TheDogHouseBCMPD
I think the only reason I was able to stay calm was b/c I was so focused on getting her before he changed his mind, that I didn't even 'see' how bad it was till I was away from his apartment, and had the chance to really look at her.
Good job!
I wanted to jump back in here -- I have heard several friends relate stories in the past few weeks about ex's mistreating dogs, ex's lying about dogs, holding dogs hostage ...
It's the new "weapon" in divorce apparently. More and more it's common to see judges award "joint custody" of a dog .. or simply an ex realizes the dog **IS** a weapon. And unfortunately they are a weapon that many animal controls won't do a thing about.
Think about how difficult it is to actually get prosecution when someone abuses a *human* family member -- and dogs are, in 49 states, simply considered "property" for the most part (only California, I believe, considers the fact that dogs are sentient beings in their own right and therefore aren't just "property";)
If Vick can get away with what HE did (including federal charges and a ton of evidence) then how much chance does Sue Schmuckatella's EX-husband have of getting really hauled into court after abusing Poochie JUST TO YANK ***HER*** CHAIN!!!????
It's horrible, and honestly it's something we need to figure out how to effectively attack. How to bring pressure to bear on someone like that without getting arrested for harassment in OUR turn.
PLEASE PLEASE -- those of you young, in new or not so new relationships HEED THIS. A lot of us on here have been thru divorces and break ups that were majorly nasty. My ex stalked me (both in real life and online) but at least his abuse of my animals stopped when he moved out (and he wasn't smart enough to do anything else later on).
I'm not just speaking to the girls here -- when people go thru a divorce or a messy break-up, often they just plain aren't fully stable. We go thru a period of "shock" and it can be incomprehensible that beyond the hurt we, individually, have suffered, that this 'ex' may actually try to hurt the dog.
Often these things happen gradually -- but PLEASE BEWARE -- it may seem like that other person genuinely loves the dogs and wants partial custody or will "be good to them". DON'T DO IT if you can possibly avoid it.
I know my ex went thru all sorts of "grief" because I kept Foxy and Old Mike but as I uncovered abuse and nasty stuff that I hadn't seen it made me sick.
So often in a relationship gone bad that other person is just LOOKING for a way to hurt you. In ways you can't even possibly even imagine (and we're ALL pretty much basket cases in a situation like this).
My point is this -- Let what happened to Steph and Dusty be a HUGE lesson. HUGE red flag.
Someone said it above == a beagle not eating? RED FLAG.
I have to hand it to Steph for really goind to bat for her dog. I know she's had a boatload of sadness happen as a result of the ex's lazy, despicable actions with the dogs he kept (and at first she even had to live in the same building as he did).
But watch out for this kind of stuff. Steph, you are an awesome lady to post this -- I hope like heck it kicks someone else in the butt. None of us ever wants to contemplate that something similiar may happen to us. Nor can normal "sane" people actually understand the lengths someone may go to in order to be hurtful and "get back at you".
I'm not trying to stir up trouble for anyone -- just hide THIS story of Dusty in your hearts. I hope like heck you are never going to find out first hand what stuff like this feels like -- but maybe you can pull this story out and relate it to another friend going thru something similar. No, not everyone feels as deeply for their animals as we, on this messageboard, do.
BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO -- that honestly *does* make that animal a perfect tool for revenge. So be wary!!
*Nominating Stef to MY HERO OF THE WEEK*