Dog drinks antifreeze and dies

[DRO]

Last night there was a story on the local news about a guys dog that is allowed to wander the neighborhood. The neighbor had a problem with this dog coming into his yard, so the he left antifreeze on his own front step and the dog came over, drank it and died. The neighbor is now facing federal animal cruelity laws with the possibility of 2 years in jail.
I know the one of the most popular posts on this site are dog post, help me name my dog, do you fish with your dog, my dog just died etc. I, myself own a wonderful Golden I could never part with.

My question is- doesn't the dog owner have any responsibility for keeping his dog in his yard? The dog came over to the neighbors house to drink the antifreeze, had the owner kept the dog in his own yard this never would have happened. I am not saying killing the dog was the greatest thing to do, but how about a little pet owner responsibility. The owner indicated when he comes home from work the dog is allowed to roam free, and the news story seem to indicated the dog was frequently in the neighbors yard, without permission along with knowing the neighbor did not want the dog in his yard. I think it is a slippery slop when we start charging people with felonies for killing problem/nuesence animals.
I would like to hear your input

Keep 'em tight
DRO

[perchjerker]

I agree with you, but I guess the point here would be intent. Did the guy leave the antifreeze out so the dog could drink it? Or was he working on his car and it got left out or something.

[DRO]

Apparently, the antifreeze was in a Mcdonalds cup. Indicating it was an intential act. The dog still had to come over and drink it. I think there is no question the intent was to do harm to the dog.

[perchjerker]

Thats a tough one. What if the toddler next door wandered over and drank it?

[bob]

If a dog comes in my yard depending on the breed. I will kill it and eat it. Some people think I am weird but I don't care. Yah I am hillbilly alright. I am licking my choppes because golden retriever is my favorite

[bob]

I would eat the baby. Get in my belly

[Sniper]

I thought most of the morans left this site, I guess not.

[DRO]

Does everybodey have to be a dumba$$? How about a serious answer?

[Thumper]

The guy was being irresponsile and deserves to be prosecuted. The owner of the dog deserves to be talked to by the law as well. Its not the dogs fault. He's doing what dogs do. Too bad he has an irresponsible owner and a hard line neighbour. Thats good though the note about the toddler. Leaving poison out where it can be accessed by innocents is criminal.

[vern]

i had the same thing going on here.
so i took and went to the one that owned the dog told him the facts of live.
tie him up or i'll kick the s*** out of him
he got rid of the dog

[dog problem]

I have the same dog problem. My neighbor has a dog that has been under my skin for years. It is never put inside or on a chain. Just last night it laid in the street in front of my house all night and barked. When these people go away for a week on vacation they do not even provide for the dog. It barks even worse when they leave town and let it fend for itself. I do not think their is much you can do. I have called the animal control three times and they come out and can not catch it so they leave. The only reason it has not ate a rat poison burger with antifreeze chaser, lead, or muzzy is because its a serious offense.

The guy in your story should have been smarter and removed his McDonalds cup before the next morning. For some reason I think he wanted his neighbor to know what he did and that is why he is going to jail for it.

[erie addict]

I have an 11 year old Blk Lab & a 6mth old Chocolate lab. We just moved into a house we had built and I paid extra to have a nice fence put in to contain the dogs (and to keep the neighbors out). Last fall we put in some nice landscaping in the front yard and these darn plants are dog magnets. One of the things that burn me up is when nieghbors walk their dogs and let them crap in my yard and go tearing through the landscaping. I have busted them red handed and they just walk away like nothings wrong and leave a big steaming pile for me to contend with. Is it me or is it them? I pick up my dogs waste every 2-3 days and put it in a 5 gallon pail & I have thought about walking by certain individuals houses and leaving a 5 gallon deposit in thier driveway. Maybe they would get the point, but, probably not.

[paulisan1]

He could have called animal control.

[CJW]

I think after the California thing. Pet owners better take notice they can be nailed for letting their animals do and go anywhere! Or they could face law suits as well! They will do jail time for not controling their animals. Not that putting anti freeze out was the thing to do. But seems to me they could come back on the dogs owner because of what happened out west. CW

[rogerm52]

I know you said you called animal control, but how you your local law enforcement. If you have a video camera, or even a still camera, take some pictures that you can provide as proof. Remember, the dog is not to blame, it is acting as it has been taught it is allowed to. I have been around many dogs in my life and there is one thing I am positive of, the way a dog acts is a direct result of the handling, love, and care it is given by its owner. The owner of this dog needs to take responsibility, and if animal control can't help, maybe your local police can.

[rogerm52]

I feel that since the act was malicious, the neighbor should be tried for animal cruelty. However, the owner of the dog is also responsible for not properly securing his dog. Dogs are loyal, loving animals by nature and they also learn bounderies by what their masters let them do and not do. It is complete irresponsibility on the owners part to let his dog run free, but that does not give someone the right to poison the dog.

In my opinion, the dog is innocent and became caught in the middle of a problem between the two humans. Unfortunately, the neighbor decided to take it out on the dog and not take it up with the owner. Even if the neighbor had addressed with the owner and did not get results, it still doesn't give him the right to kill the dog. He deserves the penalty he is given, but I also feel the owner should be punished as well, maybe even for animal cruelty or neglect.

--Roger

[T-Mac]

Hey.... the dog only behaves as well as his master trained him. The master is a fault, but the guy could have kept the dog from being in his yard with less drastic measures.

Some people do not deserve to own a dog. But, some non-dog folks are stupid. Some neighbors who don't like dogs ATTRACT them by dumping bacon grease, etc. out in the back yard...or leaving garbage unprotected ...then get upset when a dog comes over in their yard to inspect..

Some places people live...are not acceptable for a dog.

I LOVE dogs. I own dogs. I'd like to shoot my neighbor because of his penchant for leaving his dogs outside, untied, roaming free, 24hours a day, 365 days a year. (Barking, chasing cars,..you know...all the "Punk Dog" stuff...LOL)

But.... this is not his dog's fault.

Like I said, some folks do not deserve to have a dog.

[john]

The neighbor who poisoned the dog couldn't be too bright. It takes a couple of days for the antifreeze to kill the dog. If he meant to kill the dog, he could have cleaned up the evedince. It hacks me off that a dog had to die because of two morons. Both are at fault. If the dog owner really cared about his pet, it would have been at home or in his yard where it belongs, and it would have never had happened. As far as animal control, here in Mich. they are about useless. By the way, you can buy "animal friendly" anti freeze....doesn't kill critters that drink it.

[BlackSilver]

Each person is responsible/accountable for their own acts. The owner should be responsible for controlling his pet. The person who killed the dog (in a praticularly unpleasant manner) must be made accountable for his criminal act.

SET the hook!!!

Hans/MN

[dummie]

Sounds to me like the dog got caught in the middle between two "dummies". No pun intended to me of course. Me thinks both are equally guilty. I feel sorry for the dog. God bless.

[WillieB]

...a great Austin Powers "Fat B..trd" quote...

[fishandhunt1]

yes it does sound like a couple of real loosers here. The poor dog is the one that ended up paying for these 2 peoples lack of consideration. If he wanted to get rid of the neighbors dog why not catch him and haul him domn to the humane society, they would try to find him a good home.I say tie the guy up and make him drink about a half gallon of antifreeze see how good he feels in a few hours. I bet he would not antifreeze poison another animal. HAPPY HOOKEN!!!!!!! Larry

[vetspet(ind)]

had a client bring in her sick cat once and she said she knew what the problem was...antifreeze...i asked her how she knew...she told me she put it out to kill the cats in the neighborhood and her cat accidently got out and drank it....many antifreeze poisonings are accidental...if you see the dog drink it most of the time you can save the pet..if you saw the dog drink the antifreeze yesterday and tell me today...your dog is toast...must treat asap if you see dog drink it....antidote is white lightning...95% alcohol....there is another antidote available...very expensive...but it works....there is a test that can be done on the dog's blood which has been very accurate at my clinic....other common poisons are chocolate...semi sweet..chocolate bits...are much worse than milk chocolate....pennies....zinc poisoning if american...copper poisoning if canadian...will kill the dog...rat poison is very treatable if you start the antidote...vita k ...right away....easter lillies or any lilly like day lilly....had a cat die last yr..she brought cat in on a thursday...saw cat chewing on a day lilly on sunday....all kidney tests were off the meter...called the toxicologist (veterinary) at purdue vet school...he said she shoulda called sun if we were to have a chance....don't forget lead sinkers.....the flea products you buy from petland or wallmart that look like what we vets dispense will kill your cats and can make the dogs sick...not to mention they don't work.....steve

[bigfish1965]

Our society has long accepted pets as different from other animals. Right or wrong, we view our dogs and cats(yuck) with higher value than nearly any other animal. To me, my golden retreiver is a replacement for the kids I cannot have. With this in mind, my reaction to anyone trying to do harm to my puppy would be swift and sure. That being said, we hold a greater responsibility to dog owners, and rightly so. There is no need to allow your dog to run free. The risk is too great, and in this case, ultimately fatal. Anyone who kills an animal by poison is likely to also be abusive to people as well. Hopefully, someone reckognises that the dog did nothing wrong. It only did what it was allowed to do. The two supposedly more intelligent humans are the guilty parties. My dog is loyal, loving and playful. He never is disappointed in me and never (okay,rarely) questions my decisions. I wish I knew more people like my dog.

[water_wolf]

Both of these idiots should be held acountable for this. A few years ago a guy that lived down the road from me had a nice looking lab. The dog was always wandering up & down the road. The dog was constantly neglected, not sure if he was being fed, etc. Well sad to say that he was struck by a truck and killed. Saw the guy a couple of days later and he was telling someone that he just lost his best friend, he was a great dog, he was doing good at hunting training, blah blah blah. I walked up to him and asked him if he had planned on road hunting since his dog spent so much time in it. Bottom line...if you are not willing to spend time & effort with your pet to make him a "good citizen" then you don't deserve one. The guy in the above story is over qualified for being an irresponsible pet owner. The other guy is just a cruel moron.


Rich Ferguson

[TRinMT]

Three years ago, I came home from work and found my Basset hound wandering in circles in my driveway. She was blind and obviously in pain. My vet suspected antifreeze poisoning. Her kidneys shut down and she lasted 2 days.
This dog was much more than a pet to me. She was my fishing buddy. The careless antifreeze person turned out to be me.
Anyone who actually sees how an animal suffers after drinking coolant whether its their own animal or their neighbors, will never purposley feed it to anything.

[RickK]

My dog stays in a pretty large fenced in area during the day,...she has a insulated dog house that has two light bulbs in it hooked to a thermostat,...stays at 55-60,...in the winter at nites she comes in the house just in case there is a power outage. The first few years I had her drove me crazy,..I would come out to find her gone. She learned how to jump onto her dog house and somehow jump the fence,..so move the dog house,..then she learned how to open the latch. fixed that felt sure she couldn't open it as "I" had a hard time opening it,....wrong,..finally found a way to secure that,..and then I couldn't figure how she was still missing in a number of escapes,..(she wouldn't try if anyone was around),..a video cam found she could climb the high chain link fence by doing this much too hard technic of using a corner and with many tries would make it over. THAT was hard to fix,....but it wasn't like we were not trying,...this sweet girl was also an escape artist. However if she had wandered over to this guys house and I found she had drank his antifreeze,..he would welcome that the authorities got him before I did!

[Esox Maniac]

Have witnessed this w/ cat on the farm- it's not pretty. People are idiots for leaving this stuff lying around in open containers. Even more moronic leaving it in a McDonalds cup! What if neighbors 1-3 year old child had wandered over and had a drink from familiar cup????????????

"It's your choice to Catch'em & Let'em Go!" :)

>< ))))*>

Al Warner

[Shooter]

Having seen first hand a stray German Shepard take on a 5 year old girl, I shoot any/all stray dogs on my property. Period.

It sounds like two idiots have gotten a dog in the middle. Poison is a cowards way out. At least have the guts to put it down quickly and not make it suffer any more than necessary.

No, I'm not a dog hater but even a one-in-a-million chance of my kids getting attacked is more than I will allow.

And yes, Animal Control is a joke. I called one time and they took 2 days to come out.

[Tom Moran]

Hate to have to leave Walleye Central because of my last name.
LOL Tom Moran

[infishman]

Horrible owners let their pets roam. Would you allow a four year old child to do the same thing??
Poisoning the dog because the owner isn't capable of ownership is criminal. He should have taken the dog to Animal Control. The owner would have to pay to get the dog back. Making people pay $$ always shortens the learning curve.

[ntz4fshn]

Ask the couple in California who is responsible for the actions of the dog!!!!

tightlines,
ntz4fshn

[LCFISHERMAN]

The dude should have just took the STRAY? dog to the APL as lost and found IMHO

[Backwater Eddy]

There is a shared blame as I see it. Not being responsible for hazardous and potentially lethal materials on your property certainly needs to be considered. The pet owner also has the responsibility to keep tabs on his pet as well.

Depending on local pet laws if it ever made it to court I bet it would be a wash?

Personally I can't see leaving antifreeze in a pop cup, it could easily be mistaken for Mountain Dew or some other soda product.

I have switched to Sierra non-toxic antifreeze many years ago after seeing a cat go through a poisoning from just a few spoonful’s on a driveway. It wasn't a pretty thing to see.


Backwater Eddy..........><sUMo>

[Buckeye]

If I remember my ag law class correctly, in Ohio, you are within the law to kill another person's pet if it is threatening livestock or humans. If it is only crapping in your yard, bothering your pet(s), barking, pee on tires, etc. you cannot do anything to the animal. Best course would have been for the guy to let the law force the neighbor to keep his dog confined.

At the very least, the guy that put out the antifreeze is liable for the dog and could very well be punishable under animal cruelty laws for it's death.

[Thumper]

I am pleased that US justice prevailed here. The attitude of those people was beyond belief. They should send the lawyer to jail with them as well. She deserves time for her shameless blaming of the victim and making it a gay thing.