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my neighours GSD has killed all our pets

21K views 153 replies 44 participants last post by  kiya 
#1 · (Edited)
hello, sorry just asking for advice. Our neighbours keep a GSD. Their fence lost two panels in the storms last Feb, they rang us up on the day it happened saying ''we know it's our fence, don't worry we'll get it sorted etc''.

Anyhow, weeks went past - then the delivery driver let them down, then they were waiting for nicer weather, then they were waiting for a public holiday so they'd have more time to do it & c & c - you get the picture - lots of talk ''no, don't worry mate, I have the panels on order'', ''I haven't forgotton I'm fixing the fence'' and no action - it's their fence but the only thing that stopped me fixing it myself a fortnight ago was their absolute insistance that they most definitely had the materials now and would do it at the weekend

Anyway the upshot is, 5 months down the line, their GSD managed to get into our garden whilst we were on holiday (we only went for two days) and killed all our children's pets (which were hutched). We'd long since stopped putting our pets out in their run because we were worried if the dog got through it could tip over the run, but we (niavely, as it turns out, not being dog owners ourselves) didn't think that the dog would be able to get into all the hutches.

We are beyond distraught. Our ASD son has curled into the foetal position and will not communicate with any of us at all. My daughter is supposed to be sitting significant exams today, and the 5 yr old is inconsolable.


I am SO angry. It's one thing if a dog exploits a gap, or if the wind had blown down the fence in the night and no one knew - but they had 5 months to sort this out, and we've asked on many, many occasions.

Apparantly the complete massacre of our family pets has given them a ''wake up call'' and they will now actually do something about the fence.

So, how would you guys handle this if it were your dog? I'm not familiar with GSDs at all. I am so angry with the owner.
 
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#31 ·
If you are certain their dog is responsible for the disaster created, I'd hold them 100% responsible. Tell these pricks to pay for all your damages AND THEN SOME....geeezzz...talk about complete irresponsible people..!!!

If they haven't already offered to step up to the plate and repay your losses then I'd take them to small claims court.

I understand the "delicacy" of getting along with your neighbors but these assbags are totally taking advantage of you...and it will NOT get better if you cut them any slack.

As Robert Frost ( I believe ) once stated " Good fences make good neighbors"......not fences missing panels.


SuperG
 
#32 ·
Im so sorry this happened to you and your kids. My best advice for future, get a surveillance camera. They sell pretty inexpensive ones now a days that can work with your phone.
 
#37 ·
Sad but true.....culpability is on the endangered "species" list. Too many people nowadays simply don't give a crap about others...but they sure have plenty of excuses and know how to play the victim, when in fact they are just simply selfish pricks.

Putting up your own fence is a costly inconvenience but in order to secure what is near and dear to you, it may be your only remedy since your neighbors are completely worthless.

I know it's a horrible thought since it is not the dog's fault....but the karma of the situation might end up where the dog gets loose through the flawed fence and gets hit by a car....problem with that is...your neighbor's most likely don't give a crap about their dog as well...so even if that did happen...they'd probably not even care.

SuperG
 
#35 ·
That wasn't arrogant at all. You want to get your kids out of the depression and this is how you do it.

That was a good suggestion

ETA to me it seems like you're more interested in punishing them than helping your kids deal with it

I'm not judging, i'd be fuming too but then be honest about what you're asking about. It did seem like you needed suggestions to help your kids deal with it


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#40 ·
That wasn't arrogant at all. You want to get your kids out of the depression and this is how you do it.

That was a good suggestion


they different ages, different colourings, different sizes, different lengths of hair. At age 5, 11 and 14 the children ARE going to notice. I can't magically find guinea pigs that look the same with the unique colourings they all had. It's not like goldfish or any kind of pet which has a uniform appearance.

Are you seriously suggesting your children at these kind of ages WOULD'T notice if you swapped dogs they had had for anything up to 8 years?
 
#36 ·
disregard scarfish, he has been known to make insensitive comments.

I'm sorry for your loss, I would be a basket case like your family.

I'd report them to your local "whatever" not sure what you have over there. I would tell the owners, they have 3 days to fix that fence or your going to push this as far as you can. (again not sure what legally can be done).

I'm so sorry for your kids especially:( While you say you don't want any more pets, and nothing will really replace what you've lost, maybe it would be "healing" for the kids to get another pet(s)...Something they can focus on that could be positive instead of this terrible tragedy:(
 
#39 ·
lalachka, my opinion, .rather insensitive and not really worded in a sensitive manner.

It's kind of like saying, if your beloved dog died, hey go get another one , tell them it went on a holiday and just came back..
 
#44 ·
The trouble i have is it's a boundary fence which separates the two properties, and legally it's theirs. If I had to build on the inside of it, we'd have to dig up all our fruit trees and patio, it would also affect the required gap between out property and the boundary (which IIRC is specified in the legal documents in all the properties here). It's not just a question of forking out for a new fence, which'd be one thing. It's going to be a very costly job both legally and practically, I don't know if I can run to that sort of cost at the moment.
 
#48 ·
so very sorry . I am having real difficulty thinking this was the actions of a dog . Too much finesse.

Do you have weasels or stoats, even there you would have some evidence of panic in the huthces.

Are you certain you don't have some nutter in the neighbourhood , animal rights type, that knew your pets were outside , while you were away for extended time, and took it upon themselves to "liberate" them. Lift them out of the hutches and let them run free enjoying your grassy yard (making them vulnerable) .

Did someone complain that animals were left without care and they were taken in as a rescue.
Did someone take them in feeling that you didn't deserve them, leaving them "outside" , feeling that they should have gone to care with someone volunteering to look after them for the time period.

Maybe this is what you can tell the children , they may not be dead ?????

It just does not sound like a dog did this.
 
#51 · (Edited)
We were only gone two days. They are outside animals by definition, so leaving them in an outside hutch shouldnt' be an issue AT ALL. Our other neighbour was coming in twice a day and feeding them, we'd supplied her with food and a key, and checking their water. They were in clean hutches - we cleaned them immediately before we left, when we came back there was still food, fresh fruit and water in the hutch . The weren't neglected in anyway at all

What I think really happened is the dog owner's daughter came round , got them out to have a look and the dog followed her over. That's what I actually think happened.

We've kept them (or their precessors )outside for 13 years. We've never ever had a problem like this & most of the ones we've had have lived to 8 years, which is a pretty good innings for a guinea pig so we clearly must have been doing something right
 
#53 ·
gimme a break. i wasn't being insensitive. that's the first thing that would come to my mind in that situation. i thought the major problem was with the kids suffering. i didnt't think suggesting secretly replacing a rodent or a fish for the KIDS is major insult. sorry i took the time to post in this serious business thread. unless you live on a farm, important animals live in the house, not in cages outside. HTH
 
#55 ·
Either take them to small claims court for damages or in lieu of that, you put out some financial expense and build your own fence and ask your neighbors to pay half.

If they were really nice neighbors they would offer this and offer to replace yours pets.
I also like Msmaria's advice about getting a surveillance camera.
 
#58 ·
First let me say I am truly sorry for the loss of your pets and how it has affected your family.

I read this thread, at first thinking you meant there was no evidence that the dog broke into the hutch. Now it sounds like there is no evidence that the animals were killed in your yard. If the neighbor has taken responsibility for their dog killing your pets did they say what they did with the deceased animals? Something definitely sounds fishy here, I think there is more to the story that you may not yet be aware of. Sounds more like they were stolen or possibly released and not harmed to me.

Did this happen on day 1 or 2 of your vacation? Even if the animals were left for dead in your yard and eaten by another predator there would be visible evidence……….

I also hope that your family will eventually open your hearts to some new pets. Children are resilient and I believe it will help them to heal.
 
#60 ·
apparantly it happened about an hour before we got home - so in broad daylight about 7.30 pm when there were still plenty of people about .

I can't fathom why the neighbour would say his dog killed them if it didn't. He handed a bag over of loose fur from one of the larger animals, which was also long haired. There was enough to make me think something awful must have happened to it - but no blood or pelt.

We've lived here 16 years, had guinea pigs outside for 13 years and NEVER had any problems with wild-er animals getting in or worrying them .

Like I said it's very, very common for people to keep hutched animals here outside, it isn't usually an issue at all.

Of course there is always the once, but even things like foxes are uncommon in the day light hours here
 
#59 ·
I know we have more predators than England but little animals like that would not last long here outside long unless the hutch was Fort Knox. Raccoons, foxes, cats, can be pretty devious.

I think the sad fact is that if you keep small critters outside you do assume a certain risk both from two legged and four legged critters. People are kind of nuts anymore if they see an animal caged.

With the lack of trauma around the cages it does sound like someone let them loose. If you do get some kind of outside animal in the future you may want to lock the cages.

I'm sorry this happened and I wish I had suggestions for your kids. The only thing I can think of is some kind of an indoor pet, maybe a cat or something would be something to love but would not seem like a replacement.
 
#63 ·
lalachka - Good lord you are argumentative and defensive. I'm not arguing with you. You got quoted because the OP's post was in there. Whatshisface suggested replacing the pet and trying to pull a fast one on the kids that they were the same pets. That is a terrible idea. Getting another pet is not a terrible idea.

Personally I have way to much crap in my life right now to engage with you so you'll have to find someone else to get in their face.
 
#68 ·
This sounds wrong to me. I can't believe they'd blame their dog if the dog didn't do it but I don't think he did.

Does the fur look like it was cut or ripped out?

If the dog did do it - it's their fault. I think it's their fault either way. Maybe you're right about their daughter. Maybe she did something and they're covering up for her


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#66 ·
So, how would you guys handle this if it were your dog? I'm not familiar with GSDs at all. I am so angry with the owner.
Had to go back to see why you posted. LOL

My dogs? I cant see this happening unless the critters somehow got into my fenced area, and then in all honesty bets are off.... We live in a rural area and are pretty careful with our fences.

But if somehow this did happen and my dogs were responsible I would be asking you what I could do to help make it right.
 
#67 ·
:( Sounds like that's evidence to me. Were the hutches wire? Like a rabbit hutch? I wonder if something more secure similar to a fully enclosed chicken coop might be safer? It would be much harder for the dogs to get into. Just don't have any doors that flap that they can get through.
 
#70 ·
The hutches were made from solid wood (which is undamaged,not even scratched) with a wire panel, also undamaged. They are actually quite like a smaller version of a hen-coop indeed, there is an entirely enclosed (apart from a small guinea pig sized tunnel) area. Usually if you try and catch the guinea pigs themselves they bat about from one end to to the other like crazy, which means you'd have to have both the door to the main area, and the separate door to the seculded end open at the same time to catch them.
 
#74 ·
the fur is like tufts of hair, but loose, like if you've groomed a long haired pet.

It's all odd. I think that's what bugs me the most. There was some fur still near the hutch of the same kind, but that's literally all, no blood or anyting. Mountains of dog diorehha though

My guess is that they were not in their hutches. Somehow they got out. I've seen what a dog can do to a wire crate to get out. That wire (assuming 0.25"-0.5" welded wire) would have been torn apart.

My dogs have killed wood chucks. It's fun to chase. It's prey drive. But they are fine with the cat they live with because they are taught to be nice...he's off limites. Dogs have a natural prey instinct like any carnivore but can know the difference between what is off limits.
 
#71 ·
the fur is like tufts of hair, but loose, like if you've groomed a long haired pet.

It's all odd. I think that's what bugs me the most. There was some fur still near the hutch of the same kind, but that's literally all, no blood or anyting. Mountains of dog diorehha though
 
#77 ·
the fur is like tufts of hair, but loose, like if you've groomed a long haired pet.

It's all odd. I think that's what bugs me the most. There was some fur still near the hutch of the same kind, but that's literally all, no blood or anyting. Mountains of dog diorehha though
If there are mountains of feces everywhere in your back yard, I suspect your critters were loose and the dog ran around the yard after them.

I had four Aussie dogs that broke into my chicken coop. I had 12 chickens. I found two. The rest were eaten. There was a few feathers, but nothing else. No blood. Nothing. I honestly didn't think my dogs did it. I thought they had gotten loose and chased off a bunch of coyotes. Until my dogs started pooping. They did it alright.

I also had a large flight cage on my back patio. I had twenty budgies in it. It was winter and I had the cage covered and a heat lamp on it. The next morning when I went to ready the cage for day, there were 11 dead birds in the cage. The rest of the birds were gone. Totally gone. A few loose feathers at the bottom, but nothing else. No open doors, no holes in the cage. Nothing. It was under a tarp. I had a dog in a kennel just inside the glass door where the cage stood. Not a peep from her.

Because I couldn't find out how the birds died and went missing, I didn't want to get anymore. I couldn't keep them safe. I understand that part of how you are feeling.
 
#75 ·
My neighbor decided to randomly work on the fence and he has signs all over it on OUR property saying "not to pile rubbish or garbage" against "his" fence...OH and he has a GATE into our yard. Needless to say I ripped off the signs and zip-tied the gate shut and we're planning on building another one about 2-3 feet away from his (so he can stain his fence whenever he needs to). We looked at the property line too and he built into our lot. Easier just to build another fence around his especially since he hasn't touched the fence in about a month and it's not even finished.

He treats us like we're renters...which we're not. It's been an ongoing battle for two years (money's been tight). I'm not a fan of not getting along with my neighbors but if he can't respect our property all bets are off. Gunther doesn't even let him pet him and he LOVES everyone. If my dog doesn't trust him neither do I.

I also think they should at least pay for the damages/loss of your pets. I'm very sorry to hear you lost them and FWIW I don't think the dog did it, seems too clean.
 
#76 ·
op i wonder if you could post some pics of the enclosures?
did you take pics of everything as you found it, fur and cages?
if not it might be a good idea to anyway plus pics of the fence

if it was me i would board up that fence for good or run your own there
but i cant see the fence or how everything is situated

i am sorry for the loss of your beloved pets
i love guinea pigs but am terribly allergic to them
keeping them outside would be the only way i could have them and as laren said it gets too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter to do so
 
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