dogs shot in hopetown

[Blue Moon]

Did everyone hear about the "local" man who shot two potcakes with a gun in Hopetown? I understand there was some issue with them running free on the island, but they were basically good island dogs.. They were spayed and fixed and had flea and tick medicine given to them monthly by the animal group on the island. Homes were being sought for them as well as other homeless dogs and cats by potcake rescue.

The issue is that a local man while under the heavy influence of alcohol took a gun and brutally shot two dogs. They were not turned over to any number of people who would have been willing to tie them up and/or restrain and contain them. A more humane way of euthanizing was not ever given as an option if it fact there was an issue that needed to be addressed.. just a brutal shooting... and guess what? Nothing is being done about the drunk with a gun. It goes to the rant of crime and accountability. What if a human pissed him off and he was in that angry drunk state??

I am not condoning dogs running loose, I am frightened and angry that they were shot in this manner.. We cannot shoot a thief and get away with it..heck we cannot walk around with a loaded gun and get away with it. I am not even certain a "foreigner can have a gun legally in the Bahamas.

The police and government need to listen and pay attention to what is happening. It is not getting better and with the world economy it is not likely to any time soon.

[Patti Puzo]

Did everyone hear about the "local" man who shot two potcakes with a gun in Hopetown? I understand there was some issue with them running free on the island, but they were basically good island dogs.. They were spayed and fixed and had flea and tick medicine given to them monthly by the animal group on the island. Homes were being sought for them as well as other homeless dogs and cats by potcake rescue.

The issue is that a local man while under the heavy influence of alcohol took a gun and brutally shot two dogs. They were not turned over to any number of people who would have been willing to tie them up and/or restrain and contain them. A more humane way of euthanizing was not ever given as an option if it fact there was an issue that needed to be addressed.. just a brutal shooting... and guess what? Nothing is being done about the drunk with a gun. It goes to the rant of crime and accountability. What if a human pissed him off and he was in that angry drunk state??

I am not condoning dogs running loose, I am frightened and angry that they were shot in this manner.. We cannot shoot a thief and get away with it..heck we cannot walk around with a loaded gun and get away with it. I am not even certain a "foreigner can have a gun legally in the Bahamas.

The police and government need to listen and pay attention to what is happening. It is not getting better and with the world economy it is not likely to any time soon.


Blue Moon asked me to post the picture of the potcake for her. So sad.:(

[theKurp]

http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?view=article&id=2137%3Ahumane-societys-2009-top-ten-wishes&option=com_content&Itemid=162

Humane Society's 2009 top ten wishes (http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2137:humane-societys-2009-top-ten-wishes&catid=55:Updates%20from%20the%20Humane%20Society%2 0of%20Grand%20Bahama&Itemid=151) (The two pertaining to this thread are below)


We wish that Government would finally pass new laws to address animal cruelty and out of control breeding…and ensure proper enforcement of same! We also wish that our churches and church leaders would get involved and realize they are in a unique position to make a difference. Of course the church leaders themselves should be good examples of compassion and care for animals, and we've seen several who are not.
http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/images/stories/2009/wk-01-02-09/hsgb1-a.jpg (http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/images/stories/2009/wk-01-02-09/hsgb1-b.jpg)We wish more police officers would educate themselves regarding existing animal cruelty laws and take it seriously. And that more police officers themselves will become caring, responsible pet owners. We're pretty horrified at the number of police officers who chain their dogs or let them roam and breed at will. Very sad testament to the state of our nation when many of the very people sworn to uphold the law are breaking it every single day. No wonder we've never been able to successfully prosecute an animal cruelty case on this island.

[trubahamian]

I een defending anyone or animal abuse,but there are three sides to every story and there is more to this than wat I read.

[culp]

I een defending anyone or animal abuse,but there are three sides to every story and there is more to this than wat I read.



Like what? I can't imagine any excuse for shooting one of God's creatures so brutally. If the dogs are attacking children or other animals, there are more humane ways to deal with it.:confused:

[papanasty]

From what i have been told about the dogs is that Marcel tried to get some one to take the dogs and nobody wanted them also the dogs had bit at least 4 people that had to seek medical attention at the clinic before they were shot and when Marcel shot the dogs he was not DRUNK!He informed the sargent on the island about the problem with the dogs and it was well known that they were dangerous! I am not condoneing shooting the dogs but they had become a danger to the community and if they had bit me or my child i would have made sure they were taken off the Cay, it sounds like no one cared about the fact that the dogs had bitten so many people as i said Macel tried to get some one to take them and no one wanted them,whats a person to do wait until the dogs KILL some one? Papanasty:confused:

[oudi14]

Just a couple of thoughts on this, since I suspect the non- Bahamians on this board will be more upset in general than the Bahamians.
There has always been a stray dog population in Nassau, and sometimes in other places, so much so that the locals became so used to it that it became almost a non-issue. When I was a boy in Nassau, some of our family dogs were strays that my dad, a dog lover, picked up off of the street. Years later, I would read letters to the editor in the Tribune, written by visitors to the island, becrying the problem. Then I realised how much the sight of these wretched animals upset some of the tourists, while we Bahamians, who saw it on a daily basis, didn't think much about it.
When my family moved to Hope Town in 1968, I soon found out that with no vet in Abaco, shooting dogs was the norm, when they were sick, or were a problem for the community. We had always taken our pets to the vet when we lived in Nassau, and encountering this drastic measure left me somewhat shocked. But this was the accepted way in the community. One of our dogs had to be put down in this manner, when she had an advanced case of heartworm. [no heartworm pills back then] Some men were routinely called upon to carry out the unpleasant task, as they could do it without getting upset. I remember several problem dogs being disposed of in the 1970s by being shot.
Nowadays, of course there is a better way, but the individual mentioned is from the older generation, and for most of his life, the gun was the only way to go, so don't be too quick to condemn his actions. I don't know the circumstances of this case, but Papa Nasty has answered about that.

[Local Knowledge]

Well said, oudi.

LK.

[culp]

But you say these days there are other ways of handling the problem. I had a feeling the dogs probably were attacking. I have been under the impression that there are several people who are involved in Potcake rescue on the Cays, and routinely take the dogs to the vet. I understand very well the old school mentality, but in my opinion, that's not justification. And not meaning to sound disrespectful....the fact that something is cultural shouldn't mean it's acceptable.
Hopefully this incident will get people to rally around...like they did over a tree not too long ago.

[trubahamian]

I wanted to be as subtle as possible with my original response regarding this,but now that someone has called a name.......

First of all Marcel is not a "drunk with a gun," he is not violent and he is not a threat to anyone. I won't discuss his personal life,other than to say in most regards he is an example of a culture that has been lost far too quickly in the process of embracing another.

The dogs not only attacked multiple people but bit one woman twice on seperate ocassions. Marcel was embarassed and did wat he thought was right according to how he was brought up.

While I may not agree with how he handled it,I am not about to condemn him for responding the same way many would have before we cared who passed judgement on our backward ways.

[papanasty]

Thank True for backing up Marcel,the thread started out making the person that got rid of the dogs some kind of criminal. The facts are that the dogs did bite several people that had to seek medical attention and marcel tried and tried to get some one to take the dogs but no one wanted them.

The fact that they stated the dogs were good dogs is bull**** they were a menace to the people that live here and the people that visit here!! There was no one looking for a home for them because they were dangerous and no one wanted them.

Althogh Marcel does drink he was not Drunk when he disposed of the dogs and trust me it hurt him to do what he had to do, he loved the dogs but they had just become to aggressive and they had to be put down.

Before he did what he had to do he consulted with the Sargent about the dogs and he said for him to do what he had to do to protect the public even if it meant shooting the dogs!

In all the years i have known Marcel i have never known him to be violent as some one accussed him of being, when some thing happens around here people tend to get things blown way out of proportion and they should get there facts straight before jumping to condem some one for what they obviously had no other choice but to do what was done!! Respectfully Papanasty :(

[trubahamian]

Just like you Papa,I just want people to realise what really happened and that Marcel is a good man,a good neighbour and would help anyone that asked him for it. He is not what someone who started this thread portrayed him to be.

[TOLERance]

I also was wondering why in the orig note the word local was in quotation marks? What does that mean? It seemed to indicate that the person was not a Bahamian, and therefore should not have had a gun? I'm just not clear what the writer was indicating, if anything, by the quotation marks.

[Blue Moon]

he is Bahamian

[PaBill]

Do you enjoy that conch salad, fritters, cracked and scorched? How brutal is the way they're ripped from the shell, cut and skinned alive. How about the brutal way that a grouper has a spear thrust in it's side, or a hook plunged deep in it's mouth, then left to flop and dry out and die in the bottom of a boat? Still eat those grouper fingers and burgers? The 'brutal' way the pigs are shot for the Sunday roast at Nippers? Ever been to a slaughter house? Still like those burgers and pork chops don't you? Maybe y'all just need a good Korean chef to introduce you to the delicacy of dog!! A well placed shot is instantanious, with no suffering and extreme low cost, though painful for the owner that had to put them down. Let your sympathies go to him and not to the problem animals. Had you been one of those attacked, you'd be less appalled I'd wager!

[AbacoPeach]

This thread has become as loaded as U.S. politics. Time to let "sleeping dogs lie." Thread closed.