advice on a puppy??

cookie82

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January

I'm sorry, I understand you're hurting from losing your puppy in such an horrific way but you can't honestly expect your neighbours to shell out 350 euro for a new puppy so close to Christmas. They may not have the money.

Yes, I know their cat killed your dog but in all honesty I don't think they sent the cat out to get it. I know it's not the answer your looking for but grieve for your puppy and stop looking for your money back.

There's plenty of puppies in shelters looking for new homes. Why don't you check there for a new companion?

lrushe

So sorry to hear about poor Belle, she was beautiful. Not sure what you can do to get your money back if even a solicitor can't help? I often make the mistake of expecting people to be as honest as I try to be unfortunately that's not always the case.
Have you thought about rescuing a puppy/dog, the only thing most rescue centres require is a small donation to cover the cost of vacinating, worming and spay/nuetering the dogs which will save you money in the long run

cookie82

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scudzilla

Damn, that's pretty bad.

I for one would not be happy with that cat still coming onto my land, i know i'll probably get jumped on for this but i'd make sure that every time it strayed into my garden it got totally soaked from a hosepipe. It'd soon learn not to come in again

Santrypad

Sorry to hear that, sounds horrific.

Personally if it was me Id feel responsible and offer at least some sort of reinbursment but obviously thats not going to be the case.

Think the best thing is blank your neighbour and try get another dog from the pound, good ones can be got from there, and if you happen to see the cat in your garden again then do whatever you deem fit to keep it out and prevent it happening again.

cookie82

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Son Of A Vidic

What happened to you doesn't surprise me one bit, that's what cat's do.
Ask Bill Oddie the famous bird watcher and conservationist what he thinks of cat's and he'll tell you they are vermin. I seen him saying this on Autumn watch last year, he reckons they kill 80 - 90 million various species of animals every year in the U.K. As he himself said - ''cat's are the serial killers of the animal world'' - they kill mainly for pleasure and sport. They really should be controlled because the damage they cause to nature is unmeasurable.
I have never hurt an animal in my life, but if it was my puppy I would have no problem 'removing' the cat. Think of all the animals who would live because of this. My German shepherd would always play with a male blackbird in our garden a couple of years ago - seriously. Then I found the blackbird dead under a tree at the bottom of the garden after I returned from walking the dog. My dog was intensely picking up a scent trail at the scene, I knew it was upset, within moments it had tracked a cat to a thick briar outside my garden. The dog forced it's way in through thorns caught the lurking killer and broke it's neck with one powerful bite. it then drop it immediately like it was dirt and came back out covered in thorns. My next door neighbour told me the next day she seen Ms xxxx cat killing the bird, the same cat the dog executed - justice or what! My advice to you is get a larger breed dog that will physically intimidate the cat in future.

peasant

Very sorry to hear of the fate of your dog.

I'll probably get chastised for saying so on this very emotional forum (also there is no other way to say it but in a harsh way) but in my opinion there are circumstances in your situation that do not make you a good owner of a puppy dog.

Firstly, a dog is not a toy for a three year old. Never, Under no circumstances.
Secondly, a pup is just as much work as a young child, if not more and needs just as much supervision and commitment (as you have found out the hard way)
And thirdly, I would think that with a three year old and a five month old on your hands you simply do not have the time to look after a pup as well.

My advice would be to wait a little bit longer until your oldest is old enough to be expected to assume at least some responsibility for the dog and your youngest is out of the "intensive care" phase before considering another dog.

Paul91

medicman2009 wrote: »

My German shepherd would always play with a male blackbird in our garden a couple of years ago - seriously. Then I found the blackbird dead under a tree at the bottom of the garden after I returned from walking the dog. My dog was intensely picking up a scent trail at the scene, I knew it was upset, within moments it had tracked a cat to a thick briar outside my garden. The dog forced it's way in through thorns caught the lurking killer and broke it's neck with one powerful bite. it then drop it immediately like it was dirt and came back out covered in thorns. My next door neighbour told me the next day she seen Ms xxxx cat killing the bird, the same cat the dog executed - justice or what! My advice to you is get a larger breed dog that will physically intimidate the cat in future.

in my teens I had a dog, lab/collie cross she was a mild manered as could be, my sister had a cat, i'm not really a cat person but he was OK - anyway a couple of times the cat killed either birds or fish (from neighbours pond) and brought them back to the house, my dog went ballistic with him everytime - it's as if the dog knew that cat was in the wrong- I prefer Dogs everytime, I have a GS and a Boxer/lab at the moment, both of them hate, and i mean hate cats, luckily i keep them on leads when out - i would fear for any cat coming into our garden

cookie82

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madrabui

unfortunately hubby has lost his job in the meantime and im on maternity so we are not exactly able to buy another puppy?

You would need a few hundred spare in case a dog needs to go to the vet. I'd hold back a while until you can spare the cash. The alternative is to buy pet insurance. It's costing me about 100€ a year for one labrador at the moment.

Cookie - I forgot to say I'm so sorry for you and the puppy.

peasant

cookie82 wrote: »

im sure that if you were in my situation you would not be happy either.

Of course I wouldn't be happy either.

But I wouldn't blame the cat for doing what comes naturally to it.

Paul91

peasant wrote: »

Of course I wouldn't be happy either.

But I wouldn't blame the cat for doing what comes naturally to it.

cats and dogs pee to mark their territory, if one pee'd in your house would you blame it?

Inexile

Sorry to read about your pup it must have been very distressing for you. However, I think you need to take a step back. Imagine if the pup had been killed by a hawk you or it had got sick would have no way to recoup the cost of the pup, unless it was insured. To echo a bit of what peasant said earlier you too are partially at fault. you had a very small pup, knew that there was the possibility of cats being around and left it on its own, albeit for a few minutes. Im not blaming you but cats are cats they will roam, chase and kill smaller animals. The cat was acting on its instinct and I dont think asking the neighbours to get rid of their pet is fair. On the issue of the neighbours paying compensation - they may see the whole episode as an accident which they are not responsible for. these people are your neighbours who you got on with previously could you not come to some resolution rather than just demand payment.

If your family want dog get in touch with your local resuce and talk to them about a pup or older small dog.

peasant

Paul91 wrote: »

cats and dogs pee to mark their territory, if one pee'd in your house would you blame it?

No, I'd blame myself for either not letting it out in time, not training it properly or not spotting that it had a medical condition

Paul91

peasant wrote: »

No, I'd blame myself for either not letting it out in time, not training it properly or not spotting that it had a medical condition

so would you blame yourself for your cat attacking a puppy as you didn't have it trained properly? i leave the argument there as it is OT

peasant

Paul91 wrote: »

so would you blame yourself for your cat attacking a puppy as you didn't have it trained properly?

I would certainly feel awful about my cat killing somebody elses pet, particularly as you wouldn't normally expect a cat to kill a dog (rather the other way round)

But I would not blame myself for lack of training, as cats are untrainable when it comes to supression of hunting instincts.

cookie82

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Kooli

If you can't afford a new puppy how on earth can you afford to look after a dog?

And I agree that your reasons for getting a dog are very dubious, not that that necessarily makes you a bad pet owner.

It's an absolutely awful thing to have happened, I'm very sorry.

Paul91

Kooli wrote: »

If you can't afford a new puppy how on earth can you afford to look after a dog?

a €700 payout for a puppy (€350 first time and €350 second) is a hefty payout in one go, which i couldn't afford, but i can afford €3000 a year to feed and look after my dogs as it is spread across the year, OP i'd be miffed off if i was you and would also expect the neighbours to pay up, did you try citizens advice as opposed solicitor

cookie82

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kildara

Really sorry to hear, that is a terrible thing to happen to any animal.

Did you have insurance on the puppy? As most insurance policys will cover the cost of an animals death.

Whilst what happened is a terrible thing - the Animal & Pet forum may not be the right place to be seeking advice on how to patch things up with your neighbour, or how to get them to pay for the puppy etc.

Would you not consider waiting until a suitable puppy comes into a shelter near you? Or even bring your current dog and daughter to a shelter and get a dog that suits everybody?

peasant

cookie82 wrote: »

buying the pup for my little girl was because of the way i was reared by my parents this is why i did it i just dont understand why people think its so wrong of me i was fully prepared to love and care for the pup myself i was not going to leave it for my 3 year old to care for it.

But you have a dog already?

Can your daughter not get her animal interaction (which I agree is a good thing in principle) from the dog that's already there?

Paul91

i'd say wait a while, see if things pick up and look a dog/puppy from one of teh rescure groups on here www.irishanimals.ie

perfectly understand not wanting to cause anamosity with the neighbour also, maybe just try and have a calm polite chat, explain that you understand that they never meant the cat to hurt your puppy, but you where very upset, and if they can't afford to help you now with getting another puppy maybe they could in the future, but for now you just want to put it behind you?

Paul91

peasant wrote: »

But you have a dog already?

and? if they want another and can look after it and care for it why shouldn't they?

cookie82

thank you everyone for your comments