A couple who live arounjd the corner have two cockers who seem very skitty and alway have a woofing fit whenever they see our girls if we are out walking. We put this down to enthusiasm ! :) Anyway we have never met on a walk where they are all off the leads  so they cam meet and so I am not sure how they would be.

Anyway was getting some milk yesterday evening and the dogs were parked up outside the shop. The were going mad barking at anything that moved. The chap was infront of me in the queue and apologised to the shop assitant and walked out and shouted at them and gave them both a thrashing. The noise from the hitting and the screams form the dogs were horrible. :(  I stood there in horror as so did a few people in the queue. He came back and paid for his stuff. I paid for my stuff and went to the car and then saw him take them round the corner and give the another good shouting and thrashing :(

My problem is:

1. I called the RSPCA when I saw a chap in the village hit his dog with a saw a few months ago. After a few phonecalls nothing was ever done. So what use will it be if I phone them ?

2. They are neighbours although not friends and Mrs take their kids to the same nursery as Indigo. I do not want to start WW3 as have too much on my plate as it is with things at the mo to have this to cope with any resulting fueds etc.

Any suggestions please as don't know what to do for the best  as I want to d something? I still am cringing when I think about it :(

Thanks

Lucy
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Contact breed rescue and ask their advice. A phonecall to the police might be better than the RSPCA, after all animal cruelty is an offence, I'd doubt they give your identity away. :) Hopefully others can advise you :)

I will try the breed rescue first as the police out here are useless :) I was thinking about the dog warden but again I am not sure if they would be of any help ? Not sure what there remit actually is ?

Thats awful :(

My friend has two cockers and they are very much yappy dogs, I think this is just due to lack of socialisation, I dont think they are usually yappy dogs.

My cocker spaniel girl is very 'enthusiastic' about everything and very interested in other people and dogs, but she hardly EVER barks or growls, only at the cat if she tries to eat her food, so I don't think they are normally yappy, unless I have just been lucky.

my cocker only barks (not yappy though, quite a deep bark) when waiting for the ball to be thrown in the park otherwise she never barks. 

Mine only bark when the front door bell goes or when they are over excited.

This is so cruel, please try and help those poor little cockers.
maybe you could send an anonymous letter to the man pointing out his wrong doing, it may make him see the error of his ways.

Try the dog warden...its worth a try, our dog warden is really good and takes all cases on

Lucy
is there any CCTV outside the shop that may have picked this up

That is a good point! I will ask !

Lucy
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I understand your lack of faith in the RSPCA but have you tried ringing their cruelty line ?  The tel. no. is 0870 555999.

I rang that number a couple of months ago when I reported the chap who hit his dog with a saw and even after three phonecalls nothing was ever done about it:(  I only have so much time to keep ringing :)

I have spoken to the dog warden and he says there is nothing he can do either and the RSPCA is the one I should contact.

I can't win again on this one :(

Lucy

the thing is,this IS how some people train their dogs.theres at least two people around here that would do EXACTLY the same thing!
they dont think its cruel? i do!!!! who draws the line?
if there is alot of hitting with hands/ leads/ lots of noise but no damage done?
its a hard  one!

btw the rspca never did anything about the fat lab i reported :(

Yes but there is cruelty based on physical evidence only ? It shouldn't be.

The hitting was extreme in this instance. If it had been against a human then it would have been GBH rather than ABH. The shop assistant who couldn't see what he was doing was shocked by what she heard.

Lucy

You're right, there are more ways to be cruel than just physically, but I think it's only physical cruelty which makes photographable evidence which would hold up in court. :(

Unless it was caught on film.

I wish I could go and talk to the couple but feel it would be the wrong thing to do in the situation living near them etc. Is that a cop out ?

Lucy
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It's difficult. You don't want it to turn confrontational because that could easily rebound onto you. :( How well do you know them? Maybe if you 'bumped into' the wife on her own you could mention 'in passing' that a local man (you don't know who) had been seen beating his dog and that he's been reported to the RSPCA she might mention it to him?

I don't know them that well only to say hello etc in passing with dogs and when we take and pick Indigo up from the nursery.

The close we live in is very much them and us type of situation. They are in each others pockets round the corner where as we keep ourselves to ourselves where we are as in we are friendly but keep a comfotable distance :) There are a couple that have just moved in nearer to them that have a black Lab called Archie who is good buddies with the girls and they are nice, so perhaps I might do some digging see if they know them better.

I don't think I could do the bumping thing as he knows I have seen him doing it and would be so obvious :)

Lucy
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I'll put my thinking cap on and see if anything results. Good luck, anyway, Lucy. It's a horrid situation.

Thanks JG :)

Lucy
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