Family disputes can get out of hand, especially when alcohol is added to the mix. Sometimes family arguments can cause pets to be injured during altercations. Sometimes anger is even taken out on pets. According to a KMOV.com news report, dated April 1, 2013, a S.C. man carried his anger to extremes by tossing the family’s pet hamster in the oven and turning it on.
Police say that David Bohnsack, of Myrtle Beach, and his girlfriend Kelly Shields, had been drinking and got into an argument. According to the report, Bohnsack put the pet hamster in the oven and turned it on. His girlfriend retaliated and hit him with a skillet to save the pet hamster. The hamster was not harmed, but it could have been much worse.
Bohnsack faces charges of cruelty to animals and criminal domestic violence while his girlfriend is charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, because she apparently broke a bone in his shoulder when she whacked him with the iron skillet.
Unfortunately it is getting too common for pets to get caught in the middle of family disputes. Some are injured accidently and some are injured out of revenge to hurt the other family member. In January of this year, a Miniature Poodle and a Yorkshire Terrier were killed during a dispute between a mother and daughter.
Many divorces now have disputes over who gets custody of the family pet. Courts have to decide on pet custody as carefully as they do the custody of children. Couples have also been known to want the pet out of spite or revenge just to keep the pet away from the other person.
Luckily, the pet hamster in this story was not injured, although being thrown in an oven was surely traumatic and terrifying. Pets look to humans for love and care, unfortunately, some also get caught in the middle of separations and domestic violence issues and are injured or worse.
"It breaks my heart to see so many homeless or mistreated pets. I try to do my part to help them, by educating the public in pet health and care." Subscribe above to follow what Donna writes or contact her at alternativepethealth@gmail.com with suggestions or ideas for future stories.
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