor dog)

Good Luck

While I understand and share the anger at cruelty to animals, I have to ask: You "wanted to smack the lady in the face"? This is a more worthy impulse than what the lady was doing to her dog?

Also, I wonder what your point is when you mention that the upstairs neighbor family barely speaks a word of English, and then go on to quote the mother in some kind of dialect.

Sorry, but these things bothered me.

Wooderlander... I was expressing anger. I didn't actually smack the lady in the face. If she hit her dog for being a dog when they got home then she deserves to be hit for being an idiot. I'm not the one to do it, but it should happen. If you call what that lady said to me English you have more problems than her! The first three times I went up there to knock on the door at 3 AM and remind them that SOME CRAZY people like myself try to sleep in the middle of the night she said, "No habla English." The thundering continued... so yes maybe I am mad at her for other reasons too. The way she treats her dog just goes to show what kind of person she really is. Be bothered if you would like... that's your decision.

I was having such a glorious day until I read your post.

Vacuum, you're a good guy, and I agree with you, that "lady" (actually both of them) deserves a smack in the face. She is supposed to know better. And if she doesn't, she should not have aninals. And I also agree that people should have to apply for a license before being allowed to have pets. And Sylvia and Groominggal, thank you for helping those poor creatures.

There's obvious abuse, and then there's just boorish behaviour.

A few years ago we had the summer of "Shut up Shane". I live on the intersection of an inner city alley, and all the backyards open out onto the alley. Across the alley from me lived three early-20-something women, who semmed to spend most of the summer sunning in the backyard. They would bring out the chairs, bring out the towels, bring out the boombox, bring out the drinks -- bring out the dog. Shane was a nice enough dog, witha nbright look in his eye, but they'd tie him to his stake out chain and ignore him. He would begin to bark, and one of them would shout: "Shut up, shane!" He'd keep barking, or start barking again, and two of them would shout: "Shut up, Shane!" Eventually, they would all three shout in unison: "Shut up, Shane!". The rest of the neighbors began to refer to them as the "Shut Up Shane Girls". Several neighbors spoke to them, but they never changed thir actions, and evntually moved.

For all I know Shane was loved and spoiled -- indoors. And I never saw anyone strike or otherwise abuse him. But I often wondered what kind of effect that had on the dog, and wondered how they would like to be addressed in that tone -- and only that tone -- all day long.

That was the image that popped into my head when I read the title of this thread!

Hitting begets hitting. Dogs don't learn anything good from a beating, vaccumfreak; and neither do humans.

I agree that the lady shouldnt have had her dog off the leash.I agree running and chasing the dog wasnt a good idea.However,saying,
"LEENA, LEENA... YOU GET YOUR @$$ over here. You are going to get it when you get home you stupid dog!"
Could have just been HER way of venting. The dog doesnt really know what she is saying,so her use of foul language that disturbs you makes me laugh.
I have cussed my cat many of times (when he broke a vase filled with marbles and they went all over the place) but it doesnt mean I'd ever hit my cat.

I can see how you'd be upset with the other lady letting her child choke a dog smaller then her.Instead of laughing the lady should have been showing her how to do it the right way and telling her that she could hurt the small dog.

"There's obvious abuse, and then there's just boorish behaviour."
There is absolutely no proof of this comment. Vaccumfreak stated he would like to smack her in the face~did he? of course not.The lady may have simply been venting as well in frustration.

Coolmama -- my comment that you quoted wasn't directed at vacuumfreak, it was setting up my story in comparision to the ones that preceeded it. What I saw wasn't physical abuse, like vacuumfreak, sylviatexas, and groomingal's, it was rude, unthinking behavior.

I agree with coolmama. My dog used to watch for an opportunity to slip out as the kids went in and out the door. When I'd been chasing him for several blocks with him keeping just out of my reach, I'd make all kinds of threats from anger and frustration but I never carried them out.

On the other hand, people who stand by and do nothing while their little darlings mistreat animals make me sick.

Recently in an email, someone sent me a bunch of cute animal pictures. Included was one of a baby holding a tiny puppy by the neck and biting it's head. It made me furious. How could anyone think that was cute?

I apologize alison :)

Frankly, most three year old children should not be around animals, they just don't "get" that rough treatment is painful. How many of you have seen two- five year olds walking around with kittens in what can only be described as a half-nelson? Those parents are dim-wits for allowing their kid to manhandle that pup. Plus, I would worry about the dog, Leena...that idiot had the dog off leash, of course she's going to get a good run in. I know too many people who claim their dogs are trained to "voice command" and it's total b.s. I know someone who believed her dog was voice trained and the dog saw a squirrel, ran after it (ignoring the commands), ran into the street and was instantly killed by a car. Vacuumfreak, your outrage is justifiable.

My DH tells me all the time that in his next life he is coming back as one of my cats. :)