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Dog suicides?!

Big Les

Philosopher
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I'm sitting here watching snippets of a local TV programme about the over 50 dogs that have "jumped to their deaths" from Overtoun Bridge in Scotland.

The wiki article isn't too helpful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtoun_Bridge

I suspect the angle to come from in debunking this (if indeed it can be) is to try to confirm how many dogs have actually died. My old Jack Russell would hurl himself off things, but then JRTs are mental.

Anyone heard of this..phenomenon?!
 
Taken from the wikipedia article:

wikipedia said:
Many in Milton and around Britain believe urban legends, such as the winds coming from Loch Lomond or a ghost, perhaps that of a lady that resided in the area, attract the dogs to jump off the bridge. Yet others point to the bridge's architecture and shape as a reason why dogs have leaped to their deaths so frequently and with so much relative ease.

Paranormal experts have also traveled to the site to conduct investigations, and they have not found anything unusual either.
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Hahahaha. All "paranormal experts" jokes aside - I would guess the solution to the mystery would be simply: someone who lives near the bridge does not like dogs, but does like throwing dogs off bridges.
 
Is there an optical illusion at play? Does the sun reflecting off the water make it look like a solid floor just feet a way to an average dog? Does an island or rock look like a bone sitting on this illusionary floor?
 
This was the subject of a Five documnetary aired tonight and several tabloid articles over the last week. The conclusion was that the deaths were due to the high stone wall on the sides of the bridge blocking the vision of the animals and the powerful scent of wildlife (notably mink) from below the structure. Sheldrake featured and probably will again in another documentary next week about paranormal parrots.
 
JimTheBrit said:
This was the subject of a Five documnetary aired tonight and several tabloid articles over the last week. The conclusion was that the deaths were due to the high stone wall on the sides of the bridge blocking the vision of the animals and the powerful scent of wildlife (notably mink) from below the structure. Sheldrake featured and probably will again in another documentary next week about paranormal parrots.
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Thanks Jim; I would have stuck with the prog, but t'other half wanted to turn over and watch America's Next Top Lardarse or somesuch.
 
I think a simple answer is that dogs frequently lose their minds, god luv'em. I had a mutt who, after fixating on a rabbit on the other side of my backyard, made a mad dash to the railing of the deck on our house and threw himself into mid-air, 12 feet up. Hit the ground with a big "ooofff!" and kept going like a shot. Scraped up his knees, but he was otherwise OK.
 
My first query is "Who inventoried the dead dogs?" There can't be very many dogs left within walking distance of that bridge.
 
Probably there are similar cases of dogs and cats jumping out of high rises in New York City but no one is saying they are committing suicide. Dogs are probably not capable of understanding suicide so they couldn't be committing suicide.
 
It's all been solved. The Psychics are ON THE JOB, MA'AM!:woo

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20060108/ai_n15989476

Members of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) visited the site in Dumbarton last spring and documented sensing "ghostly ministers, a mysterious Victorian woman and grasping children".

Reporting on her 10-strong team's findings, leader Catriona Malan said: "There were several correlations in what people felt. Three people felt anxious, depressed and disorientated and four felt negative feelings.

"There were definite themes of children and several mentioned a Victorian woman in a grey shawl at the far end of the bridge."
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Another woman, who didn't want to be named, said: "I got the feeling of a man who was possibly a minister. He kept saying he didn't understand evolution. He said, 'I can't assimilate what I know as Christian with Darwin.'" Malan said only one explanation as to why dogs were jumping off the bridge was given. "One psychic thought maybe a workman had fallen off the bridge to his death and his ghost was down in the gully calling the dogs, " she said.
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Ah, it's all caused by EVIL-UTION! :spjimlad: :spjimlad:
Or the lady with the gray shawl.... Yeah, that's it, there's a lady with a gray shawl at the end of the bridge, she's scaring 'em to make 'em jump. Nae, Cap'n I can't control 'er, it's the workman at the bottom of the weir, she's breakin' apart, Jim!

I'm sure glad that's solved! :woowoo

On the other hand, I prefer the one person in the article with what seems to be a neat sense of humor. (Bolding Mine.)

The apparent dog suicides continue to intrigue animal experts. Joyce Stuart, a leading canine behaviourist, said: "I have never heard of a dog committing suicide and I don't think for one minute they go along the bridge and suddenly think 'I can't go on' and jump."
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(I think I may take that last sentence as a sig, one day.)
 
I propose a "honeypot" sting operation wherein I dress in a dog outfit and one of you watches for canid-hating nutcases.

Hang on a minute...
 
Foolmewunz said:
Members of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) visited the site in Dumbarton last spring and documented sensing "ghostly ministers, a mysterious Victorian woman and grasping children".

Reporting on her 10-strong team's findings, leader Catriona Malan said: "There were several correlations in what people felt. Three people felt anxious, depressed and disorientated and four felt negative feelings.

"There were definite themes of children and several mentioned a Victorian woman in a grey shawl at the far end of the bridge."
Click to expand...

Ok, so there are some ghosts at the bridge, but aren't those pesky spirits everywhere? Why don't dogs commit suicides near the homes of psychics? Or in old village pubs? Or near castles?

Psychics - you just can't believe a word they say.....:D
 
Come on, be polite. The dog's aren't "committing suicide," they're "putting themselves to sleep."
 
Maybe the dogs fell in love and ran away? When I was little, that's what a couple of our dogs did.

At least, that's what my parents told me!
 
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