TAUNTON, Mass Man attempts suicide after dog dies

[cheekymunkee]

Man attempts suicide after dog dies


Man's mother blames animal control officers for dog's death
AP

TAUNTON, Mass. -- (06/26/08) -- The mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts says a man slit his throat at a hearing Monday over a complaint involving the death of the man's dog.

Robert Feltmate's mother says animal control officers are to blame for the death of her 100-pound Rottweiler.



Officers were called to help carry the dog out of the house because it needed to go to a vet. "They dragged her by her hind legs, lifted her up by a noose thing and dragged her down the stairs," alleged Arline Masters, the mother of the man who slit his throat.



Masters says that's why her son tried to kill himself at city hall. It was during a hearing involving Feltmate's complaint against the officer.

All of a sudden, with a downward motion, he sliced his throat, opened up quite a gash in his throat," said Taunton Mayor Charles Crowley.



No one expected such a dramatic action would take place. "Nothing led us to believe he would take that kind of action," Crowley said.



Feltmate is in the hospital. His mother says he sees no reason to live.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?secti ... id=6229056

Jodi Preis
Bless the Bullys
Education...Awareness...Advocacy

[iluvk9]

Officers were called to help carry the dog out of the house because it needed to go to a vet. "They dragged her by her hind legs, lifted her up by a noose thing and dragged her down the stairs," alleged Arline Masters, the mother of the man who slit his throat.

What am I missing here? Why was the dog going to the Vet?

[KJS]

Im thinking there must be more to this too

[Malli]

the "noose thing" was probably the best they could do for a sling...
It doesn't matter if the mode of transport isn't comfortable or pleasant, its that the dog get medical care And the dog WAS sick in the first place, otherwise he would have walked out of the house on his own

definitely more to this story. definitely.

[SisMorphine]

Yeah why did the dog go to the vet? What the heck is the back story?

[gayrghts]

TAUNTON, Mass. -- A horrible scene played out in Taunton where a man cut his own throat during a City Hall hearing.

The Taunton Gazette reports that Robert Feltmate, 54, slit his throat during a hearing Monday about filing a complaint against an animal control officer.

Feltmate was apparently upset that his dog, which had broken its leg, was carried by officers from his house by hand because the house was too cluttered to use a stretcher.

Feltmate was in stable condition at Morton Hospital late Monday night.

Mayor Charles Crowley said Feltmate pulled out a razor blade and cut a four-inch gash. He then refused help and wouldn't comply with police commands.

Eventually, police used pepper spray and a Taser to subdue Feltmate.

http://www.turnto10.com/northeast/jar/n ... -0003.html

[iluvk9]

I now assume the man has a mental illness.

[Malli]

possibly

You'd be surprised how many people have reactions like this, though. (or perhaps its the large percentage that apparently go undiagnosed with mental illness... )

[amazincc]

That's sad, no matter how you look at it.

[Magnolia618]

the "noose thing" was probably the best they could do for a sling...

I was thinking that it was probably a snare (rabies pole).

[Malli]

yeah, could be that, too. Either way, they were trying to help the dog