I lost three precious ducks

[freshprincess87]

I’m not understanding how this can be a “therapy dog”. A trained assistance dog would not attack like that; it would have been weeded out from the training program at the beginning. If it’s an emotional assistance dog, I wonder how someone can be assisted by a violent animal.

I know there have been tightening of rules related to emotional assistance dogs. I wonder if this animal has ever been registered as such or trained at all. I know there is a process to register a pet as an emotional assistance animal if your dr or therapist really believes it’s a stabilizing influence. I wonder if they did that. You can’t just “say it”, the animal must be registered and I would think as such BEFORE the duck killing incident.

I don’t understand it either. I’ve mentioned what you said to my partner though. Because that sounds correct. Doesn’t a dogs natural instinct still kick in though even after training? Or are they fully trained to not kill other animals? I keep thinking about guide dogs too that help blind people. Are they capable of this kind of murder against birds too?

My partner contacted another person from the local council, another councilman. The rude lady who called him is just a risk assessment officer but also responsible for animal control. But I don’t know if councilmen are of higher status than her and can overrule her decision. I’m mad at this woman. Clearly she didn’t view the evidence properly. And insinuated that it’s our fault. Did she not see enano’s head ripped from her body!? It was found on the floor seperate from her body! This was the hardest thing I ever had to witness alongside the other two ducks just dead in front of my eyes. I can’t get closure if the council won’t do something about that dog or it’s owners. They should be in jail! That little girl from last year who was attacked by a dog she knew is still alive and her mother has her “baby girl”. Yet that dog was euthanised. I’ve lost my three babies and I won’t see them ever again. But this dog will be released to do it again because I don’t think the owners will comply properly or they will become reckless and another animal will suffer.

My partner said the councilman he contacted has called a council meeting for next week. That’s all I know. I just wish they can do something. And another weird thing now: he spoke with the guy from last week again this morning, and this guy said he didn’t hear or read anything about the dog being a therapy dog! I don’t understand! Is this risk assessment lady corrupt? Is she friends with those dog owners!? I’m confused. I want my babies to rest in peace and I want justice for them. The council is not doing enough.

Thank you for still replying me. I feel so alone here. Sometimes I just don’t even want to be here anymore. That is, in Tasmania. I was already struggling with that for awhile but now I just feel even more depressed after losing my babies in this manner.

I’ve been reading through the bereavement thread. I’ve read in some posts that dogs kill quickly. The hard part is not knowing if my babies suffered or if it happened in just a second. It shouldn’t have happened at all. I try not to, but I keep going through it in my mind. How it happened. How long it lasted for them. Did they almost escape but the dog got them. I just hope they didn’t suffer. I have lots of birds in the house and I know how mean they can be with each other.

How many times I’ve had to tell my lovebirds to leave the other one’s feet alone, or one conure to leave the feathers of the other conure alone. Or the Indian ringneck to just stop growling at his superb parrot neighbour. They all have names but at the moment I can’t write them. However the ducklings were different. They were so KIND. They didn’t harm each other. When enano preened princess it was because she was doing it lovingly. Mr patito was a sweet boy too. He did chase princess sometimes but it was usually because he wanted to get to the water and she was standing in the way. Enano would always protect princess anyway. I wonder if she tried to protect her that day too and if that’s how she lost her beautiful head. Or if they witnessed it happening to mr patito first and were in shock or traumatised before it happened to them. I wish I could go back in time. They were kind hearted and did not deserve this.

 

[HeatherG]

I don’t understand it either. I’ve mentioned what you said to my partner though. Because that sounds correct. Doesn’t a dogs natural instinct still kick in though even after training? Or are they fully trained to not kill other animals? I keep thinking about guide dogs too that help blind people. Are they capable of this kind of murder against birds too?

My partner contacted another person from the local council, another councilman. The rude lady who called him is just a risk assessment officer but also responsible for animal control. But I don’t know if councilmen are of higher status than her and can overrule her decision. I’m mad at this woman. Clearly she didn’t view the evidence properly. And insinuated that it’s our fault. Did she not see enano’s head ripped from her body!? It was found on the floor seperate from her body! This was the hardest thing I ever had to witness alongside the other two ducks just dead in front of my eyes. I can’t get closure if the council won’t do something about that dog or it’s owners. They should be in jail! That little girl from last year who was attacked by a dog she knew is still alive and her mother has her “baby girl”. Yet that dog was euthanised. I’ve lost my three babies and I won’t see them ever again. But this dog will be released to do it again because I don’t think the owners will comply properly or they will become reckless and another animal will suffer.

My partner said the councilman he contacted has called a council meeting for next week. That’s all I know. I just wish they can do something. And another weird thing now: he spoke with the guy from last week again this morning, and this guy said he didn’t hear or read anything about the dog being a therapy dog! I don’t understand! Is this risk assessment lady corrupt? Is she friends with those dog owners!? I’m confused. I want my babies to rest in peace and I want justice for them. The council is not doing enough.

Thank you for still replying me. I feel so alone here. Sometimes I just don’t even want to be here anymore. That is, in Tasmania. I was already struggling with that for awhile but now I just feel even more depressed after losing my babies in this manner.

I’ve been reading through the bereavement thread. I’ve read in some posts that dogs kill quickly. The hard part is not knowing if my babies suffered or if it happened in just a second. It shouldn’t have happened at all. I try not to, but I keep going through it in my mind. How it happened. How long it lasted for them. Did they almost escape but the dog got them. I just hope they didn’t suffer. I have lots of birds in the house and I know how mean they can be with each other.

How many times I’ve had to tell my lovebirds to leave the other one’s feet alone, or one conure to leave the feathers of the other conure alone. Or the Indian ringneck to just stop growling at his superb parrot neighbour. They all have names but at the moment I can’t write them. However the ducklings were different. They were so KIND. They didn’t harm each other. When enano preened princess it was because she was doing it lovingly. Mr patito was a sweet boy too. He did chase princess sometimes but it was usually because he wanted to get to the water and she was standing in the way. Enano would always protect princess anyway. I wonder if she tried to protect her that day too and if that’s how she lost her beautiful head. Or if they witnessed it happening to mr patito first and were in shock or traumatised before it happened to them. I wish I could go back in time. They were kind hearted and did not deserve this.

I do think dogs kill quickly. They’re not like cats; they don’t play with prey. So yes, it was probably over in seconds.

Also: a seeing eye dog or assistance dog should sit and ignore bratty little kids, birds, food on the ground, etc. while at work. That’s why I think maybe they were calling the dog an “emotional support dog” but you have to do paperwork and have a dr or therapists letter to qualify for an emotional support animal.

I always FELT my parrot was an emotional support animal but I never did the paperwork so she was not one.

 

[freshprincess87]

I do think dogs kill quickly. They’re not like cats; they don’t play with prey. So yes, it was probably over in seconds.

Also: a seeing eye dog or assistance dog should sit and ignore bratty little kids, birds, food on the ground, etc. while at work. That’s why I think maybe they were calling the dog an “emotional support dog” but you have to do paperwork and have a dr or therapists letter to qualify for an emotional support animal.

I always FELT my parrot was an emotional support animal but I never did the paperwork so she was not one.

I wish it never happened to my babies at all but at the very least I hope it was quick and painless. My precious babies. They deserved better nonetheless. I can’t get their images out of my mind. The lost head, their facial Expressions. I guess that monster thought they were toys. But they weren’t. They were babies who were alive and had personality and feelings. I miss them so much. The lounge room is so empty without them. I still struggle with this sudden, new reality. I try to distract myself but I still find it hard to.

From what you have described about support dogs, it doesn’t sound like this particular dog was one. It doesn’t seem trained properly. I’ve seen guide dogs outside and they seem to act the way you described above. Helping their owner and not noticing anything else.

I’ll check what the laws are here about therapy dogs because this doesn’t sound correct about this particular dog. And with the mixed information from the council, I get more distressed. I just want justice. I admit, I don’t care if the dog is euthanised. But my partner has said he doesn’t want that and just wants the dog rehomed elsewhere with another more responsible owner. If that can be an outcome then I can somehow find closure too. I’ll tell my partner everything you have said too so he can tell the council and hopefully they overturn the decision. I think the laws are different in different countries, states etc.

I am the same as you. My little birds have given me emotional
Support over the years. But I’ve never filled out paperwork to declare them as emotional support animals. Even if they did provide it to me. Especially those ducklings. I feel like telling the council what about considering my support and what’s been taken from me too and ensuring no one else has to go through this again, especially another bird.

 

[freshprincess87]

I just wanted to provide an update regarding my ducklings.

I told my partner to contact the media to see if they would be interested in publishing a story about what happened. To get the issue out there. To show how uncaring the council is. So he contacted the local newspaper to let them know what happened with the ducklings and how unhappy we were with the local council decision. They were very interested in publishing a story about it. They spoke with my partner, I was outside at the time. Plus he's the one who is registered as a wildlife carer, not me, so it made sense. They published a story about it, 2.5 weeks ago and it was on the 3rd page I think. There was a reference to it on the front page though, which was on the top right corner that said "SHOCK DUCK ATTACK" with a small photo of my partner (which was big in the actual article itself). So the editor clearly thought that my babies were worth it. I think the fact that it is a regional/rural newspaper helped, since this is a regional area. A city newspaper probably wouldn't care less. It was a short story, but enough information was there, and it made the local council look back. As the reporter had to contact the council for their side of the story and all they said was "it''s an ongoing investigation so we can't comment on this particular case and we have information on dog ownership on our website".

Anyway a week after the article was published, we heard from the council again. Specifically, the man who came in the first place to take my partner's statement and the photos of evidence the day after it happened. He stopped by to let us know a few changes were made. He knew we were unhappy with the outcome, but he's not the one who makes the decisions, that's another risk and animal control officer. The one who rang my partner and wasn't nice and called the dog a therapy dog.

Anyway the man said we don't have to worry about that dog anymore, or it's owners. The dog was re-homed to another more responsible owner far away from here. A record of what the dog did to our ducks is registered too, as this dog is microchipped etc. And those prior owner's no longer live nearby. I'm not sure of the full story, but my guess is that they might have been kicked out of their house and half the house has been burned down or something. That's what I heard anyway. It's possible that the council gave them time to build a proper enclosure but they didn't do it. It was a very rundown house. I don't know how they were allowed to have a dog when they apparently had a broken window which the dog could climb out of anytime. I also think they already had issues with their rental housing authority and possibly with the council too. The man himself said he had his own personal altercation with them and didn't like them at all.

He also mentioned the dog couldn't be declared as a dangerous dog. Apparently it's because the council doesn't have that authority, and they have to apply for this via a court legally. And the man said he personally thought they would not win, and if they applied and failed to get the dog declared as dangerous, then the dog would have just walked free and nothing would have changed at all.

So overall, the outcome my partner wanted, was achieved. The dog is far away, re-homed with someone else more responsible. Those prior lousy owners are far away and not allowed to return to this area ever again, and the house they lived in is half burnt down. And a record of what the dog did is registered. The man said the dog is with someone much more responsible and that it's very unlikely he will do something like that again. I was concerned about the fact that it tasted blood and will do it again to another innocent bird. I hope it doesn't. I personally wanted the dog euthanised and it's owner's severely punished. I know it's cruel, but he took my babies life in the most horrific way. THREE OF MY BABIES. I still picture their lifeless faces on a daily basis and it kills me inside. I still can't look at their photos and videos and I very much want to share some of them on youtube for everyone here to watch.

I guess the newspaper article pushed the council to rethink their decision. It's odd that the lady who rang my partner said that the dog would be declared dangerous and will be released back to the prior owners under stricter conditions. I don't know if the plan was to apply to the courts afterwards or something. Either way, everything this lady said was bull.

I also asked the man, why did this lady say the dog was a therapy dog when it was not, at all. He said it was more the fact that the dog "felt" like a therapy dog to the owner. So exactly what you mentioned to me above HeatherG. But this owner clearly did think much of her dog if she let it roam the streets to kill innocent lives.

Nothing will bring my babies back. But I hope this is some form of justice for them. And I hope they know, that I am not ok without them. That I think of them daily. That I still cry for them daily. That I wish they were still here. That my life will never be the same because of what happened to them. I still can't get past what happened. THAT THEY WERE EXTREMELY SPECIAL TO ME AND MADE MY DAYS WHOLE WHEN I STRUGGLED WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, TO WHICH NOW MY DAYS ARE JUST DULL AND EMPTY. How I wish I could do the same thing to the monsters who did this. I say monsters plural because I mean the dog, but also it's prior owners who have no remorse. I hope they know, that I'm doing my best to ensure the remaining birds in here are cared for. My special lovebirds and diamond doves. And the other medium sized parrots and doves to which there are too many species to name. I'll save that for another, more positive, post.

 

[freshprincess87]

I also wanted to mention. Last Friday, on June 10th (approximately a month after the duckings lost their lives), one pigeon in the garage passed away.

Her name was turtle. She was disabled, and lived her life in a container. A clear container so she could see the other pigeons go about their day. She couldn't live in a cage or aviary because she would hurt herself and her wings due to being unable to walk. She had a nice comfortable cushion in there to rest on. My partner found her probably a year and a half ago with an injury to her legs. So she couldn't walk. He tried to rehabilitate her but unfortunately her legs were just broken. I think the vets would have just said to euthanise her. But she didn't want to die. She was quite content. She still ate and drank water, but had to be hand fed food and water. She could eat by herself if the food was in a specific spot that she could reach from where she was laying down. She was held twice a day while she stretched her wings at least. And during the summer my partner would hold her and take her outside to watch the wild birds and pigeons. The days were long and warm so she liked seeing what was happening outside sometimes.

To be honest, she was the only reason I ever went to the garage myself (apart from when mr patito the duck was there, but he was able to feed himself). I have a complicated relationship with the other pigeons there. They make a lot of noise during the night. It's likely because mice are getting in and they hear them around. So in a way I don't blame them, but at the same time, I'm frustrated by the lack fo sleep at times due to their noise. Anyway after awhile I just stopped going to the garage and my partner would have them all settled if he had a work shift or something. I only went there to turn the light off in the evening and give turtle some food and water. During the day she was the only reason I wen there too. To give her food and water.

I'm not sure what happened to her, but my guess is the lack of exercise got to her and may have impacted her liver. I always anticipated this day might come for her. But she was fine, she ate and drank and still had a zest for life despite being disabled. She was happy in her surroundings and that was the main thing.

I find it a bit scary that her death happened exactly a month after my ducklings though. She was buried in a plant outside. Normally, any wild pigeons or wild birds are buried elsewhere. But we thought she eventually became family, so she deserved to be buried in that plant, where some diamond doves are buried and the first baby duckling that died is buried too. RIP Turtle. My ducklings are surely looking after you and I hope you are able to walk wherever you are now. Please know you were loved, and please let my ducklings know that I miss them terribly too.

Her name was turtle because when we would pat her head, she would bend her head, kind of like a turtle.

 

[SunConureBaba]

I just wanted to provide an update regarding my ducklings.

I told my partner to contact the media to see if they would be interested in publishing a story about what happened. To get the issue out there. To show how uncaring the council is. So he contacted the local newspaper to let them know what happened with the ducklings and how unhappy we were with the local council decision. They were very interested in publishing a story about it. They spoke with my partner, I was outside at the time. Plus he's the one who is registered as a wildlife carer, not me, so it made sense. They published a story about it, 2.5 weeks ago and it was on the 3rd page I think. There was a reference to it on the front page though, which was on the top right corner that said "SHOCK DUCK ATTACK" with a small photo of my partner (which was big in the actual article itself). So the editor clearly thought that my babies were worth it. I think the fact that it is a regional/rural newspaper helped, since this is a regional area. A city newspaper probably wouldn't care less. It was a short story, but enough information was there, and it made the local council look back. As the reporter had to contact the council for their side of the story and all they said was "it''s an ongoing investigation so we can't comment on this particular case and we have information on dog ownership on our website".

Anyway a week after the article was published, we heard from the council again. Specifically, the man who came in the first place to take my partner's statement and the photos of evidence the day after it happened. He stopped by to let us know a few changes were made. He knew we were unhappy with the outcome, but he's not the one who makes the decisions, that's another risk and animal control officer. The one who rang my partner and wasn't nice and called the dog a therapy dog.

Anyway the man said we don't have to worry about that dog anymore, or it's owners. The dog was re-homed to another more responsible owner far away from here. A record of what the dog did to our ducks is registered too, as this dog is microchipped etc. And those prior owner's no longer live nearby. I'm not sure of the full story, but my guess is that they might have been kicked out of their house and half the house has been burned down or something. That's what I heard anyway. It's possible that the council gave them time to build a proper enclosure but they didn't do it. It was a very rundown house. I don't know how they were allowed to have a dog when they apparently had a broken window which the dog could climb out of anytime. I also think they already had issues with their rental housing authority and possibly with the council too. The man himself said he had his own personal altercation with them and didn't like them at all.

He also mentioned the dog couldn't be declared as a dangerous dog. Apparently it's because the council doesn't have that authority, and they have to apply for this via a court legally. And the man said he personally thought they would not win, and if they applied and failed to get the dog declared as dangerous, then the dog would have just walked free and nothing would have changed at all.

So overall, the outcome my partner wanted, was achieved. The dog is far away, re-homed with someone else more responsible. Those prior lousy owners are far away and not allowed to return to this area ever again, and the house they lived in is half burnt down. And a record of what the dog did is registered. The man said the dog is with someone much more responsible and that it's very unlikely he will do something like that again. I was concerned about the fact that it tasted blood and will do it again to another innocent bird. I hope it doesn't. I personally wanted the dog euthanised and it's owner's severely punished. I know it's cruel, but he took my babies life in the most horrific way. THREE OF MY BABIES. I still picture their lifeless faces on a daily basis and it kills me inside. I still can't look at their photos and videos and I very much want to share some of them on youtube for everyone here to watch.

I guess the newspaper article pushed the council to rethink their decision. It's odd that the lady who rang my partner said that the dog would be declared dangerous and will be released back to the prior owners under stricter conditions. I don't know if the plan was to apply to the courts afterwards or something. Either way, everything this lady said was bull.

I also asked the man, why did this lady say the dog was a therapy dog when it was not, at all. He said it was more the fact that the dog "felt" like a therapy dog to the owner. So exactly what you mentioned to me above HeatherG. But this owner clearly did think much of her dog if she let it roam the streets to kill innocent lives.

Nothing will bring my babies back. But I hope this is some form of justice for them. And I hope they know, that I am not ok without them. That I think of them daily. That I still cry for them daily. That I wish they were still here. That my life will never be the same because of what happened to them. I still can't get past what happened. THAT THEY WERE EXTREMELY SPECIAL TO ME AND MADE MY DAYS WHOLE WHEN I STRUGGLED WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, TO WHICH NOW MY DAYS ARE JUST DULL AND EMPTY. How I wish I could do the same thing to the monsters who did this. I say monsters plural because I mean the dog, but also it's prior owners who have no remorse. I hope they know, that I'm doing my best to ensure the remaining birds in here are cared for. My special lovebirds and diamond doves. And the other medium sized parrots and doves to which there are too many species to name. I'll save that for another, more positive, post.

This may be the second best ending. If I were you, I would have torn the dog into pieces myself, the moment I saw the crime scene, without thinking about consequences.

Ill-behaved dogs like this are often the owner's fault. We have a crazy dog in our neighborhood who would start barking at 5-7 am. The bark is desperate and super loud, like the sound a dog would make if someone grabbed his tail and swing him in circles (I imagine). This particular dog is probably never walked by his owner. I filed 2 noise complaint to no avail.

It's possible that the dog in your case may be re-homed to a more responsible owner, and lives a better life that it doesn't deserve.

 

[freshprincess87]

This may be the second best ending. If I were you, I would have torn the dog into pieces myself, the moment I saw the crime scene, without thinking about consequences.

Ill-behaved dogs like this are often the owner's fault. We have a crazy dog in our neighborhood who would start barking at 5-7 am. The bark is desperate and super loud, like the sound a dog would make if someone grabbed his tail and swing him in circles (I imagine). This particular dog is probably never walked by his owner. I filed 2 noise complaint to no avail.

It's possible that the dog in your case may be re-homed to a more responsible owner, and lives a better life that it doesn't deserve.

Thanks for that. I have come to learn that this is correct. That it is the fault of the owners. My brother said the same thing earlier on. I still feel anger towards that particular dog. Because he has his life somewhere else, but my babies lost theirs. But I have much much more anger towards the owners who probably neglected that dog and that's what led to it trespassing and hurting my babies. Apparently they lived in a very run down property nearby and even the window was broken. I don't know how they were even allowed to have a dog on their property with a broken window. I guess all I can say is, I wish extremely terrible things on those people. I hope the rest of their lives are miserable and that they constantly suffer. At least they aren't allowed to come back around here, and that dog is far away.

Every time the plover bird here is outside I still worry about her. She's a wild bird, but seems to have neurological issues and doesn't seem to fly for some reason. So she says outside during the day but is brought inside in the evening, or a bit earlier if it's raining or simply just too cold. I worry if a predator was around that she won't fly. When we are near her, she kind of just walks around in fast circles (hence the neurological issues). I still don't know where she hid when the ducklings lost their lives. I only know that I think she tried to call out to warn everyone that a predator was here and I didn't know it. She's also young. I think she's an adult but maybe only a one year old adult, as she looked like an adolescent when she came here with an injury sometime last year. I think the injury was on her head. I think she still misses mr patito. They spent many days in the summer outside together. He was in his playpen, while she wandered around but stayed close to him. She sometimes looks at the area where his playpen used to be (where a shrine for the ducklings are now) and seems a bit sad. She has a regular blackbird visitor these days though. He steals her food though. Funnily enough, I think that blackbird used to come here as a baby with it's parents and may have spent one night here in the garage. He doesn't seem afraid of me if I'm around giving worms to the plover.

That's correct. The dog was apparently re-homed to someone else far away from here, and apparently that new owner is more responsible. The council man couldn't give further information due to privacy but reassured us that this was the case. He, himself, did not like those prior owners and said he even had an altercation with them. I am grateful that the local newspaper thought my babies were worth a front page mention. While sometimes I get fed up of living in the countryside (I grew up in Sydney), it's small things like this that make me appreciate it a little more.

The hardest part of that day was seeing my babies lifeless. I'll never forget those faces and my precious enano's head separated from her body. She had the most beautiful eyes. I'll never forget them ever. They were so special. And I feel angry that the dog still has it's life and they don't. They had such a zest for life. Simple things made them very happy.

Is there a process where you live to get the dog possibly removed? Who handles noise complaints? The local council? It sounds like the owners aren't looking after it properly. They might not be feeding it properly too and maybe it's hungry. Hearing loud barking from 5 in the morning is horrible. I would not want to hear that either. I get frustrated with hearing pigeons cooing at odd times of the night and in the early morning during summer when wild ones are nearby from 5am ish due to early sunrises, and a dog barking nearby would be worse. I hope something is done soon. Have you tried ear plugs? I've tried them but they just felt uncomfortable and didn't really work for me so I don't bother anymore and just hope that no one is going to be noisy too early in the morning.

 

[SunConureBaba]

Thanks for that. I have come to learn that this is correct. That it is the fault of the owners. My brother said the same thing earlier on. I still feel anger towards that particular dog. Because he has his life somewhere else, but my babies lost theirs. But I have much much more anger towards the owners who probably neglected that dog and that's what led to it trespassing and hurting my babies. Apparently they lived in a very run down property nearby and even the window was broken. I don't know how they were even allowed to have a dog on their property with a broken window. I guess all I can say is, I wish extremely terrible things on those people. I hope the rest of their lives are miserable and that they constantly suffer. At least they aren't allowed to come back around here, and that dog is far away.

Every time the plover bird here is outside I still worry about her. She's a wild bird, but seems to have neurological issues and doesn't seem to fly for some reason. So she says outside during the day but is brought inside in the evening, or a bit earlier if it's raining or simply just too cold. I worry if a predator was around that she won't fly. When we are near her, she kind of just walks around in fast circles (hence the neurological issues). I still don't know where she hid when the ducklings lost their lives. I only know that I think she tried to call out to warn everyone that a predator was here and I didn't know it. She's also young. I think she's an adult but maybe only a one year old adult, as she looked like an adolescent when she came here with an injury sometime last year. I think the injury was on her head. I think she still misses mr patito. They spent many days in the summer outside together. He was in his playpen, while she wandered around but stayed close to him. She sometimes looks at the area where his playpen used to be (where a shrine for the ducklings are now) and seems a bit sad. She has a regular blackbird visitor these days though. He steals her food though. Funnily enough, I think that blackbird used to come here as a baby with it's parents and may have spent one night here in the garage. He doesn't seem afraid of me if I'm around giving worms to the plover.

That's correct. The dog was apparently re-homed to someone else far away from here, and apparently that new owner is more responsible. The council man couldn't give further information due to privacy but reassured us that this was the case. He, himself, did not like those prior owners and said he even had an altercation with them. I am grateful that the local newspaper thought my babies were worth a front page mention. While sometimes I get fed up of living in the countryside (I grew up in Sydney), it's small things like this that make me appreciate it a little more.

The hardest part of that day was seeing my babies lifeless. I'll never forget those faces and my precious enano's head separated from her body. She had the most beautiful eyes. I'll never forget them ever. They were so special. And I feel angry that the dog still has it's life and they don't. They had such a zest for life. Simple things made them very happy.

Is there a process where you live to get the dog possibly removed? Who handles noise complaints? The local council? It sounds like the owners aren't looking after it properly. They might not be feeding it properly too and maybe it's hungry. Hearing loud barking from 5 in the morning is horrible. I would not want to hear that either. I get frustrated with hearing pigeons cooing at odd times of the night and in the early morning during summer when wild ones are nearby from 5am ish due to early sunrises, and a dog barking nearby would be worse. I hope something is done soon. Have you tried ear plugs? I've tried them but they just felt uncomfortable and didn't really work for me so I don't bother anymore and just hope that no one is going to be noisy too early in the morning.

The plover bird got wild survival instinct that's probably why it sensed the danger beforehand.

I believe it's only a matter of time before the owner and dog get their bad karma returned to them. If it's not in this life, it's gonna be the next.

We had some blackbirds in my backyard eating and "stealing" cashew / blueberries from robins. One day a blackbird scared a pregnant robin away from the birdbath while she was taking a shower. The male robin immediately attacked the blackbird, and it didn't fight back. Then one day all of the blackbirds were gone and never came back, never heard of their "chalk scratching on blackboard" like scream again. What happened? The robins are still here, I saw 5+ of them foraging in my backyard this afternoon.

I'm not gonna do anything about the barking dog for now. My sleep quality has improved now and even if I do get awaken by them, I immediately fall back to asleep. Those are my neighbor's neighbors. I don't think ear plugs will work well cuz it's uncomfortable.