Man arrested for beating neighbor's dog with metal bat

I can understand Atsuumi's anger, having had neighbours in Japan that leave their dogs outside, in boxes and/or chained, and the dogs barking all night. But for the love of god the dog is innocent in all this! Did he try and talk to the owner, first? Did the owner not listen? That happened to me, and while it was frustrating as hell, and I know the police will do nothing about it, you don't beat up the poor dog as a result.

Dogs are supposed to be kept in the house - not attached to a kennel day/night, come rain/shine... I've never been able to understand why Japanese people always attach their dogs outside. Whether they're supposed to "protect" or are kept as "companions", they should live in the house and "size" is of no consequence. My Labrador-Retriever lived IN the house and scared away more than one "suspicious" character. Outside not only are they not able to "protect", they can themselves be assaulted (as in the present case) not to mention that sometimes either their water bowl has been "tipped over" or they just can't reach it. It's pure cruelty.

Dogs are supposed to be kept in the house actually large dogs are best kept outside. Its important that you have enough space in your yard to keep the size of the dog you have. my friend has a larger dog and a large enclosure at the back of the house that was warm/cool dry for it to sleep during cold nights, hot days. Chaining you dog up all day is a type or torture. Yard should have a high enough fence so it cant jump outside of the property. Having a large dog walking around your property is more than enough to keep thieves at bay. My friends property is in a higher crime area, he had a two house breakins over the years, every since getting his Rottweiler named "Helmet" heads looks like one, and its the size of a small horse. hasnt had any problems with thieves since. Make sure you have plenty of warning signs about large dogs on your property. Keeping a dog entertained with plenty of chew toys etc during the day is good to keep them from destroying your garden in boredom. keeping large dogs inside just make your house smell like a kennel, owners cant smell it because there use to it. Visitors can and its not a good smell.

RoFL @ A.N. You're a character.

On a serious note, the dog didn't deserve the metal bat. I hope this guy doesn't get off with a light punishment.

I have dogs which i love very much if anyone touched them in such a manor, i would be giving them a greater beating. But again this all comes down to communication or the lack there of.

But again this all comes down to communication or the lack there of.

Good point Kobe.The "Wa" (social harmony) is too important. It would be considered too confrontational if the 42 yr old neighbor "communicated" with his the dog's owner in order to find a solution to the problem.

actually large dogs are best kept outside. Its important that you have enough space in your yard to keep the size of the dog you have.

Absolutely not. Dogs belong indoors with their owners, they need the companionship. The yard needs be large enough only to provide toilet space, not an exercise track. The dog needs to be taken out for proper exercise, not left to his own devices in the yard day in, day out. And as FightingViking points out, a dog left outside is at the mercy of any miscreant who comes by. If you own a dog, it's your responsibility to keep it safe. And to keep it happy - a handful of chew toys strewn around the yard isn't good enough. The dog needs interaction more than toys.

Chaining you dog up all day is a type or torture.

On this we agree.

Having a large dog walking around your property is more than enough to keep thieves at bay.

The dog in question is a beagle. I very much doubt anyone wanting a guard dog would choose a beagle. And keeping the dog chained up outside, what would it be guarding? Its kennel? Water bowl? It needs to be close to what it's supposed to be protecting, i.e. its owner and family.

keeping large dogs inside just make your house smell like a kennel, owners cant smell it because there use to it. Visitors can and its not a good smell.

Rubbish. Keep the dog clean and there is no kennel smell. Any visitor who objects to my dog, smelly or no, needn't visit.

I can imagine a beagle chained up all or most of the day would put up a pretty constant howl - he doesn't want to be left alone, and a beagle howl really carries. The owner is definitely not off the hook here. That said, if Atsuumi had problems he should have sorted them out with the owner, not gotten physical with the dog. Another case of two stupid, irresponsible humans creating pain and suffering for the hapless innocent animal caught between them. They both deserve a good hard slap up the back of the head, Atsuumi probably with his own bat.

@ Wc626

Yup i hear ya, i always wince when i hear the japanese use the borrowed word, "communication". Speaks volumes.

Sounds like the fellow just chose his own punishment....

I wonder if the type of people who let their dogs bark all the time really can be talked to. They seem to have no sense of the nuisance they are causing. How can they be so oblivious both to their neighbours and to the fact that their dog is not happy. But then, I have heard people say that barking is what dogs do, like babies and crying, as if that justifies it.

Absolutely not. Dogs belong indoors with their owners, they need the companionship.

Cleo, I generally agree, especially about the companionship. But if you have a number of dogs (e.g. three huskies, four labs, etc.), they can get that from each other. In that case, outside is probably better, assuming you have built suitable accommodation.

"Cerebral contusions" Yikes, that sounds terrible. I'm glad the dog is all right. I own a dog myself and the barking can drive you nuts but don't get violent, talk it out with the owner. Dogs shouldn't be left outside like that.

My neighbors have a pair of cockatiels on their balcony and the flipping things start squawking at dawn every day! Maybe I should take note of this guy's solution to neighbors noisy pets. - Just kidding, of course. This guy is a prime candidate for new campaign for employees to have mental health checks.

Dogs were bred to be social animals and need constant interaction with people.

The cops can definitely do something about a dog barking outside all the time, but they can do nothing about it when the dog is inside doing it, and the people leave the window open. I had a big stink about that with my neighbors.

if you have a number of dogs (e.g. three huskies, four labs, etc.), they can get that from each other. In that case, outside is probably better, assuming you have built suitable accommodation.

A pack of dogs, left outside to its own devices? That's surely the last thing you would want. If you don't have the time and/or resources to interact individually with all your dogs and give them the environment they need, you have too many dogs. Dog-on-dog companionship/interaction can be sweet to watch, but each animal still needs to recognise, respect and relate to the owner one-on-one. Can't do that effectively if the owner is indoors drinking coffee and the dogs are outside making their own entertainment.

I'm not saying the guy didn't go too far, but at the end of the day it's the dog owners fault. All the hypocrites on here tapping out their comments about how they love animals inbetween licking the animal grease from the BigMac they had off their fingers can go sit on it and swivel. Forget the lack of communication, this is lack of brain cells- on the owners part. The dog is collateral damage, I'll bet the owner was a total panhead who had zero respect for his neighbours. Probably doesn't even care that his dog is gone. I know the type.

at the end of the day it's the dog owners fault.

No, the guy who beat the dog with the bat is at fault. The owner has some culpability, but the reaction of the neighbor was not correct.

Probably doesn't even care that his dog is gone. I know the type.

She was on TV this morning crying for her dog.

at the end of the day it's the dog owners fault.

No, the guy who beat the dog with the bat is at fault.

The neighbour should have taken it up with the owner. If he did and got no satisfaction (apparently the owners had received an anonymous note complaining about the noise), he should have taken it to the authorities. What he should emphatically not have done is taken it up with the poor dog.

After seeing a photo of where the dog was tied up - http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00309184.html I find myself with slightly less than zero sympathy with the owner, for all that she was crying on telly. And in this report - http://news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6181830 - she says someone left poisoned food in the dog kennel, which they reported to the police - but they still left the dog tied up outside, knowing it was being targeted by someone trying to do it harm.

Perhaps they should make dog licenses at around ¥100,000 a year. It would raise some revenue and be some kind of tax on animals which, in any case, waste resources - Japan spends more on dogs than it does on overseas aid - and produce tons of excrement a day that has to be dealt with. This might ensure that only pets that were truly desired would be kept too. And the problems of stressful nuisance that dog owners cause to others with their barking dogs would be reduced.

i always wince when i hear the japanese use the borrowed word, "communication". Speaks volumes.

I see what you did there!

Another issue for me is that i see many dogs in Japan that are treated more like toys than living animals that need care and love. For any1 thinking of getting a dog please please please get it from a shelter and not from some yak run store, and remember a dogs for life, not just for christmas.

The neighbour should have taken it up with the owner. If he did and got no satisfaction (apparently the owners had received an anonymous note complaining about the noise), he should have taken it to the authorities. What he should emphatically not have done is taken it up with the poor dog.

Oh rubbish. Cops won't lift a finger. They can't do anything besides a little slap on the wrist, and as I told you, I know that type of owner and they just don't give a toss. My own neighbour is the same. Leaves the poor bugger tied up to a post, never walks it, same food every day, and as soon as someone is in the vicinity she acts like the dog is her precious baby. The dog was probably better off dead with such a dumb owner, sorry. Some people are stupider than their own pets , and this is what happens. I have zero sympathy for this owner.

There needs to be a procedure in place where a person bothered by unreasonable noise can get the situation rectified reasonably easily and legally. This is a huge problem in Japan and it effects a lot of people. The dog is the victim of both it's owner and the neighbor. I condemn the neighbors actions but we have to recognize that incessant unreasonable noise can drive people to lose it. The dogs owner should not escape punishment also and for gods sake I hope steps are taken to handle noisy neighbors etc.

The yahoo news link I gave earlier has an interview with 'a neighbour' who says the dog was not particularly noisy. Also a pic of the dog (before the beating) - it's a mixed breed, not a beagle, so my initial supposition of beagle howling was probably off the mark. A 15-year-old female which far from having 'survived' as reported here, is said to be グッタリ (in a state of collapse) after receiving veterinary treatment. Atsuumi is being charged with 'damage to property', no different than if he'd lobbed a brick through a window. Why oh why are the animal abuse laws not made proper use of?

This is absolutely disgraceful. Men are coward and weak who torment. torture, mutilate and beat up animals.

Ohara, you have nailed it there. Not sure what the optimal solution is - but I think something along the lines of after a number of complaints and warnings being processed there should be sound recorders installed, and (if proven to be over a certain level) the owner must have the dog professionally trained (with a certificate to prove it) or face a substantial fine. This happens three times then the dog gets put up for adoption or terminated, - sorry if that's too cruel for those hipsters reading this who just finished their Yoshinoya gyu-don for lunch. I like dogs, but what can you do? It's shallow to say 'move' - but when someone has bought a house and they are there for life that's not an option. At that point the dog is just collateral damage in society vs a panhead who shouldn't own pets.

got the same problem with our neighbour. Big golden retriever confined to a tiny box barely bigger than it is, 23 hours a day. Barks all hours of the night and several neighbours have complained. The old bugger who owns it doesn't give a s***, and neither do the police who have been called at least once. Theres literally nothing you can do but put up with it

We can argue inside or outside until our fingers bleed all over our keyboards but it doesn't change the fact the entire point of this is the person in the wrong here is the guy with the bat. You just do not beat a dog-- or any living creature-- with a bat for any reason save in the extremity of self-defense.

Honestly, he should have talked to the neighbor. Now, if the neighbor was of no help, then call the police on a daily basis. The neighbor will hate being harrassed by the police on a daily basis and will find a solution. Beating a helpless animal is not the answer

I used to live and work on a farm, we had 12 working dogs, I loved them. People who don't have enough space and land shouldn't keep dogs. I think its cruelty and a nuisance to neighbors in case of noisy dogs. Just because you can afford to buy a dog doesn't mean you can keep it properly in a home. They need more space to roam and play even when not out on walkies. Having pet dogs should be a responsibility and a kind of luxury like having pet ponies.

Perhaps the dog was barking and causing annoyance, in which case a sound thrashing with a piece of wood or metal could work wonders and bring peace and quiet!

According to police, the incident occurred on Sunday afternoon.

I'm just guessing, but the suspect may have worked the graveyard shift and killed himself working through the previous night. Hence, he had to sleep by any means on the Sunday afternoon. But by beating the dog apparently made him dig his own grave.

At least the man didn't beat the dog AND eat it which may well have eventuated if this incident occurred in Korea or China or ANY other country in Asia. Bear in mind that Japan is the only Country in East Asia in which dogs are not eaten by humans.