Animal deaths

[Precipice]

Heads up: This thread contains a higher-than-average emotion content.


I'm a cat guy. I had two back home. I'm not allowed to have pets here but the community has a bunch of friendly strays that run around and everything. I liked two in particular: Siam that Siam and Tabby.

A couple months ago Tabby and I were hanging out, I went inside, and half an hour later I looked out my window to see a pack of dogs tearing him to pieces. Tabby managed to scratch out an eye off one of the dogs, who I still see from time to time. The injury is still very noticeable, so I call him Olaf One-Eye. Earlier today I chased off Olaf and found a very wounded Siam. I got him off the street and put him under a tree. I went to fetch him some water but he was too far gone to drink, he just squirmed around a bit in my hands, took a few breaths and that was that.

I can't get animal control to do anything. With this being Texas and with there being more guns than people, I thought I'd get a courteous neighbor who would do me a favor but I guess the guns are just for show. For weeks I'd find Olaf trying to get into the community and I'd deny him access. He'd stand there on the street, growling and barking, howling and frothing. I'd want to bash him over the head, swing him around by his tail, curb stomp the son of a bitch but I can't. As it happens, I'm a dog guy too, and I don't know if I can kill a dog without crying nonstop the entire time as well as the following thirty days.

But I'm not going to spend the night being mad at a dog. I'm just going to mourn my friend. I know my experience is not unique; anyone who is a human being has some love for at least one animal. Anyone else have a story they'd like to share?

 

[Dark Drakan]

One thing in life I cant stand is cruelty to animals, I have 2 cats, 2 dogs and a rabbit (2 died). I could never bring myself to hurt an animal, I couldnt even end the suffering of a pigeon my dog found in the back garden one time (he did nothing to it). I could see my dog sitting there in middle of garden at my old house and kept looking back at me in window and looking back at ground. I thought he had found a hedgehog or something and was merely confused as to what it was, when I ignored him he started whining and running to door and running back to the spot. So I went outside, from a distance it looked like a dead bird (nothing new to me with 2 cats) but as I got closer I realised it was still alive. I think a hawk or something had gotten hold of it because it was a real mess, feathers missing and chunks missing out of its back and it just lay there looking at me (amazed none of the local cats had gotten it beforehand). I took a look at it closer and the damage was horrible (didnt look like anything a cat could do) and I didnt know how it was still alive, kindest thing would probably have been to kill it to stop its suffering but I couldnt bring myself to do it. I picked up a brick and sat in front of it and it looked me straight in the eyes then bowed its head almost in acceptance and I couldnt bring myself to do it. I had to give it a chance to live...

Im one for giving things every chance I can to live and fight for life and if there is even a slim chance of it surviving I will do all I can to help it happen. So I picked it up and washed it off with hose so I could see through the blood, it started almost coughing and spluttering which rang alarm bells as meant it was likely to also have a punctured lung and water was going in through hold punctured in its back. I gave it some water which it gulped down and a little food, wrapped it in a towel to clean it off and put it inside my (currently empty at time) spare rabbit hutch. I checked on it every couple of hours until I had to go to bed. I was going to take it to vets first thing Monday morning if it survived the night as they arent open on a Sunday so had to wait, it was a racing pigeon so technically someones pet. However when I went to check on it in the morning it had died in the night and I was gutted about it, it was a fighter though and im amazed it lasted that long.

Lost count of the amount of times I have had to pull my cats mouth open at stupid o'clock in the morning to get a bird or mouse out that has still been alive and they have flew/ran off afterwards with minor wounds. Animals killing for food in wild is one thing and dont mind our cats getting the odd mouse here and there to stop them coming in house but domestic animals dont need to kill for food (1 of our cats does eat them) so its killing for sport really and their deaths are for nothing and a waste.

 

[Firis]

That's terrible, I'm sorry for your loss and the situation you are in, I'm an animal lover too, but especially for dogs and turtles. While I've never lost an animal to cruelty or violent death, I have lost three pets (Counting fish is too hard) and each one of them sucked, my parakeet "Birdie" died when I was about ten, he was nine years old and he died while we were on vacation, my grandma found him when she came over to house sit, it was depressing and ruined the whole trip for me.
My first dog "Sable" lived for 13 years, she was a beautiful dog but she developed severe hip problems and my parents couldn't afford the medication so she had to be put down before she got too bad; I didn't agree with it but I didn't have a say. We were at the vet and I held her paw as she breathed her last, I cried very hard but had to cowboy up because I left the veterinary office to go straight to work; so I could only cry on the inside the rest of the day. Her ashes are in an engraved box at my parent's house.
I had a turtle, I don't have much to say about that turtle except I took good care of him, he was a super cute little false map turtle named "Flinchy." When I moved out I couldn't take him with me, so my dad let him out into the lake behind their condo, which I don't blame him for, Flinchy was a good hunter, but we learned soon after that there were snapping turtles in that lake. I like to think Flinchy still lives as he would only be 10 years old now, but the chances are real slim. :/

I know it's not gruesome, but it is all sad, and I hope it makes you feel less alone.

EDIT: Side note, I'm a wimp when it comes to movies and I cried hardcore when that scene happened in I Am Legend.

 

[Angel]

I used to be a blubbering mess when I saw animals hurt in films and real life. Now I'm a bit more...um...mean? I guess?

Since having Satan in dog form as a member of the household for 3 years, my love of animals has waned significantly now that I've realised how crappy animals can be. I would have happily replaced that creatures dog food with broken glass and slow setting cement.

But I'm not completely evil - I remember when my hamster died when I was about 8 or so - she lived for four whole days and then kicked the bucket and I was inconsolable for a month, much to the irritation of my dad who hated hamsters.

I remember walking to school one day with my sister when I was about 9 and we came across a partially torn bin bag on the ground which was soaking wet and upon closer inspection had a dead puppy in it with some bricks surrounding it. I was hysterical for a very long time, it really got to me.

Now I'm the kind of person who makes jokes about dogs and bin bags. Go figure.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

I killed an animal once. For the first time. This year. It sucked. The place I work has a bit of a rat problem. The owner employed an exterminator to lay out the traditional traps and also a few humane ones. He then ran around and put a bunch of glue traps of his own all over the place. One day I came to work and everyone looked like there was a huge elephant in the room. Not a someone-****ed-up-the-food-badly-today elephant, something different. I go back into the kitchen and they tell me a baby rat got caught in the glue trap this morning. And none of them did a single thing about it. It had sat down there unable to move, heart beating so fast it could pop, in utter terror, and they had all just gone about their day. 4 people had unanimously decided to go about their day and let him starve or have a heart attack before they'd even lift a finger. I was ****ed at the cowardice of it. I was ****ed they hadn't handled it during their shift, as it had happened on their shift. I was ****ed at being treated like Charlie Kelly and I was ****ed I'd remember this 6 months later. Still, it had to be done. Clearly no one else had the balls to handle this in the most humane way possible: in this scenario I defined humane as quick and painless.

I went down there with a broom handle. The little guy heard me coming but he couldn't turn around since all four of his legs were glued firmly to the trap. He started squealing super loud in terror. I stood there for a while hoping he'd think I'd gone away. It was ****ed up standing there like that. Like that one scene from Breaking Bad. Thought about it a bit. I mean, any way you slice it the little guy was doomed. The bartenders, for all their tough Boston bar talk, wouldn't go near a rat. They'd quit before dealing with this. The other cooks come from central America and they grew up seeing horrible things on a regular basis. Like, bodies-dumped-in-the-middle of their street messed stuff. They'd probably do what I had prepared myself to do, but I didn't trust they'd do it in a way that was quick and painless. I stood there contemplating for a few minutes, trying to convince myself this was the only way. Everyone else swept this job under the rug. If the owner found it, he'd get one of the other cooks to handle it, and I just couldn't bear the thought they would take a more painful approach. After a few minutes I carefully took aim and landed one square blow with full force on his cranium. He went limp instantly and I'm so grateful that I didn't miss. I felt awful about it for months, but then I saw what happened when one of the other cooks had to kill one on his shift (he couldn't put it off, the owner was there). He put it in a plastic bag, still alive, and jumped on it repeatedly until it stopped making noise. Now I know if anyone else handled it, there would have been more pain.

Please, don't ever use glue traps guys. They are seriously ****ed up.

 

[Gikoku]

Man, this thread is depressing as hell, making my eyes swell a bit even from reading everyone's posts.

I've never had to witness an animal die in person yet, but if I did I'm sure it would scar me for a long time. So I don't have a depressing story of such, but instead something a bit on the happier side of the spectrum involving my cat though it still hurts a bit. Sorry that it's long, but had to get it all out.

This happened back in 2009 about a couple months after my birthday which on that day my sister and nieces surprised me with a gift. Was my cat Buddy inside a little box with holes in it, he was only 2 months old at the time so he was getting into all sorts of trouble. Now I love animals, I play with them and I even talk with them on a regular basis. Me and Buddy were goofin' around upstairs chasing each other, but I eventually misplaced one of my steps and tripped over and fell into him as he was darting towards a wall. He smacked the back of his head really hard against the hardwood wall and that's when things got really bad. He started having a seizure and his eyes rolled back into his head, his breathing was so rapid and I'm in a complete state of panic as I have no idea what to do. Fluid had rapidly built into his head so it became very swollen and his eyes were about to bulge out. So I'm a bawling mess carrying him downstairs, my sister was still within the area so I call her to pick me up as she knew the closest animal emergency center. While I'm waiting for her, Buddy eventually lost control of his bowels all over my shirt so I cleaned us both up while trying to keep the little guy's body even on his side.

She eventually got there and we went straight to emergency (which is open 24/7), his breathing has calmed down a bit now but he's still unresponsive to his surroundings. Turns out he fell into a coma at this point. I kept him wrapped in a towel to keep him warm on the way there, we get there and they rush him straight to emergency. They kept him overnight and the 1st day for free, but any longer and it would cost an additional $320 per day. No hesitation, we scrounged up all we had and were able to pay enough for one additional day of care for him. Now throughout all this I'm completely broken up, constantly blaming & hating myself. I did this, this was all my fault, and he's going to die because of me, I killed him. I cried all damn day like a blubbering child and it only got worse when I got to see him the next day still in a coma hooked up to an IV and such. The nurses kept telling me that it would be best to put him down, the fluid buildup in his skull is struggling to properly drain and he's now suffered some brain damage. I refused every time and wanted to give him a bit longer (I wouldn't give up on a human loved-one so quickly, so why an animal?), so they did.

Eventually time ran out and they called me up so we can all say our goodbyes and have him put down. When we all finally got there though (about 3 hours later), one of the nurses came up to us with a surprising smile on her face, she said "You guys might want to hold off for a few minutes, he's actually started to finally come around." I couldn't believe it, it felt like something out of a damn movie or what-have-you. He still needed further care and we couldn't afford any more days with them, but they allowed me to take him back home and care for him myself. They prescribed some medication to help with the fluid and for the next 12-days or so. I adamantly stayed by his side. Slept next to him, hand-fed him every meal, kept him warm in blankets, wiped his bum after every poop, massaged him regularly as he would often scream in pain from the cramps of using his muscles again, etc. He had to re-learn how to walk (often went in circles and falling down), had impaired vision for a long time (he still can't track fast moving objects) and has developed a new quirk... every time he purs he now ends up drooling like a dog. So when you pet him, he ends up getting you wet... great laugh for the women that meet him.

This is a picture of him now 6 years later. Looking at it, you'd never know he went through so much and was advised to be put down. He lives like a damn king now. My only advice from such an experience is to never give up on your furry loved ones even when recommended by a professional, at least not so suddenly. Just give them a chance. If i had agreed and gave up when the nurses told me to, Buddy would be dead and cremated right now. I'm glad I didn't.

 

[Precipice]

Buddy looks like a ****ing champ man. Good story.

Tabby's death hurt me in a way that made me angry, because I wasn't there to stop it or say goodbye or anything. I just had to watch it from my window. Siam's death hurt me in a way that made me depressed as **** because he died in my hands and even with me there, there was nothing I could do to stop it, but I take some comfort in the fact that he wasn't alone. A positive update on this is that after repeatedly calling animal control enough times, they sent multiple trucks over to round up all the dogs (seven!). It's a humane shelter, they'll try to find homes for them if they're viable as pets and I think all but two of them will be alright.

I remember being crushed when this happened, thank you guys for your stories. It was helpful.

 

[Krskull]

A few days ago while i was walking to my grandparents house i saw a cat got overrun by a car. It was the most saddest and depressing thing i ever saw. I tried searching for a box or a bag to move it of the street so it doesn't get crushed and mutilated but the only thing i found was an old magazine. So i grabbed it and slowly tried push it under the cat to carry it. but it kept slipping. and i ended up carrying it with my own hands and the people around me where pointing at me and have the WTF? look on their stupid faces.

 

[Zarkes]

When they maim the horse in movies during battles, I always get a visceral reaction to it.