My neighbor's dog just killed their rabbit :(

[doublemom2]

My daughter was outside taking Monkey for a walk this morning when she noticed our neighbor's dog (not the ones with the Dobi or the English Bulldog, different neighbors) who is a little tiny mutt of a thing, dragging their huge white rabbit across the lawn. She ran in to get me, and I saw big chunks of white fur in the dog's mouth. The rabbit is wedged into the corner of the fence, can't tell if it's alive or not. I ran around and pounded on their front door but nobody answered, though all their cars are there. Called animal control, and they're sending someone out, though they said that by now most likely the rabbit is dead. It's their pet rabbit, poor thing must have gotten out somehow

Kara has such a kind, huge heart, she's such an animal lover, and she's really freaked out about having seen the whole thing and not being able to do anything. She was just standing by the fence yelling at the dog every time it would go near the bunny. So hard to explain to kids that sometimes you can't do anything in a situation like this... we did all we could by pounding on the front door and calling animal control. Ugh!!!! I hate dealing with stuff like this, just needed to vent.

Now... hopefully animal control will finally do something about their goats while they're out, we've had multiple calls into them for nuisance issues, and the fact that they're breaking three city ordinances by having the goats there in the first place. I hate being a tattle-tale, but the stupid goats are loud and smelly and since I work from home, I have to listen to them all day long.

OK, done venting...

Andi

[Midnight Reiter Too]

I'm sorry. When my youngest animal lover was about twelve, I saw dead bunnies in our planter outside. I put them all in a brown paper bag and into the trash so she wouldn't see them. She looked in the trash and found them. I always tried to protect her. Well, I'm a bird lover and I don't like cats. My daughter likes both. She took in a stray cat that ate her daughter's pet parakeet. I was devastated. She explained to her daughter that the cat wasn't bad; cats just naturally eat birds. That cat died the next day. Then our daughter bought two parakeets. I said, "Don't you dare get a cat!" She did. The male parakeet was so stressed that he ate his wooden perch and died. The female was scared all the time. Finally, our daughter gave the female to us. It has taken about two months for the female to start relaxing at our house. Yesterday, our daughter told us that she let her three children watch a friend shoot a farm raised rabbit for dinner.

[Spider]

First, sorry your daughter had to watch a dog be a dog. About cats and birds, my first cat, Spider was fine with my finches. I got the birds long after I got the cat, she was indoor only from 5 months old and her only experience with "feather toys" were the birds on the other side of the plate glass door. Thump, birds aren't attainable! Katie loves harassing the birds and I have to crate her while I'm at work because I live in an efficiency apartment. I've not been able to curb this behavior. Cat's will be cats unless their raised differently.

I don't understand shooting a captive rabbit. When I had pet rabbits the books explained how to kill a rabbit for meat, basically by breaking the neck. I would think shooting it would damage the meat a bit, there's not that much landscape on even a meat rabbit.

[doublemom2]

I know it wasn't the dog's fault, he was just being a dog. Same as if my cats wandered outside and killed birds or mice, it's in their nature and it's what they do. It's just that these neighbors tend to "collect" animals and then not take care of them properly. They have goats, cats, dogs, rabbits, and who knows what else inside the house. When we asked them to make sure their goats can't get over the fence into our yard, they strung up an electric line attached to the chain link fence to make it look like they did something, but it's not connected to electricity in any way, it's just to make us think they did something. Their having goats are breaking at least three city codes, but they don't care. Little things like that... Just more irresponsible pet owners that we have to share our world with And unfortunately, it's the innocent ones like the poor rabbit who suffer the consequences.

Andi

[gamekeeper]

After 50 years of breeding dogs I find that I have all I can do to take care of our animals and never notice anyone elses.

[Pandora]

Andi, that is really a shame your daughter had to see this. I guess children can't be protected from the way the world is.
I think you did what was best.

[Justaysam]

I know how your daughter feels. I once saw my Westie, from and upstairs window, get into a rabbit burrow out in our front yard. By the time my son and I got down the stairs and out the door, it was too late. It wasn't his fault, it is a terriers job to do what he did. My son tried to take what babies were left and care for them, but was ofcourse unsuccessful. He even went and got formula from a vet and tried to feed them with an eye dropper. He was, I think 16 at the time, and was terribly disapointed and upset with "his" dog over the whole thing. Its hard lessons when they live that kind of stuff.