Do Dogs Commit Suicide?

In the past six months five dogs have fallen to their death off a bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland. This fact does not seem to be disputed. What is controversial is whether or not the dogs fell because they committed suicide. Or did they think they saw something and accidentally leapt? In the most recent case a woman claims that she was out walking her dog when it suddenly ran away from her "vaulted over the parapet and plunged 40ft to its death."

Some animal behaviorists are dismissing the notion that suicide was the cause of the dogs' deaths, arguing that dogs never commit suicide. Personally, I'm not sure what to think. I did once hear about a dog who was so despondent after its master died that it walked out to some train tracks and lay there until a train ran it over. However, I'll concede that this story may be an urban legend because I can't remember where I heard it. And I doubt that five dogs in a row would commit suicide in the same place. However, this bridge in Dumbarton does have a spooky history. In 1994 a guy threw his two-week-old son off of it, believing that the child was the Antichrist. So believers in the supernatural are having a field day with this case.

Animals Death

Posted on Mon Mar 07, 2005



Comments

Someone asked if it's illegal to give a dog prozac- actually I've heard of vets perscribing it!

Also my boyfriend's aunt had a beagle that hung itself on her back porch one Easter.
Posted by Katey  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  03:30 PM
Well, you know how depression goes up on holidays.. 😊
Posted by winona  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  04:04 PM
;o; awww....Those poor doggies! I just feel for them....>_< but if they chose to die on their own will then....I guess there's nothing we can do about it.
Poor doggies ...
and i do believe animals will commit suicide. remember the love bird stories? If one bird dies, the other one just wilts away ....same logic.
Humans aren't that different from animals, in fact, we ARE animals. so what's so surprising if they get depressed too?
Posted by Mika  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  05:49 PM
But, besides ill treatment, what would drive a dog to suicide? I mean, the Old Mother Hubbard story is pretty depressing, empty cupboard and all that...
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:03 PM
plus, the : Doggy-Denigration language thing, as in: "Work like a dog", "You dog", "Dirty Dog", "Egg-suckin' dog"... you get the picture...
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:06 PM
Low self-esteem might explain the whole Crotch-sniffin', ball-licking thing too, eh? Same thing happened to my cousin.
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:09 PM
perhaps... they saw a bone in the water, and mistook it to be in the mouth of their own reflection, and, thinking it was another dog, dove in out of envy
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:12 PM
perhaps... they finally realized how far they had evolved from the simple, free ranging canines of eons past, never to run with the pack, to hunt, to howl at The Moon...
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:15 PM
perhaps... they knew that the time for change was long past, that they were forever locked in a role of subservience, no longer true sons of Canus
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:18 PM
or maybe they were just crazy dogs... Dogs ARE crazy... ever try and talk Politics with one? They get all mad and foam at the mouth- like Republicans
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  06:20 PM
>>>Oh, c'mon, this isn't suicide; the dogs are just stupid, or clumsy.<<<

Yeah, but the dogs leapt over the railing and off the bridge. That goes beyond just being clumsy and stupid, it takes an effort and an act of will. Lots of people are clumsy and stupid, but the great majority of them somehow manage not to deliberately jump off bridges....
Posted by Barghest  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  07:21 PM
We used to have to drive up a single paved lane to our housing area at Edgewood Arsenal, MD. On spring & summer evenings, I would encounter a family of Boobies (they're birds), that would swoop down out of their nests to attack my approaching car. Of course, they were just trying to defend their young, but we used to call them "suicide birds", because they would fly underneath the front of the car, right in front of the moving tires, squawking their damn fool heads off. They came really close, but we never saw a dead one.
Posted by stork  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  07:48 PM
Okay, here's my take on this. I read 9 news stories on the net. Granted, they were mostly people just paraphrasing the original.
BUT...
Nary a picture (except a dog with a fake knife through his head) was to be found.
Every one of the articles mentioned Overtoun House (http://www.overtounhouse.com/sitemap.html).
All but two mentioned the guy who is trying to turn this house into a religious retreat.
This started the gears grinding a little...

Now get this... Six months ago, (http://www.wdcweb.info/news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=5343
happened.

Does it appear to anyone else that this guy might have something to do with the stories? Wouldn't it be so much easier to raise money if the christians worldwide knew of you, instead of just people in Scotland?

Not saying this is what happened, but hey, ya never know. Bagpipe music'll drive ya nuts in so many ways...
Posted by Rod  on  Tue Mar 08, 2005  at  11:26 PM
God, you should try living here in Edinburgh where, all summer, you can hear a set of bagpipes at all times of the day, no matter your location.
It's all the bloody tourists' fault.

Ahem.
Rod, I'm with you. He sounds fishy.

Although I wonder what suicidal dogs will do for his... religion.
Posted by Boo  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  02:21 AM
I slooshied about this odin raskazz where some lewdies I used to know used to have dva pet rats. The dva rats were best droogs. They were such horrorshow droogs, in fact, that when odin of them snuffed it, the other odin somehow mananged to razrez its ookoes off of its gulliver! And if a rat can commit suicide, then so can a dog.
Posted by John  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  05:34 AM
Whales beach themselves sometimes, and no one knows why. I do know it happens to dolphins sometimes-they hunt in shallow water and a wave carries them to land without them expecting it. But larger whales are a mystery. They have no reason to be so close to land.

Also, there was this aquarium in the 70s that had a great white shark. It went crazy trying to escape and kept bashing its head against the walls of the tank until it died.
Posted by Laser Potato  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  08:23 AM
...Hairy, you need a disclaimer for bagpipes. Bagpipes used to be people too!
Posted by Maegan  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  08:29 AM
Maybe the dogs are aiming for the guy who's opening the "retreat" and just keep missing.

Maybe they know something we don't... like ouch, the ground is hard and people don't stay in the same spot for long (oh yeah, we already know that). Maybe these are brave scientist dogs, testing the limits of canine knowledge, or searching for the mythical "Lost Boner of Batman". They think they see it, and, well, you know uncontrollable dogs get when excited...

"Rowf! Ratran's Roner! Rowf! Must get it!"
Sproing.
Splat.
Posted by Rod  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  09:36 AM
John
Posted by Nymph  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  11:22 AM
It's the "language" created for "A Clockwork Orange".

Check it out here: http://www.totse.com/en/ego/science_fiction/clockorg.html
Posted by Rod  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  11:35 AM
I knew another dog that jumped...or at least I knew his owners.

They lived on the 2nd or 3rd story and the dog broke through the screen. Dog saw them leaving so he jumped down after them. Needless to say the dalmation in question did not have supernatural powers and proceeded to fall and break all four of its legs. It did survive.

Though following the owners is probably a good theory, I'm sure that bagpipes were undoubtebly playing in the background.
Posted by Gentropy  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  11:50 AM
Yes, and we all know which guy who lives down the hill was playing them...
Posted by Rod  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  12:29 PM
I saw a cat jump out a third story window in 1973 in the lower East Village. Three stories, straight down, into a baked dirt parking lot. And no, it didn't land on it's feet. But that might have had something to do with the LSD it had eaten about an hour before. No, I didn't do it.
Posted by stork  on  Wed Mar 09, 2005  at  06:21 PM
...sure.

I still think that since there is only 1 witnessed case that it could have been a complete accident. This is what leash laws are for.
Posted by Maegan  on  Thu Mar 10, 2005  at  08:42 AM
Hey, if someone went and "Bob Barkered" your fun bits, wouldn't your mental state take a turn for the worse.

Now that I got that comment out of the way....
My mother-in-law had a greyhound that committed something close to suicide. It got running up to full speed (which is FAST for a greyhound) and ran head first into a closed garage door. Needless to say the door won.
Posted by alteregogi  on  Thu Mar 10, 2005  at  10:14 AM
That wasn't suicide, that was just an example of why dogs don't get to drive.
Posted by Rod  on  Thu Mar 10, 2005  at  10:24 AM
Well not dog suicides but i've heard of bunnies commiting suicide! 🐛
Posted by morgan  on  Thu Jun 16, 2005  at  03:01 PM
In what way, Morgan?0
Posted by Boo  on  Thu Jun 16, 2005  at  03:11 PM
online gambling
Posted by abc  on  Thu Jun 23, 2005  at  01:30 PM
i dont think dogs do commit suicide but they still should gerta drivers license first they are not stupid or clumsy research has shown that dogs are as smart as humand and not anydummer then a human can get in fact they are one of the most smart animals in the world so barghest get you facts right and if dogs are stupid and clummsie4 as they are as smart as humans that means that you are stupid and clumsy dosnt it
Posted by jacinta  on  Sun Jul 17, 2005  at  05:05 PM
i dont think dogs can commit suicide coz did the person see this happen?????????????????????
someone might've thrown them over the bride and as for the dog lying on the rail way maybe its true but theres gotta be a reason behind it all think sensible u guys
Posted by jessica  on  Sun Jul 17, 2005  at  05:09 PM
jacinta said:
"i dont think dogs do commit suicide but they still should gerta drivers license first"

Oh, I think we ALL agree that a dog should get a driver's license before getting behind the wheel of a car. Who could possibly argue with THAT?

My heart bleeds every holiday weekend when I see the reports on the TV news about all the dogs who drank before driving and lost their lives. The carnage MUST stop. Now.

I've been thinking about forming a group called Mothers Against Drunk Driving Dogs (MADDD). It would, of course, be open to people who aren't mothers but who share the aims of the organization. We CAN fix this problem, people, if we will only start MADDD chapters across the country. The first step is to NEVER give the car keys to your dog if he or she is intoxicated, no matter how much they beg.
Posted by crankymediaguy  on  Mon Jul 18, 2005  at  12:43 AM
Jessica, possibly a close friend of Jacinta's said:

"someone might've thrown them over the bride and as for the dog lying on the rail way maybe its true but theres gotta be a reason behind it all think sensible u guys"

Yeah, think sensible, u guys! Someone MIGHT have thrown the dogs over the bride. As the founder and spokesman for MADDD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving Dogs), I can tell you my organization is also against people throwing dogs in the vicinity of bridal parties in general.
Posted by crankymediaguy  on  Mon Jul 18, 2005  at  12:46 AM
After people read the KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE story about the bridge in question, there will be alot more activity on this thread, I bet. I found it interesting the new owner, Bob Hill, a Christian missionary from Fort Worth, Texas, got his retreat mentioned. Pictures of the bridge can be seen at http://overtounhouse.com/estatetour/index.html
Posted by Duncan  on  Thu Aug 04, 2005  at  04:28 PM
I heard one theory that the whole "Canine Suicide" thing is just a strange ploy to get Christian interest in the Overtourn House from around the world -- you know, donations and stuff.

Others say the dogs are just suicides, like the suicide bomber dogs in the news:

http://www.poe-news.com/stories.php?poeurlid=42497

Me, I say it's ghosts. Yeah. GHOSTS. There I said it.Did anyone hear about the antichrist guy? Who killed his kid on that very bridge? There's yer damn proof right there! :D
Posted by J.  on  Tue Sep 20, 2005  at  02:24 PM
i once knew a dog that jumped off my neighbors roff onto a pitch fork...
it seemed like suicide to me....
Posted by AnthraX  on  Thu Oct 20, 2005  at  10:01 PM
i think dogs can commit suicide. i had a friend once who had a dog. when the dog got pregnant and lost all of it's babies, she sat in her basket for hours. the next day when i walked to my friends house, i saw her dog sitting on the side of a busy road., all of a sudden a lorry came past and the dog walked infront of it. it was dreadful!!!
Posted by stacey williams  on  Wed Nov 09, 2005  at  08:16 AM
I think the video at the site below will explain everything:
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2005/dog-suicide-p1.php
Posted by Kevin  on  Tue Nov 15, 2005  at  03:25 PM
Dogs commiting suicide, whales getting beached, daredevil fowl, what's next?

I'll tell you. Last night, when I was babysitting my younger brother, there's a small sound, and he's all, "Sissy! Whatz zayt?" 'cause he's currently mastering the art of speech. It's taking him long enough- But I digress. So it turns out that it's a rat, and it had boldly come out of its hole to confront Passionflower, my Turkish Angora (a cat), and of course, Passionflower kills it.

Suicidal dogs, beached whales, daredevil fowl, and demented rats, that's what.
Posted by Mr. Lavatory, the automated spam bot  on  Sun Nov 20, 2005  at  09:25 PM
Barghest, I don't know if dogs commit suicide, but I know I was going to die of laughing while reading your posting, and certainly my story of dying in such cruel way would be part of Rotten headlines. I don't know why, but I found that to be really funny. Maybe your expressions had contributed for this hysterical laughing of mine. Anyway, that was amusing, that's for sure. Thanks.
Posted by Susan  on  Mon Mar 06, 2006  at  01:25 PM
I live in the town where this is said to have happened and live fairly close to where this is. I have often walked as a child up past the bridge and had barbecues there, and have walked my dog up there. I haven't heard this talked about a lot locally. I did know about the baby, as a friend of mine was out on a walk with his wife and witnessed the father throwing the aby over the wall. He came to see us the same day as we live nearby and he as haken up.

the father went into a mental hospital/prison
Posted by jan  on  Tue Oct 17, 2006  at  07:05 PM
I saw a program on this just now, aparently, the strong smell of ferrets from the other side of the river was causeing the dogs to jump down to investigate, since they only percived the stones and solidness of the bridge, and could not see over it.
Posted by skellious  on  Wed Oct 18, 2006  at  02:13 PM
I watch the program last night on this. wasted a hour of my life! I believe in ghosts so i think it has something to do with the bridge and the house being haunted!
Posted by Shadow  on  Thu Oct 19, 2006  at  05:22 AM
Shadow said:

"I believe in ghosts so i think it has something to do with the bridge and the house being haunted!"

What reason do you have to believe in ghosts? I'm talking about actual EVIDENCE which would prove the existance of ghosts, as opposed to non-supernatural explanations of the things which get attributed to "ghosts."

Even if you believe in ghosts, what proof do you have that they are the result of the things observed in this particular case?
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  01:04 AM
What reason do you have to believe in ghosts? I'm talking about actual EVIDENCE which would prove the existance of ghosts, as opposed to non-supernatural explanations of the things which get attributed to "ghosts."
Cranky Media Guy

If science can prove everything, then how can bee's fly. My dog died 7 years ago, but doors still open by themselves and so does the fride and you hear her go down the stairs at night! Every person in my family has heard her. and if you call her the door opens by itself!
Posted by Shadow  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  07:11 AM
How Bees Fly

Well, I guess by your logic that proves ghosts don't exist.

Apology accepted.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  08:30 AM
Who said i was saying sorry! jeez look beyond the box. go towards the light it may be a train! sciebtifical bee's cant fly, so why does everything have to come down to science! why not believe in the unexplainable!
Posted by Shadow  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  08:34 AM
Let me get this straight - you used Bees flying to help prove your case, yet when I show that you were wrong in your assumption about bees you argue that it doesn't make any difference?

So, it's only acceptable if it supports your point of view and dismissable if it doesn't? Sounds like somebody has their blinders on too tight.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  08:46 AM
But why dont u believe in the unexplainable?
Posted by Shadow  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  08:47 AM
I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean. I believe some things are unexplainable, at least by our current standards. I'm a little vague as to why this would lead to a belief in ghosts.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Fri Oct 20, 2006  at  09:43 AM
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