Hedgehog issue

[inogen]

I wouldn't say "happy" as such, prepared to deal with is probably the more appropriate term. Also saying that's what they'd do when questioned about it in passing, and actually doing so are two very different things. If someone is so unhinged to actually behave in such a manner over an accident (of their own making), then they almost certainly need psychiatric help.

As per the OP I'd be absolutely gutted, and be more than willing to do the right thing and help out with vet bills/funeral costs etc., but ultimately, if I've taken all reasonable measures to prevent it from occurring (tall fences, checking the garden before letting the dog out etc.), and their inability to look after their pet has resulted in injuries or death, then I've done nothing wrong, either legally or morally. If they don't want to be reasonable about it, and accept that sometimes unfortunate accidents happen, then that says far more about them than me.

I agree, and I'm certainly not advocating that is an appropriate response, but... People hurt other people for a lot less and it happens every day.

Pets are exactly the kind of thing that provoke completely irrational and extreme responses from people who "almost certainly need psychiatric help", but in most ways seem perfectly normal. For a lot of people, they're like surrogate kids.

 

[Haggisman]

I agree, and I'm certainly not advocating that is an appropriate response, but... People hurt other people for a lot less and it happens every day.

Oh absolutely, but there's no accounting for crazy!

I assume the poster suggesting the dog is "dangerously out of control" would also call someone a dangerous driver and demand they lost their licence if they were driving slowly and carefully along a residential road and couldn't avoid hitting a cat which ran out from under a parked car at the last moment?

 

[Uhtred]

No. Because cats are pets. People own them, get attached to them, and may well take action against you if you allow your pet to kill theirs. You can theorise all you like, but you won't stop an irate neighbour that way. If you don't care about their pet, they aren't going to see things your way. They sure as heck aren't going to care about yours.

That's why my dog is insured and I will always do my best to prevent it from causing harm to any animal be it a cat, squirrel etc

I've acknowledged cats are pets/property but at the end of the day the owner has let their cat out unattended so accidents will happen. They could fall out of a tree, get locked in a garage, get run over, get attacked by another animal (not necessarily a dog), the list is endless.

If your pet's safety is that important to you then the most responsible course of action is to keep it indoors or not have one in the first place.

 

[jpaul]

Animal poetry
Benjamin Zephaniah, Luv Song
I am in luv wid a hedgehog
I've never felt this way before
I have luv fe dis hedgehog
An everyday I luv her more an more,
She lives by de shed
Where weeds and roses bed
An I just want de world to know
She makes me glow.
I am in luv wid a hedgehog
She's making me hair stand on edge,
So in luv wid dis hedgehog
An her friends
Who all live in de hedge
She visits me late
An eats off Danny's plate
But Danny's a cool tabby cat
He leaves it at dat.
I am in luv wid a hedgehog,
She's gone away so I must wait
But I do miss my hedgehog
Everytime she goes to hibernate.