"Pet" peeves

I really can't stand it when people allow their dogs to bark all hours of the night. We had people who lived three doors down and never played with their dog. Sweet dog too, and I'm not a dog person. The poor think would bark all night for attention and sometimes all day. It was anytime they were home. My husband is a light sleeper and after three nights of no sleep because of the dog he went to the guys house and asked him to please keep the dog from barking all night. The owner proceded to curse and threaten my husband and said his dog could do whatever he wanted. Well, after two fines of $100 the dog became an indoor dog. Finally the dog got what he was wanting and we got a peaceful night of sleep ! If you aren't going to spend time with your pet then don't get one!!

@Wildcavy and @MLT2007 and @asnnbrg
I am glad that Wildcavy brought up the fact that gas chambers arent exactly humane. My point I was trying to make really comes from the fact that everyone should know what gas chamber killings are like. Believe me, you would re-think dumping the animal on the street. With shelters often having an ACTUAL re-homing rate of 5%, the animal probably wont get adopted. Getting thrown in the gas chamber is arguably one of the most inhumane things humans do to animals. The shrill screaming of the animals as the gas is kicking in would be enough to prove that point. Further, the gas doesnt always kill them. This means you have dying animals thrown into the city dump who wait and linger and the death sets it, often as they are suffocating among other dead animals in garbage bags. THis is just a small portion of the reality of gas chamber killings and yes, there are plenty of places who still use them! Its also important to note that heart-stick euthanasia requires serious trainging and practice to be humane. Probably is, when shelters use them, they often dont know what they are doing hence why it finally started becoming illegal. They would stick it to the animal and miss, often resulting in lungs being punctured and a slow, agonizing death. THere is a far more humane euthanasia which is often what people think about and is more often used by vets but gas chambers are still often the norm for these shelters aka "Humane" society.

MLT2007 said:

@Wildcavy I was not aware of the gassing. I assumed all euthanasia was performed via injection. Thank you so much for sparing the details. I don't like to read that stuff, and I can guarantee that I won't be googling it anytime soon!!

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There are several forms of euthanasia. Most are terrifyingly awful. The old-fashioned gunshot euthanasia is still used in some places for horses, cows, etc..

Kelsie said:

I'll add my pet peeve about cats or maybe I should this is about cat owners. People who tell you how much they love their cats and then let them out to roam the neighborhood. I wish I had a dollar for everyone who told me how cats need to roam free. Why can't they understand how their cats kill birds and small animals. My cat who passed away 5 years ago at the age of 18 was never allowed to go outside. She was very happy and healthy living indoors her whole life. I saw so many sad situations regarding injured cats, cats who contracted FELV or FIV from infected cats, cats who were attacked by dogs, and recently cats who were killed by coyotes, during the time I worked in the vet field. If you love your cat and care about both your neighbors and the wildlife, please keep your cat indoors.

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THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cats are cute small fuzzy creatures, they might be predators but they are also prey animals...

Land Sharks (aka tiny little dogs that aren't trained) UGH...

and loose dogs in cars/truck beds. I call them adorable projectiles...there's crates, and this nice little harness that allows you to click a seatbelt through. If you put your kid in a car seat/seatbelt, do the same thing for your dog please.

When I travel with my pigs, they're in a crate, and secured by a seatbelt as well.

Oh and people who don't pick up their dog crap.

And my neighbors, who like to let their pitbull and rotwiler run around off leash throughout the neighborhood, and bark at all hours of the night. Not all rotties/Pitters are bad, I know that. These ones are. They aren't well socialized, when they aren't tied out at all hours/days/night they are roaming the neighborhood. Animal control has been called many times, so now they do their best to keep them tied, but still...

OH

Exclusively Chained Dogs. Why get a dog if you're just gonna tie it outside and ignore it?

My biggest pet peeve is when someones pet is ill, and they dont do anything about it! Also when people keep animals with different speicies. I mean, when people keep rabbits with guinea pigs, they cant understand each other. Because when a Cavy chatters its teeth, they are angry. But to rabbits, they are happily purring.

Skippie said:

There are several forms of euthanasia. Most are terrifyingly awful. The old-fashioned gunshot euthanasia is still used in some places for horses, cows, etc..

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A gunshot placed in the right spot on a horse's head is actually the most humane form of euthanasia in certain cases, at least according to my vet in IL. He carried a gun in his truck for that reason. He said that in some circumstances doing an injection isn't practical, and a bullet is more humane as long as it's done correctly. If so, the horse dies instantaneously. Thankfully, I've never had to see the theory tested, as my old horse died naturally, and the other older horses at the barn were able to be injected when their time came.

mufasa said:

A gunshot placed in the right spot on a horse's head is actually the most humane form of euthanasia in certain cases, at least according to my vet in IL. He carried a gun in his truck for that reason. He said that in some circumstances doing an injection isn't practical, and a bullet is more humane as long as it's done correctly. If so, the horse dies instantaneously. Thankfully, I've never had to see the theory tested, as my old horse died naturally, and the other older horses at the barn were able to be injected when their time came.

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^^^ This. It's quick and painless and they never know what hit them. We had to euth a llama a few years back. One shot, and she was gone. No struggle, no stress. She died in her pasture at home with familiar people around her, quietly lying in her favorite spot. I sure hope I go that peacefully.

@mufasa and @Field-of_Dreams
Unfortunatly, is usually is not done right. I have had to seen it done when animals from family farms are taken to the butcher. The butcher sends out an employee to tie up the animal outside with a rope, the shooter steps back several feet, and shoots. I never saw one shot kill the animal. Instead, I saw animals get shot in the neck, chest, etc. and drop to the ground to slowly bleed to death. In some cases, they are shot again and again. Most people can't make a straight shot. NOT humane.

I read that article. My cat is almost 18. He has been an outdoor cat since six months old (obviously with some supervision at that young) and he kills a lot of stuff but I dont always see the harm in it. He is fixed. he comes inside four times a day for food and we bring him in at night. The killing is just for fun but everything he kills reproduces rapidly! I know I know omg an animals life was taken, but it's just kind of how things happen. I dont mean to sound rude with all of that, but what am I missing here? with letting our cats outdoors we know the risks of cars, and fisher cats, and coyotes, but all of my cats have been outdoor cats and we have never really had a problem with it!

oops I guess I should add a pet peeve to this because thats what the thread is about....
When the hay you buy has A LOT more than normal of those flowery guys at the end. my pigs dont eat em'!

@(broken link removed) and @Field-of_Dreams
Unfortunatly, is usually is not done right. I have had to seen it done when animals from family farms are taken to the butcher. The butcher sends out an employee to tie up the animal outside with a rope, the shooter steps back several feet, and shoots. I never saw one shot kill the animal. Instead, I saw animals get shot in the neck, chest, etc. and drop to the ground to slowly bleed to death. In some cases, they are shot again and again. Most people can't make a straight shot. NOT humane.

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Then they are doing it wrong. They need to hire someone who CAN shoot. Sounds to me like they WANT to cause pain.

MonicaG said:

I read that article. My cat is almost 18. He has been an outdoor cat since six months old (obviously with some supervision at that young) and he kills a lot of stuff but I dont always see the harm in it. He is fixed. he comes inside four times a day for food and we bring him in at night. The killing is just for fun but everything he kills reproduces rapidly! I know I know omg an animals life was taken, but it's just kind of how things happen. I dont mean to sound rude with all of that, but what am I missing here? with letting our cats outdoors we know the risks of cars, and fisher cats, and coyotes, but all of my cats have been outdoor cats and we have never really had a problem with it!

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Because the overall effect is too many cats killing too many animals. Just because you haven't personally noticed a decrease in the number of birds, rodents and whatnot in your area doesn't mean there's not a problem. Read the articles.

Field-of-Dreams said:

Then they are doing it wrong. They need to hire someone who CAN shoot. Sounds to me like they WANT to cause pain.

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Exactly. The way Dr. O'Brien explained it, proper euthanization of a horse is done at close range, with the gun positioned in just the right spot. I've seen video of horse slaughterhouses that use gunshots, and they're nowhere near the horse and usually end up shooting multiple times and still often end up with a living horse when it's bled out. That's far from the humane method used by vets.

mufasa said:

Exactly. The way Dr. O'Brien explained it, proper euthanization of a horse is done at close range, with the gun positioned in just the right spot. I've seen video of horse slaughterhouses that use gunshots, and they're nowhere near the horse and usually end up shooting multiple times and still often end up with a living horse when it's bled out. That's far from the humane method used by vets.

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My friend has a laser pointer on her gun. She waited until Sara looked right at her and was still. It didn't take long, Sara wasn't afraid, just curious. She never knew what hit her.

I feel although a bullet is fast and quick when done right, a slaugher house may not be the best place for it, as the poor animals ARE petrified and panicking. But... I also cannot think of a "better" or more humane way.

millsma said:

Most of these have been about owner stupidity- but here is some things MY pets do to get under my skin.

When the cat sleeps on my face at night.
When my dog sneaks into the garbage, despite having a baby lock, and then gives the "I'm sorry I'm a bad dog, I don't know what happened. " face at me!
When my pigs realize veggie time is over, and then make me feel like the worlds worst mommy.

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My pigs do that when they have no more carrots or they see me put away the treat container

I hate when people bring small aggressive dogs to outdoor public places. I was at an outdoor farmers market in California with my Golden Retriever/Poodle mix (who is VERY well trained). I was buying some veggies or something when a small dog, I think a Chihuahua, walked up to him, started growling furiously and bit him on the nose! The people who owned him thought it was my fault to boot!! My poor Jack was whining with a bleeding nose (and didn't growl or make any threat to this dog) and had to be taken to the vet. I mean there's also small children there. They would have a lawsuit on their hands if a small child went up to pet it without asking.

@Kelsie , I also hate it when people let their cats out. I have had coyotes in my backyard on multiple occasions and I can't imagine what would happen if he was an indoor/outdoor cat. He's snuck out a couple times in his 13 years and every time I FREAKED.

Also, out neighbors have like 10 cats or more (I think they hoard them, sadly) and they are all indoor/outdoor cats. The thing that gets me is that they use our flower beds as litter boxes. OUR BACKYARD SMELLS LIKE POOP. I hate the thought of scaring cats, but we must chase them out of our yard... Not only are they outside but they can't have a very good diet, vet care, etc. Its terrible.

I have several....

1. Also on board with outdoor cats. But what's worse is people let them out and DO NOT SPAY/NEUTER THEM FIRST. "Oh its ok, its perfectly natural". BS. There is such an overpopulation of animals and it's because of peoples' ignorance.

2. People that drop off their animals in the country. Just because you drop your dog or cat in a rural area, doesn't mean the house the animal finds itself at isn't going to be taken care of. They seem to think that if they dump their animals by a farm, the farmer will take care of them. This is false. The farmers want to help them, but people dump their animals so frequently that the farmer gets overrun with visitors. My parents' house gets a lot of dumped off visitors. I take them to the humane society myself after letting them settle down for a day and have a meal. Its just sad.

3. I don't agree with declawing cats. It is literally chopping off the first part of your finger at the first knuckle. Yep, that's P1 - the first digit and that is what they take off for cats. Imagine running around with stubby fingers after they've been chopped off. Or not being able to balance when climbing, or if they get out and can't defend themselves. I've observed several declaw procedures and assisted on a few but I just don't think its right.

This isn't quite a "pet" peeve but I greatly dislike trophy hunters. I am a hunter, a very proud one. But I was taught that you use EVERY part of the animal as possible. The "unusable" parts always go in the garden for fertilizer , and that way it is still getting used. But every year, I find a deer carcass with its head chopped off and the meat left to rot. One deer can feed a family for quite some time! You wouldn't let steak rot on the ground, would you? Or waste food, right? Its the same thing. Why would you take the life of an animal and let most of it be disrespected?

Wildcavy said:

Classroom pets. My kids' school thinks it isn't any problem to leave a single guinea pig by herself at the school overnight in a small cage. Bunch of other critters there too. It's generally a really good school system, but we've gone toe to toe with the principals and with the superintendent and board, and it's the same story: they're just small animals.

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At my school, they do not allow them. They do allow fish which is still stretching it. I also think that my class is the only one with fish.....

I don't like the classroom pets, either. Most of the time they're not well taken care of.
But I remember my science teacher in 7th grade raising trout with our class, and we released them in the spring one weekend in a river. It was beautiful!
Now we're doing the same thing in Biology, the fish are well fed and taken care of, and the tank is pretty spacious considering they're all real small. So I have yet to experience all the horrors of classroom pets. But please, everyone, tell me about the times you've had!
I personally am against the frog/rat/salamander dissections. This I would consider a pet peeve because people do and have kept frogs as pets. There are virtual dissections, and they go out and kill a bunch if animals to be sliced open and have their dead bodies ridiculed by immature children! That is not the right way to go. Especially with the rats. All the students in Biology at my school last year (Honors Bio) did RAT dissections, which is ten times worse!
Sorry for my evil rant, everyone. That is my biggest pet peeve. I don't know why the people that have owed rats in the past and currently own them now do not advocate against rat dissection. If we could get it outlawed here, we could do it everywhere! Who agrees? *rally the troops*

At my school they do pig fetus dissections for the grade 12 biology students.
They're dead, but they still look so tiny and helpless. I hate the thought of it, and I don't think i'll participate next year.