Close minded people.

[SLB]

I know some of you might not agree with what I asked Louie to do yesterday, but it was needed and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Out on our regular walk they'd had fun following a few scents here and there, bits of training etc and then coming to the last part of our walk, I spotted a rabbit, put the young'un on lead because she's not learnt to be called away yet (and I forgot my damn whistle!) then I noticed that it wasn't moving right. Of course it was riddled with Myxi. So rather than let it suffer I thought, get the dog to bring it back and then my friend could do the deed and I can have it for retrieve exercises. Looking at it closer it was too far gone. So I sent Louie in, he grabbed behind the neck and it died instantly. At least it wasn't suffering any more was my thought. The fact Louie refused to retrieve it as well told me it was too nasty. And he loves retrieving rabbit.

Last night at work I was asked about my day and what the dogs had put out by a customer - they're generally interested in what birds my dogs put up and we've had some beautiful pheasant lately. Anyway I told them the above and my supervisor over heard and called me and I quote "a sick evil bitch". I queried him and his reply was "You let your dog on a poor defenceless animal" and despite me going through what Myxi was, what happened to the animal and that killing it was better for it, I am still a sick evil bitch. This was then over heard by a couple of staff that weren't working and it got more ridiculous. "If your dog kills rabbits then what about yours" Well there is a difference between wild and domestic rabbits. "He'll be blood thirsty now, that means he'll be after your blood too" Erm, he's been raw fed for the past year and not turned to try and eat me! "If he can kill a rabbit, what'll be next, a child?!" I'm pretty sure no matter how similar in noises they make my dog will try and kill a child and mistake it for a rabbit..

Then it all got on to how I let my dogs hunt and feed them meat and bones.. then onto hunting, but by that time my food had come so I sat down to eat before my shift, rather than listen to that nonsense.

I know where they're coming from because once upon a time I used to be in their pink and fluffy world. But I'm not now and it's not that I love hunting and killing, because I don't. I just see the sense in management, food and using dogs for what they were bred for. I'm not proud that he had to kill it, but the poor thing needed it's suffering ended and asap. So if that makes me a sick evil bitch then so be it, I rested easy last night, I don't think I would've done knowing it was still suffering.

[NikkiD]

Well according to my work colleagues I am the devil incarnate for using my dogs for hunting. My Husband is even worse because he shoots squirrels.

The colleague who is most voiciferous about this has admitted that she "bred quite a few litters from her Staffy Bitch, before she *gave her away*. The Bitch had a bit of a quirky personality, and couldnt really be trusted, but she did manage to fire a few pups out"

She has also told me that the Son from one of the litters was then brought round as an adult dog, whilst his Mother was in Season and another entire male dog was visiting. The ensuing fight was so bloody and out of control that this dog has never been the same and (I again quote) "I dont like the looks I get when he has his muzzle on, but he is too dangerouns without it, so I dont really walk him anymore"

Yep, Im the evil one out of the two of us..........

[chunky]

people have the same view on most hunting/blood sports they seem to forget that meat from the super market isn't born shrink wrapped in plastic and lets face it carrots don't tend to run around a field for you to catch them

I personally like your self would not think twice about killing any animal that was in the same situation as you have described above, when we got to the coast i always fish for mackeral from the beach andwhen /if i catch any i always put A Large pair of forcepts in their mouths and snap their necks back which kills them instantly,one time a holiday maker walking the beach commented on me bringing suffering etc to the fish, and yet there were dad's with their kids pulling fish out of the sea leaving them on the beach flapping around to die, or repeatedly smashing them into near by rocks to kill them (3 or 4 attempts per fish) out of all of us who was the cruellest one and i want to know the saneist one

i'm sure thatif all these people who oppose these kind of things kept chickens or geese in the country only to find out that one morning a fox had been into the pen killed all of them but may be only took one or maybe NONE (witnessed this myself) they would realise that the death of 10 chickens warrants the death of one fox .there is nothing worse than townie talk

i for your actions on that day you did the right thing in my opinion

[Bruneval3]

Hey SLB,

What you did was not only correct but commendable, you should stick a grievance in against your supervisor for the comments against you!

[farmboy]

I hope they are all vegetarians! Hunting is legal,moral,and is manages wildlife,sick or healthy,for all people to enjoy. Bet they don't really know what happens to an animal that slowly dies of some kind of sickness,I would have done the same thing! Our trials are incognito to keep just such people away,new ones that show up, that are like minded are welcomed with open arms,and given the best possible first impression. I am guilty of the same thing,forgetting that most other people are not dog people,I always thought they were strange and felt sorry for them. They will never understand. I am going to steal a quote from Ted Nugent "you gotta kill it to grill it !"

[trekmoor]

I had a similar experience in one Post Office I worked in. A bloke got quite stroppy about me going shooting. I replied, " I suppose the cow gave you the shoes you've got on your feet voluntarily then ?" ......... Somehow that was different according to him because he hadn't killed the animal. I think he thought the cows died of old age and then got made into shoes.

The argument went on and I accused him of hiring hitmen to get his dinners and his shoes for him because he was too cowardly to do it himself. ......... We never did become friends !
People like that are as thick as pig-poo.

Wullie

[Alice]

oh don't worry about it, people are IDIOTS. I've given up worrying about them.

[Springfield Pointers]

"Vegetarian: Old African term - means 'bad hunter'..."

[SpringerNI]

I used to get some abuse from my work colleagues for "being sick and cruel for killing wildlife" when I mentioned the dogs/shooting etc.

The same people gave me abuse for releasing salmon to spawn rather than killing them for them to eat!

[leeky]

Anyone who doesnt have any interest in animal welfare, hunting, working/training a gundog, or becoming a vegetarian, probably gets their animal welfare/cruelty "morals" from the tabloids. I was also still part of the fluffy brigade, and to a certain extent i still am, but to my mind there are far more humane methods of keeping/killing animals for consumption than many legal farming practices.

It's a shame that it's too late to ask them what they would have done - kept walking? I'm so sorry you had to be on the receiviing end of that, esp in your workplace!