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I'm pretty sure this was discussed on this board several months ago- an elderly doctor in Florida who tortured and beat his dog to death and then shot himself a couple of days later. I know there were a lot of comments (were they here? Facebook? Newspaper article?) and I was certainly vociferous about the situation from the standpoint of a dog lover. I got a message today from his daughter- I think she must have gotten my name from the newspaper comments? I don't remember if there was a discussion here, but I am posting her searing note to me as an FYI. I did send her a strong message of apology back on Facebook. As I told her, I work in mental health and know a lot and have seen a lot (and hope I've given some small good back, both at work and with animals) and I was responding to the terrible image of a man torturing his dog, as a dog lover and adopter. I didn't think then how my comments would sound to that person's family or anyone connected with him, and will certainly think much more in the future.
Moderator cut: names removed for privacy
You made some comments about a man who beat a dog to death with a hammer and then killed himself. Thoughtless, stupid comments. I am that man's daughter. I am also the person who found him in his backyard after he'd put the barrel of a gun in his mouth and blew his brains out. Ever seen what that looks like ? I still have post traumatic stress disorder Irene, and mu 5 year old still cries almost every night. I also cleaned up the remain of what had been my dog. His name was Chico, a Brazilian name. He became vicious after my oldest daughter was born and almost killer her when she was 18 months old. My parents had him for 5 years along with their 2 other dogs, who were all loved.
Now I will tell you about my dad. He had a psychotic break. He was suffering from severe depression -- we didn't realize how bad or my mom would never have left him alone to go to a wedding outside of the country while he had to work. He was on a drug called Seroquel and ran out. You may want to read about what happens to people when they miss a couple days on Seroquel. None of us knew. Then go blame Astra Zeneca.
Now let me tell you about my dad. He was a humanist dedicated to bettering the world. When in private practice, he took in patients who had NO MONEY and NO INSURANCE and treated them just as well as his paying patients. Do you doctors who do that?? I don't. THen he spent 15 years running the Urgent Care Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in MIami, where he only saw patients who had no money and no insurance, as well as training young residents.
When my parent's 15 year old labrador could no longer climb up the stairs to their room where all 3 of the dogs slept, my dad would carry all 80 lbs of her EVERY NIGHT up the stairs. He wasn't a very large man and he had osteoporosis, so this was a major effort. But he did it. She died at age 16. All their friends said when they died they wanted to come back as one of my parent's dogs. That's how well they lived.
My dad also cared for his mother in law for 15 years in his home when her Alzheimer's got so bad she couldn't take care of herself. How many husbands do THAT???
Your comments and those like them, the unbalanced media reports that relied only on the police report and the testimony of two garbage men who zipped by & never got out of their trucks, & my dad's inability to live with what he had done, led him to kill himself. Why don't you consider how easy his choice would have been, sitting in his backyard, thinking of his wife, two daughters, two grandchildren as he felt the heaviness of the gun's metal in his hands and inserted it into his mouth. Imagine how you would feel finding you dad in an armchair, head thrown back, mouth wide open with blood pouring out of both sides, down his neck and pooling on the floor, a look of anguish on his face.
Take a good hard look at yourself and the contributions you have made to the world in your life before you judge others.
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 03-23-2014 at 11:39 AM..
Wow- how incredible sad for the family. The media do like to sensationalize these types of stories without ever taking the time to get to The Real Story, which is of course that this gentleman (and it does sound like he was gentle) was suffering terribly with mental illness. In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, this story is important. Our country makes it easier to access guns than mental health care and I am working to change this.
You are to be commended for sharing your story and your new awareness of how comments made without full facts can cause others so much pain. I sincerely hope this family has begun to heal and you forgive yourself as well.
Whoa. If that isn't a wake up call regarding *our* judgement of others, I don't know what is. Just because the media sensationalizes things doesn't mean we, as individuals, have to take the ball and run with it.
Thanks for posting this, bright. It has certainly opened my eyes to the huge responsibility I take on when commenting, posting or judging others.
I think that letter is a fake,
Who would go into such graphic details of their fathers suicide in a rebuttal?
Then to tell us the origin of the dogs name?
No, it's the man's daughter.
She sent me a gracious acceptance of my apology. I suspect the recent shooting in CT activated her in memory of the statements made against her father many months ago (or maybe she has only now been able to respond to those statements). I believe her and am grateful for her acceptance of my apology. I have certainly learned a lesson here.
Just my two cents, but... Do you think MAYBE it would have been better for you to just post snips, of an email, that is assumed (rightly or wrongly) private?
NOT attacking you or anything like that...
"xxx was seen attacking the brown and white beagle tied to a tree outside his home on Tuesday afternoon.
One witness said the 66-year-old then impaled the dog with a screwdriver in the area of the dog's ear and throat with what was described as a 'grinding motion.'"
Just two days earlier, police arrested xxx on one count of animal cruelty with intent to kill, a third-degree felony.
According to Bay Harbor Islands police Capt. John Robertazzi, the doctor told police he was fed up with his beagle's misbehavior.
He said he attacked the dog because it 'was defecating and urinating in the residence and kept running away.'
The doctor allegedly admitted that he struck the dog an unknown number of times on the head with a hammer, and that the dog wobbled for a while before dying.
The arrest affidavit says that xxxx "struck the dog an unknown amount of times on the head with a hammer" and that "the dog was yelping and appeared to have brain matter emitting from its head."
at least we are rid of him.
still the letter is a little graphic and lacks the emotions id' expect, but I've been wrong before.,
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 03-23-2014 at 11:41 AM..
I don't understand why she mentions that 5 years ago, Chico became "vicious" and tried to kill her 18 month old child.
And did her father leave a note about why he did any of this, or is that a guess on her part of his thoughts during his final moments? Having survived a beloved family member's irrational moments before suicide, the clean up of a life cut short, id'g a destroyed body (dh had that job), I understand how horrific the whole thing is, and anyone who goes through any part of that has my sympathies. But absent a note to that effect, I wouldn't automatically assume the end was the product of a rational thinking process.
Given all the recent media attention on both the horrible side effects and withdrawal effects of modern anti-depressants, I hope she also provided these additional background facts to media outlets who initially gave only part of the story, which lead to your response - which could only have been thoughtless or stupid if you'd had all the facts in hand and still said whatever you did. Otherwise, it was hurtful to her, but unintentional. And if it is important enough to track down a complete stranger months later to provide never before shared details and to be angry with you for what you couldn't have known, then I assume she probably already has provided the same info to the offending news outlets and demanded retraction or updates.
I also don't know what to make of that last line about you needing to take a good hard look at whether your level of contributions to the world makes you worthy enough as a person to render any judgments about anyone else. I don't get what one thing has to do with the other? I assume she apologized for saying that to you in the heat of the moment.
I am truly glad that you are at peace and comfortable with the outcome. Many times there is more to the story than we know, and it is a good reminder for all of us to keep in mind when we comment about things we read. I think you are spot on that it is mostly about the way we approach something, or the way we say it. Because keeping quiet in fear that we might not have all the facts will sometimes let an evil doer go free, and that isn't good either. I know people in my state who have done wonderful things for other humans, and are best known for their good works, but have been cruel to animals - this is not an unheard of thing by any means.
Last edited by sugarsugar; 12-18-2012 at 03:28 PM..
That is simply a awful situation no matter how you look at it. I feel bad for everyone involved, the dogs, the people there isn't a winner here.
That is very tragic. I simply can't understand how people can hurt a animal like this. It is sad.
"xxx was seen attacking the brown and white beagle tied to a tree outside his home on Tuesday afternoon.
One witness said the 66-year-old then impaled the dog with a screwdriver in the area of the dog's ear and throat with what was described as a 'grinding motion.'"
Just two days earlier, police arrested xxx on one count of animal cruelty with intent to kill, a third-degree felony.
According to Bay Harbor Islands police Capt. John Robertazzi, the doctor told police he was fed up with his beagle's misbehavior.
He said he attacked the dog because it 'was defecating and urinating in the residence and kept running away.'
The doctor allegedly admitted that he struck the dog an unknown number of times on the head with a hammer, and that the dog wobbled for a while before dying.
The arrest affidavit says that xxx "struck the dog an unknown amount of times on the head with a hammer" and that "the dog was yelping and appeared to have brain matter emitting from its head."
at least we are rid of him.
still the letter is a little graphic and lacks the emotions id' expect, but I've been wrong before.,
So he'd been arrested for attacking the dog two days before he finally killed it? An arrest is kind of a big deal, esp. for animal abuse. And there were witnesses.
So, did he live alone? If not, why didn't someone remove the dog from the premises and save its life before that final attack?
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 03-23-2014 at 11:42 AM..
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