Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo · 8 May 2010 at 6:47AM

Ugh. Awake at 5:15am again because OH forgot to shut the door whilst sitting having a cuppa and hadn't noticed that puppy had gone awol, mmmm and I am rather green and cabbage looking. Sleep deprivation is kicking in. Couldn't go back to sleep because DD2 was awoken by the same very excited small balck poo machine.

Still had I gone back to bed I would have missed all the excitment caused by puppy eating a slug. I gather from the various noises that vomit is imminent. Oh joy.

Splurged on take oput last night as I'm far too tired to do anything. Was v. pleasant and theres enough left over for lunch today despite only getting 3 dishes between four of us. Spent £8 at the Co-Op on milk and four meals worth of whoopsied chicken thighs which I can slap in the slowcooker along with the geriatric vegetables lurking in the bottom of the fridge for dinner tonight. Seem to be getting back into the swing of minimalistic grocery shopping which is just as well because the cupboards are groaning with food.

Booked two morning sessions in holiday club which set me back £44 for 9 hours. Hoping that Pony Club is on as that works out cheaper and the DDs enjoy it far more. Forgot that I still have to fork out almost £100 as the final installment for DD1s next school trip but thats not due until after payday. Seem to be spending money faster than I'm earning it at the mo.

OH has inverted the handle on the door to puppy land so that it no longer works when she leaps on it. If only he'd learn to use it.

moo2moo · 8 May 2010 at 8:53AM

Have been crawling around in the hedge in my PJs. Hen is most definately broody and sitting on roughly 10 eggs. Shes a v.v. protective mother. Assuming we have 14 days to hatching but this is a bit of a stab in the dark as I'm clueless how long shes actually been sitting on the eggs. Tis quite probably considerably less. Will be annoying her on a dialy basis so I can move her and the chicks to a secure pen att he very earliest opportunity.

moo2moo · 9 May 2010 at 6:17AM

We won't be having chicks any time soon. The broody hen, along with a dozen plus others is dead. Not at the hands of Mr Fox but thanks to an out of control domestic dog and its negligent owner. The dog in question broke away from its tetherings, leapt over 3 fences, one of which was electrified and in the space of 40 minutes devastated the chicken population here. My disabled neighbour was out in the garden and saw it all but was completely unable to do anything apart from phone to say it was happening. But by that time there were corpses everywhere. Phoned its owner who appeared and watched it round up and kill another hen who'd flown to a neighbouring field for safety. Hes offered to compensate us which is meaningless when you think that the DDs stood at the window and saw bodies a few feet away despite being told to stay away from the windows.

Since this is the second time that this dog has done this I have this time reported the incident to the police but am now in the unfortunate position that if I choose to have an officer visit and take formal statements the dog is likely to be destroyed under a clause in the dangerous dogs act that covers death of livestock. Whilst a big part of me recognises that this is the sensible option another knows that this is also a childs pet although a child of parents who have encouraged the dog to kill rabbits and acknowlegde that once its got the taste for blood theres no stopping it until its had enough. Frankly I've had enough.

To say yesterday was a carp day is an understatement.

First job of the day is to see if any more chooks have returned this morning and to see if any of those that we managed to round up have died overnight from shock or internal injury. I have two others that have flesh wounds which may well become infected from the saliva in the dogs mouth. Won't know one way or the other with them for another few days. Absolute worst case scenario I'll be left with half a dozen healthy birds. Really makes me wonder if I shouldn't be rehoming the lot so that theres no chance of this ever happening again. OH is of the opinion we should apply for a firearms certificate, purchase a shotgun and register with DEFRA which would allow us to shoot the dog on sight should it appear for a repeat performance.

moo2moo · 9 May 2010 at 6:53AM

Have braved the big world outside. We have 11 hens, one of which is huddled in a dark corner. I guess shes not going to make it. Doesn't seem to be in any distress and isn't making any funny noises so I'm going to wait and see. Seems awful to dispatch her for looking down in the dumps when she could well just be in shock. Its better than I'd hoped but still awful. No sign of infection on the other two but it is very early days.

Helen105 · 9 May 2010 at 8:29AM

Oh Moo, that's dreadful.
You must be very angry at the owner who has let you & your family see your animals die in pain & fear and at the same time put you in the situation where the logical course of action would be to put you in the position of causing another child to be deprived of their pet.
Could you talk to the owners and tell them the dog must go and give them the chance to try and get him rehomed somewhere away from livestock?

Eager_Elephant · 9 May 2010 at 8:47AM

Oh My Goodness Moo,

How terrible for you and the family.

Unfortunately I am a firm believer that once a dog has done something like this it will continue to do so. What if the dog is not destroyed and it happens again - I mean the dog has escaped it's tether this time so it probably will again.
What if the dog is rehomed but they do not tell the new owners and the same thing happens?

What if someone had tried to stop the dog and they had got bitten/injured?

I don't see why you should be penalised for wanting to have chickens and not being able to have some because a neighbour can't control their dog.

(((((Moo & family))))

EE

ETA - Just re-read and this is the second time so my statement stands true - I think you know the best solution but of course it will be difficult

mooomin · 9 May 2010 at 9:08AM

Oh Moo, I'm so sorry to hear that

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Unfortunately I am a firm believer that once a dog has done something like this it will continue to do so. What if the dog is not destroyed and it happens again - I mean the dog has escaped it's tether this time so it probably will again.

The worry for me would be that although the dog is someone's pet, you have said that the owners accept it has a "taste for blood". What if next time it's a child instead of a chook? I think that the police should be encouraged to visit, and you should not feel guilt about it. The guilt should come from the owners who have encouraged this behaviour in their pet without thought of the consequences.

*hug*