by Skye

Created on: June 30, 2008

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday. And then it happened. I had been wondering how long it would take.

I was walking my two Greyhounds when I saw my neighbor (I'll call her Carol) coming out of her house. We said hello and she told me her dog had seen a cat and jumped the fence. Wanting to help find the dog, I went one direction and she went the other. It was only a few seconds when I saw her dog. She had caught the cat and I was horrified as I could only watch as she shook it like a rag doll. Immediately I called Carol and she came running, but it was too late, the cat was dead. I had no place to park my dogs to run over any sooner and I know they would have hampered any efforts I could have made.

Carol and I were crying as we walked back to our houses; her carrying the cat and me wishing I had been out there without my dogs. We both felt extremely sad and responsible for whatever we could have done yet were unable to do. We were traumatized by what we saw and had to somehow process how life works.

Carol went inside with the cat's collar to call the owner and it was probably the hardest call she has ever had to make. I could tell the owner was shocked and trying to understand what had happened; it was early in the morning and she had just let the cat out. Carol gave her the address and we waited while the owner came.

All of us were emotionally upset at this scene. There was no blood, the cat had probably been fatally injured from the inside. The owner was speechless; for a moment. She began to yell at Carol and asked her what kind of dog is this that could kill a cat. Carol was still trying to comprehend what had just happened. I spoke up and said, "it's a dog with animal instincts." I told her that Carol's dog was never out unless on a leash and this was a horrible thing that none of us could have stopped. I wanted to say 'no one could have stopped except you'.

I wanted to ask "what king of an owner would let a beautiful cat like this outside and unprotected." You see, I believe that if the cat had been in the house this never would have happened. While some dogs and cats get along great, they have fought like cats and dogs since.... who knows, forever. Our neighborhood is full of loose cats and my Greyhounds would like to catch one. They can run up to 45 mph in three seconds, so they could catch one if they were loose.

This is a situation where you really have to examine where the responsibility lies. Carol had no idea her dog would jump the fence; she was just having a peaceful Sunday morning enjoying the fresh air from the patio. The cat owner made a choice to let her pet out and there is a risk in doing that. Unfortunately, we saw the risk become a reality.

I walked down later that evening to see how Carol was doing. It was evident how she was doing. We talked about the incident and I hope talking about it helped her realize that this was a freak incident. She would never have allowed this to happen and if she could have seen it coming; she most certainly would have stopped her dog from chasing the cat.

We live close to a state park and I have seen foxes in our neighborhood at night. They are looking for prey and a cat would be an easy target for a fox. People drive cars pretty fast through our streets and could easily hit someone's pet. Please, no pet should intentionally be out roaming around on their own. A responsible pet owner does everything they can to protect the health and life of their pet.

The incident I describe was sad and I felt hot tears yesterday everytime I saw the image in my mind of the dog catching the cat. I am an animal lover and it is going to take some time to be at peace with the fact that this is nature.

Learn more about this author, Skye.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.