Neighbour beating dogs

lisajane

Ok, I came home today after a weekend away and my mother said that she saw one of the neighbours beating their dogs and other dogs. We live in the country, so as you can imagine, not everyone has their dogs on leads. This neighbour was out walking with a big stick. He had his three dogs with him and my other neighbour's dogs came out, like dogs do to greet them and have a sniff around. But he wasn't having it and started hitting them all with the stick. So much that they were yelping.
Now this kind of behaviour is not on. My mother said that she won't complain cause the neighbour would know it was her, since it happened outside our house. But i'm not afraid of complaining but where do i go? Who do i ring? Will anything happen, after all its my word against his?

9wetfckx43j5rg

Rinig the Spca in your county and report the cruelty. They should investigate the man.

If you don't ring you'll never know

anniehoo

lisajane wrote: »

but where do i go? Who do i ring? Will anything happen, after all its my word against his?

Unfortunately, no i doubt anything would happen if you made a complaint to the guards or an SPCA.It would be noted and probably only acted on if further complaints were made. But, what id do is first have have a word with your neighbour. Explain what was seen and iterate that under no circumstances will abuse like that to his or any other animal be tolerated. Make him aware that a complaint has been made etc

mikemac wrote: »

Well, this is an Irish website so posting that you live "in the country" doesn't realy mean anything

The OP states shes from Galway and yeh "in the country" is a fairly generic irish term for not living in an urban town or the likes. Im not sure whats difficult about that to understand.

anniehoo

mikemac wrote: »

Galway is an urban area, is that difficult to understand?

The entire county of Galway is not an urban area so yeh thats difficult to understand.:rolleyes:

wrote:

Now onto useful info which this forum is great for which you didn't realy add to.

Oh right so what you just said..

wrote:

go talk to the neighbour,

isnt what i already just mentioned??!!

convert

Do the dogs normally come out an 'investigate' other dogs who pass in a friendly manner or have they been known to target other dogs in an aggressive manner in the past? And does the neighbour normally walk this route with the dogs?

If not, is it possible that they felt the dogs would attack each other and could that be why they carried a stick? And did they continually hit the dogs or was it just a once off slap (I'm not condoning the latter, I'm just asking so as to try get a better understanding of the situation that occurred)?

You could try contact the local SPCA, but it's hard to know if they could/would do anything about it, especially as you didn't witness it yourself and only heard a second hand account of it. Guards probably wouldn't be all that interested and would probably send you to the SPCA.

Discodog

Report it by phone or email to your SPCA. If you are near Galway you may not necessarily hear back as their Inspector is only working part time. However you should report it & give as much information as you can. All reports are confidential & they will not say where the complaint originated from. It may be that the individual is known. There may of even been other reports about them.

peasant

Why don't ye call the armed garda response team while you're at it?

Countryside rules work a little differently. Call the gardai or the ISPCA on your neighbour(s) and you will have war on your hands (with the dogs the ready victims).

Several people need talking to here:

1) the people whose dogs are running out on the road.
The dogs should be kept away from the road ... not only will they be beaten, but they also could get run over or shot if they stray too far/into the wrong field

2) the guy with the stick
Just let him know that you saw and that you don't approve (and take it further only if he doesn't stop)

Discodog

I live in the countryside. I know the SPCA & the Inspector. The advise that I gave is based on how 100's of cases are handled.

Are you really suggesting that the OP goes to have a friendly chat with a man who beats dogs ?. The OP has expressed a very genuine & on face value valid concern. They have come to an Animal forum for advice on what is a very simple matter. The OP's post makes it clear that he is beating his own dog as well as the other dogs. She also states that they were crying out in pain. This is illegal.

For too many years the view in the countryside is that if a man beats his dog or his wife that it his business & no one should interfere. The law applies to both country & town.

peasant

Discodog wrote: »

Are you really suggesting that the OP goes to have a friendly chat with a man who beats dogs ?

Indeed I am. Because it's the OP and the OP's family (and not you) who will have to spend years living with and next to this fella. This is getting OT for an animal forum now, but remember how the Irish psyche reacts to a denunciator. As an initial step talking to all parties involved IMO is far better than sending in the officials straight away.

Discodog wrote: »

For too many years the view in the countryside is that if a man beats his dog or his wife that it his business & no one should interfere.

I didn't say anything about not interfering ...quite the opposite actually

Noffles

peasant wrote: »

Why don't ye call the armed garda response team while you're at it?

Countryside rules work a little differently. Call the gardai or the ISPCA on your neighbour(s) and you will have war on your hands (with the dogs the ready victims).

You're saying that the Law of the land applies differently to the "people of the countryside" what a load of ****e, just because they don't understand the modern world and seem to THINK they're different... THEY ARE NOT and bumpkins or not they are part of the human race just like all of us!

I sadly live in the countryside and am sick of this mentality, depressingly the Garda seem to think the same way... jeysus give me a city person any day!!!

Discodog

If the OP goes for a friendly chat & then the man carries on beating dogs, it will be impossible to report him without it being clear who made the report.

The SPCA Inspector deals with cases like this every day. They know how to handle it.

peasant

But it's not only the dog-beating neighbour who's at fault here.
The dogs shouldn't be roaming free in the first place.

If the dog-beater plays his cards right he would claim self defence when the gardai / Ispca show up and get away with it. Nothing achieved but bad blood in the neighbourhood.

Paul91

to OP would you feel comfortable talking to the neighbour, or do you know someone who might, again it depends on the "real" situation, I have had to hit a dog in the past as it aggressively attacked myself and my dog (who was on a lead sop couldn't really defend itself) i was in the city (Cork) in a local playingfield where kids often play. i wasn't proud of it, and felt guilty as hell, but in certain situations you have no choice, I tried to get away from the dog, stand my ground, tried to stand between the dogs, pretended to though something at the other dog nothing worked - at a last resort i had to hit the other dog before it bit me or worse my dog.

What i am trying to say is, was it a one off defensive strike, or is the guy known for hitting his and other dogs? if the dogs that came out are also known for running free, maybe it's worth reporting them to the dog warden, he/she can have a word with the owners to keep thir dogs in, i mean they are at as much fault

Discodog

If he beats his own dog when it is approached by others he probably beats it as home as well. If there are strays bothering dog walkers then it is the duty of the Dog Warden - & we know how that could end.

Just to clarify the OP said that the man beat his own dog as well.

Nerin

i think more info is needed to make any kind of call, its all pretty vague tbh. the only thing that stands out is that the neighbours dogs shouldn't be allowed outside their house.

peasant

Discodog wrote: »

If there are strays bothering dog walkers then it is the duty of the Dog Warden - & we know how that could end.

Indeed ...mightn't end well at all.

Also, if the dog beater is a right bastard, he would be well within his rights to shoot any stray dogs on his land ...which he just might do if you aggravate him enough.

As everybody involved there is doing something wrong (either letting dogs stray or beating them up) IMO this is better brought to an amiable solution from within the community rather than bring in the heavies form outside ...not just in the interest of the people, but also in the interest of the dogs.

Shotguns and/or rat poison are easily to hand to a pissed off country person

Discodog

peasant wrote: »

Indeed ...mightn't end well at all.

Also, if the dog beater is a right bastard, he would be well within his rights to shoot any stray dogs on his land ...which he just might do if you aggravate him enough.

As everybody involved there is doing something wrong (either letting dogs stray or beating them up) IMO this is better brought to an amiable solution from within the community rather than bring in the heavies form outside ...not just in the interest of the people, but also in the interest of the dogs.

Shotguns and/or rat poison are easily to hand to a pissed off country person

If we advocated your policy regarding law breaking we would pacify the criminal gangs as they have guns as well. The idea that one tries not to cause a fuss because someone might shoot or poison a dog is ridiculous. The SPCA's are not heavies & I think that your remark is highly disrespectful to them.

I have recently been involved with a case where an elderly farmer has been neglecting his animals. The local SPCA did not go in as heavies. They took his dogs to the vet, paid all the bills, returned the dogs to him & gave him a lot of advice.

I also think that your post is an insult to country people in suggesting that upset country people reach for the shotgun. Neither do I think that a dog beater & the owners of strays are going to chat over a pint & sort their problems.