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Conference 7.286::pet_birds

Title:	Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN!
Notice:	INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.*
Moderator:	VIDEO::PULSIFER

Created:	Mon Oct 10 1988
Last Modified:	Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	942
Total number of notes:	6016

786.0. "Beware of bird dogs!" by GERBIL::DUPONT () Wed Mar 31 1993 21:29


  Today I left DEC and went home to my condo in Merrimack
 for lunch. My six year old son was playing on the front 
 steps at the time. After a few minutes my wife asks me to 
 have Christian,(my son), come in for lunch. As he opens
 the front door to come in I hear him yell "there's a dog
 in the house and he's going after the birds"!

  Bottom line is... a neighbors black lab was running free.
 For some reason when my son opened the front door it comes
 running in the condo. We have three floors & for some reason 
 this dog goes running straight down stairs, through one room
 and into my office- a.k.a. the bird room!

  The dog jumps up and crashes into the front of the aviary
 and springs open a side door. Out of thirteen birds- my 
 favorite, a cockatiel named Rosey springs out of the aviary
 in terror. The dog latches onto Rosey. I come screaming down 
 stairs and scare the dog which drops Rosey out of its mouth
 and it runs back out the front door.

  What is amazing is the above incident occurred in about eight 
 seconds!!!

  I find amazing numbers of feathers all around the room and
 Rosey cowering under my desk. I have seldom been so mad in my 
 entire life. I went out after the dog to try and catch it but
 it just took off. I was on the phone to the Merrimack Police
 and they had the dog warden here within about eight minutes.

  She identified the dogs owner who she said "had quite an
 attitude". When the dog warden told the lady she & her 
 husband were legally responsible for vet bills incurred she
 said it would be cheaper to just buy a new bird! Best part of
 the story is the owner can't be charged with letting the 
 dog roam because of codo common grounds issues. My recourse
 is first to hope they pay. If not then I can file a specific
 complaint about a wild dog or something like that which will
 result in a $50 fine. I can also report them to the condo 
 association and they could be fined that way.

  Rosey looked real bad so I rushed her to the Merrimack Vetinary 
 Hospital,(I wasn't thrilled w/them but that's another story)!
 Well they say they couldn't find any physical injuries eg: cuts,
 broken legs... but that the stress could kill him. I was given
 antibiotics(sp?) to put in his water. Right now he's separated
 out from the other birds & doesn't look too great :-(

 As lunches go it wasn't one of my better ones! 
    
 Chet

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
786.1	poor Rosie!	USHS05::VASAK	Sugar Magnolia	`Thu Apr 01 1993 09:10`	19
	Oh, Chet! I'm so sorry. A few years back my favorite Timneh Grey was killed by a feral cat that snuck into my house (Through the chimney!). It is so frustrating when we work so hard to protect our pets and then to have something like this happen. After the incident with the stray cat, I got dogs of my own - guard-type, not bird dogs! - and now any stray animal (or human with ill intent) has to get through an 85lb Ridgeback and a 65lb Boxer before they can get to the birds. I hope Rosie does ok, and you and Rosie are in my thoughts and prayers. Shame on your neighbor! No matter what the price, no amount of $$can replace a beloved pet. I hope her poor dog never needs pricey vet care! I can't believe it is adequately cared for anyway if it is running loose - that's an invitation to all kinds of trouble, for the dog as well as for folks like you. Some people just don't get it... /Rita
786.2	good luck	ROYALT::PULSIFER	UNHAMPERED BY FACTS AND INFORMATION	`Thu Apr 01 1993 09:32`	6
	Chet, sorry to hear about this best wishes to Rosie. I am glad it didn't happen to me, I am afraid me and my baseball would be in jail. Thanks for sharing this with us. good luck
786.3	Would have never!!	CSOA1::DIRRMAN		`Thu Apr 01 1993 11:15`	7
	Chet - My - I would have never thought! You and Rosie are in my thoughts and prayers! Please keep us posted. I know I will be watching my door when I open it! Hang in there! Dora
786.4	Watch out for cats, too!	ALFA2::PEASLEE		`Thu Apr 01 1993 11:23`	20
	Hi Chet, Please keep us posted on Rosie. I can relate to this 100%. Many of our neighbors have cats. I always tell the kids to make sure they close the door behind them so that none of the neighbors' cats find their way in our home. My husband thought that the probability of this happening was nil but reinforced the idea that the kids make a conscious effort to close the door. As you might have expected, the kids took out their bicycles one day and left the basement door open. I was outside but not near the door. My husband was inside watching television and thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He knew everyone was outside so he went to investigate and saw the neighbor's cat going up steps toward the bedrooms. It took him awhile to get ahold of the cat and as the kids and I were walking into the house, we saw my husband with his arms full of a cat that did not want to be held. The birds were ok however this incident caused everyone to make a more conscious effort to keep the doors closed. I hope your little bird is ok.
786.5		CARTUN::MISTOVICH	depraved soul	`Thu Apr 01 1993 12:33`	1
	Chet, I hope Rosie gets better.
786.6	Your home is common ground?	SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE		`Thu Apr 01 1993 16:47`	12
	Chet, so sorry to hear about this terrible incident. How dare the officials use "common ground" as an excuse for this women and her dog. Since when is YOUR HOUSE common ground????? This is paramount to breaking and entering with intent to kill!! I would pursue legal action for emotional suffering. There must be something you can do? I hope this women measures up to her responsibiity and at the very least pays for Rosey's vet bills. I hope Rosey is O.K. We are all pulling for him (and for you)! Jeanne
786.7	Update Please	SWAM1::DEFRANCO_JE		`Wed Apr 07 1993 13:43`	6
	Chet, How is Rosey doing? Jeanne
786.8		GERBIL::DUPONT		`Wed Apr 07 1993 16:54`	18
	Well thanks for all the concern- I'm happy to report that Rosey is doing excellent :-) There are no visible physical or emotional scars at all! I did speak with the man of the house from the dogs family. He was very apologetic but I have yet to be paid for the bills incurred. He said that he was shocked that his dog had done this as he had taken him bird hunting last year and the dog could have cared less. I told him that his dog had matured over the winter and has developed his natural instincts quite well :-( chet
786.9		CARTUN::MISTOVICH	depraved soul	`Wed Apr 07 1993 16:36`	7
	Good to hear that Rosie has recovered! Have they outright refused to pay, or just ignoring the matter? If you've asked them verbally and they've refused, put the request in a letter, return receipt requested. Document the incident in the letter -- that the dog was running loose, got into your home, etc. You can always take them to small claims court...