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Sounds like you shouldn't be owning pets if you find them to be so disposable. Not every animal is going to be a perfect fit for a certain household. That doesnt mean you just have the animal killed. You either find a home that is a better fit for the animal, or give them to someone/someplace that can do a better job at matching the animal to the right home.
Nope, you are right-- I would not for a second continue to own a dog that killed another of my pets. No way. Just like I would not continue to own a dog that bit one of my kids, friends or family members. In the case of the killer, the death penalty is the solution. In the case of the biter, it would depend on whether or not it was provoked and the circumstances as to whether or not it would be put down but it sure wouldn't stay with me.
Oh, plenty of people still keep barn cats, because they are genuinely useful. And my parent's late, very domesticated kitty earned his keep keeping mice out of their house. MOST cats have serious levels of prey drive, and can't ever be completely trusted around small birds or small furries such as hamsters. (And because even a small scratch or nip from a cat can cause an infection that can quickly kill a bird, even large birds such as macaws should NOT be allowed contact with cats!)
Likewise, people still use terriers to kill vermin, and hunting breeds to track and retrieve game (both mammals and birds), and protection dogs for police work. Those dogs have and need prey drive to do their jobs.
And what YOU don't accept is that plenty of dogs still have real jobs to do. And as long as that is the case, dogs from those breeds are only going to be good pets if the owners take those dogs' traits into consideration BEFORE they get the dog.
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Why shouldn't the OP's friend pass the dog along to another owner who's willing and able to deal with the dog's prey drive? I'd happily take such a dog, as I have no small furries in my house and I wouldn't let the dog go roaming. Why should the animal receive a death sentence just because its current living situation isn't working out? How is what you propose any different than killing a dog because it sheds too much, or barks too loudly, or needs to be exercised for a couple of hours a day instead of being OK with a 15 minute walk twice a day?
Domestic animals aren't animate houseplants. They aren't infinitely adaptable to every living situation. And rehoming an animal that is not dangerous to people but has traits that are a problem in its current home is sometimes a good solution to the problem of a bad fit.
The overwhelming majority of dogs, like horses, do not seriously have jobs to do. They have been taken out of the market by technology. Come on. Its 2017. Do we really need bird dogs? Greyhound racing? NO. Dogs continue to be bred for this because people are vain and silly. But we already had that argument and must agree to disagree.
Though you use a convenient euphemism to describe killing what you are failing to mention is that the dog in question had much worse habits that barking too much or too much energy. He/she KILLED another creature, presumably another creature with which the dog was familiar and maybe even friendly. In my house that is a no go. You can cozy up to such an animal all you want.
Nope, you are right-- I would not for a second continue to own a dog that killed another of my pets. No way. Just like I would not continue to own a dog that bit one of my kids, friends or family members. In the case of the killer, the death penalty is the solution. In the case of the biter, it would depend on whether or not it was provoked and the circumstances as to whether or not it would be put down but it sure wouldn't stay with me.
Biting and killing are absolute deal breakers.
Fine, then don't own or adopt an animal with a history of killing or harming another animal.
But why are you begrudging this dog a second chance with someone who doesn't feel the way that you do about the situation? There are many people who are fine with having a dog who is the only pet in the home and such people are a much better "solution" than your suggestion to kill the dog.
Fine, then don't own or adopt an animal with a history of killing or harming another animal.
But why are you begrudging this dog a second chance with someone who doesn't feel the way that you do about the situation? There are many people who are fine with having a dog who is the only pet in the home and such people are a much better "solution" than your suggestion to kill the dog.
Because it just doesn't make sense to keep an animal like that around. Why risk it when there are plenty of other animals who need homes who have not demonstrated this behavior? Let's say you were a neighbor of the owner with a beloved cat who one day escaped. This "second chance" dog kills your sweetie in savage fashion. Did any one consult YOU that this animal was moving in? I bet not. Are you now traumatized? I bet so. Is it your fault? No.
Unless an animal is either completely and totally isolated from any stimulus that would cause it to repeat behavior and can be guaranteed as such for life, why would you risk the pets of others? I certainly would not want to live next door, down the street or anywhere close to a dog like this if I had pets of my own or small kids. Stop thinking about the dog for a minute and consider that most of us live in proximity to one another and we ALSO might have pets or kids we cherish. In that context, this dog's life is certainly far less important.
I'm sorry, you misread my post. You shouldn't be owning any pets if you think they are so easily disposable.
You shouldn't be owning any pets if you would keep a dog around who killed them OR transferred killer Fido to some person who may live close to someone with a cat! Seriously. Big picture time. Do you know ALL the pets in your neighborhood? Can you GUARANTEE that this animal will never have a cat or other small dog hop over into the yard? How about a kid? Maybe YOU don't have a cat, but what about the lady down the street? Everyone has to be on guard because your dog can't control itself?
I live around other people. Current neighbors have a dog. There is a cat down the street who is indoor/outdoor. There is another dog across the street and I see a cat in the window a few houses down. I don't know if any of those dogs are good with cats or not. I don't know if any of those dogs are a danger. Most people don't know this stuff. So what works in one house may not work in the bigger picture of an entire community. Yet people say "save the dog" because they never think about what it might do to others. They think as long as there is no direct contact with a cat in THEIR house, its obviously okay. Not so, unless you have no neighbors of any sort.
Yes, we still need birds dogs. Plenty of people still hunt.
We also still use dogs to kill vermin (although not as much as we once did), to herd livestock, to do guard and protection work, and we've come up with new jobs for them as well, such as leading the blind and alerting the deaf to important sounds. Dogs aren't on the unemployment lines yet.
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Though you use a convenient euphemism to describe killing what you are failing to mention is that the dog in question had much worse habits that barking too much or too much energy. He/she KILLED another creature...
So what? Dogs are carnivores. All carnivores kill to eat, and even the most domesticated of them still retain some of those necessary survival instincts, which can resurface occasionally. Your friendly pet dog is also eating the flesh of other creatures daily, and needs to in order to stay healthy. Stop opening the Alpo can, and see how quickly those predatory instincts resurface in your nice, friendly "wouldn't hurt a fly" pooch when he gets REALLY hungry.
If you can't cope with the reality of predatory drive, you shouldn't own carnivores as pets.
Noah's Ark is a myth. And it's not just domestic carnivores who don't always get along with other species. I've ridden horses who'd happily stomp a dog to death (and no, you can't train that behavior away, you just have to keep that horse away from dogs).
Real animals aren't "furbabies." They have instincts we don't, and senses we lack, and drives we don't always completely understand. It's wrong to try to force them to be something they are not.
He/she KILLED another creature, presumably another creature with which the dog was familiar and maybe even friendly. In my house that is a no go.
Its a dog, stop giving dogs human traits. Dogs don't have morals or consciences like humans do. The dog didn't kill its friend. The dog killed an animal it saw as prey, because that is what animals do.
My parent's dogs have killed squirrels, rabbits, lizards, etc... Not because they are evil, sociopathic killers, but because they are animals.
When I was little I had 2 hamsters. After about a year of living together, one of the hamsters tried to kill the other. Should I have sentenced him to death? No, my parents simply bought another cage, and they happily lived out the rest of their lives in peace.
I've had friends who's hamsters got pregnant and ate the babies. They're animals they dont think like humans. They shouldn't be killed for doing something that we find morally objective because animals don't have the same thought process as us.
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