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Robert Fawcett: dog murderer

The man who slaughtered the 100 sled dogs in Whistler, BC, has finally been named. He is Robert Fawcett. And he apparently decided on his own initiative to shoot and slice the dogs to death.

Okay, there went that one, infinitesimal smidge of sympathy I felt for him …

15 Comments

  1. Scott
    Scott February 3, 2011 3:04 pm

    I wouldn’t want a direct telepathic link to this guy’s mind(if such exists), but you have to wonder what was going on in this guy’s head. Wouldn’t it have been much better all around to have a few “free dogs to a good home” signs made? Or do a quick search to see if rescue agencies would take them? Would you trust that guy around children? This guy has some really serious screws loose.

  2. Pat
    Pat February 3, 2011 3:07 pm

    I’m glad to hear it was an individual act, as to the method of disposal.

    But I’m still trying to deal with the fact that a sled dog company would euthanize so many animals without any justification except that business was bad. Don’t these companies try to find homes for them, or perhaps try to place them in another company, or in a shelter?

    I’m sure these dogs are not all old or ill. The company works with these dogs, it has to keep them strong and healthy in order to pull the sleds.

  3. cindy
    cindy February 3, 2011 3:54 pm

    This guy should be going to jail …….
    Karma will come back and bite him in the a$$ and I hope it hurts .
    I cant get it out of my mind , what those poor dogs went through
    It would be like watching your family being murdered right in front of you.
    They say putting your dog down yourself is legal , how does someone take a gun or knife and look at that dog and do that 1 or 100 it doesnt matter it should not happen .
    I bet if someone was approaching this creep who did this in a threatening manner and those dogs were around they would have tried to protect him ….. This is called unconditional love sled dogs or not .
    Thats what dogs do … I am so traumatized by this as im sure so are alot of other people , but for the guy who did it he CHOSE to do it .. I really hope he doesnt ever have a good nights sleep again and the anxciety and pain he feels everyday (apparently) I hope he realizes thats exactly how those poor dogs felt when he was shooting them and cutting there throats .

  4. Danielle Charmon
    Danielle Charmon February 3, 2011 7:21 pm

    they must pay for what they did. i never thought i could have such hate and disgust for another human being but this man should be made suffer the way these poor innocent dogs did. i have heard he is in hiding now suffering from post traumatic shock. pity he couldn’t have came to some kind of realization of what he was doing while he was doing it, its a case of too little to late. i would like to see done to him what he did to these poor dogs.

  5. Kevin3%
    Kevin3% February 4, 2011 7:34 am

    If we are to recognize individual rights to property Then we have to accept that some people will do things with their property that we won’t like, won’t approve of, or would not do to our own property.

    I am a dog owner and enjoy the companionship of canines more than many humans but I am also an advocate for liberty in all its ugly shades.

    Yes, the guy seems unbalanced. Yes, It seems there must have been better alternatives than mass slaughter. However, the bottom line is: the dogs were his property and he should have the right to do with his property as he sees fit.

    flame away.

  6. Claire
    Claire February 4, 2011 7:41 am

    Kevin3% — Well, first of all, the dogs weren’t his property. They were the property of the company he worked for, and it appears he may have deceived them (or at least not been totally up front with them) about his intentions.

    Second — Animals are sentient, feeling creatures. Anyone who can’t see a categorical difference between them and, say, an automobile or a flower pot, is more married to ideology than reality. I’m a property rights supporter, too, and I recognize those rights as fundamental to freedom. But that does not mean that the entire world is automatically divided, black and white, into property and non-property, with no distinctions on property types based on observation, judgment, etc.

    For example: If I meet a dog owner who thinks he can pour antifreeze into his pup as freely as he pours it into his car, I’m going to stop the bastard.

  7. Kevin3%
    Kevin3% February 4, 2011 6:01 pm

    Claire,

    Point take on the ownership issue.

    Sheep, goats, cattle, hogs, chickens are all sentient beings as well. Should we not allow the killing of them? In some parts of the world dogs as food are considered a delicacy.

    It is my understanding that many folks in the far Northern reaches gave up snow-mobiles and returned to sled dogs. A couple of reasons is because when it is -40 degrees and the machine won’t run you it won’t keep you warm neither in severe cases can you eat the snow-mobile.

    To your point about stopping someone who would pour anti-freeze down a puppies gullet; How would you go about stopping “the bastard”? By force? and if the initial use of force was not sufficient would you escalate to the point of using lethal force? Would it be justified under law?

    It is not my intention to be argumentative but rather to seek consistency in the position of liberty.

  8. Ellendra
    Ellendra February 4, 2011 9:12 pm

    “It is not my intention to be argumentative but rather to seek consistency in the position of liberty.”

    The human mind is notoriously inconsistent, but it’s still a worthwhile quest.

  9. Claire
    Claire February 5, 2011 8:40 am

    Kevin3% — I don’t think you’re being argumentative, though you are posing philosophical questions that are pretty heavy for a mere comments section to handle. 🙂

    As to killing — predator animals (like us, and for that matter, like dogs) are going to kill other animals; no question about it. But if we’re to make any claim to being civilized human beings, we should do no more killing than is necessary, and do the killing as humanely as possible. Robert Fawcett killed when he didn’t need to and did it in a way that was extremely brutal, both for the dogs he killed and the dogs witnessing the deed.

    As to stopping animal abuse — I would definitely use force to stop it if I had to. (I’ve already said elsewhere that I would, and have, taken dogs that were being abused — which is definitely not “justified under law,” but when did we start caring about law, when law and justice conflict?) I doubt very much that I’d personally resort to lethal force to save an animal — but that would depend on circumstances. What if a person appeared about to kill animals, and then follow by killing humans? But all that’s pretty theoretical.

    And I’d try not to resort to force at all. (Commonly, animal rescuers witnessing abuse or neglect try to persuade the owner to give or even sell the animal to them — which usually works.)

    But I’m also with Ellendra. You’re looking for absolutes — for philosophical theories that can be applied consistently in all real-world cases. I once did that, too. Now I’m more inclined to look for guiding principles — which interact in complex ways with complex realities.

    Sorry. I know it’s not what you’re looking for. But it’s where the real world has taken me.

  10. Kevin3%
    Kevin3% February 5, 2011 9:56 am

    No need for sorry, Claire.

    I appreciate your candid and thoughtful reply.

  11. dan yarwood
    dan yarwood February 5, 2011 4:23 pm

    Robert Fawcett and whoever his boss was should be put down. I would suggest starting at their feet with a heavy hammer and working your way up to the head until the final blow to the temple. On a lighter note: they should at least consider suicide!!! Burn in hell you fucking goofs!!!

  12. Sick of it
    Sick of it February 10, 2011 1:23 pm

    I do not trust this man for a minute. He’s a sick man. What is he doing with dogs? When someone is capable to do such of awful thing to an innocent animal, he could do the same thing to a child if he gets out of mind. I could not ask him to keep my own dog for a minute. I would be afraid of what he could do to it. Mr Fawcett, find another job. The animals deserve better that your useless and cruel presence. You executed 100 dogs without any pity and besides you received compensation for this. What’s happening with you? Be sure that all these dog’s spirits will haunt you for the rest of your life. They are not there anymore, but their spirits are. One day, the law of boomerang will get you. Be sure of that. Both of you, Mr Houssian and you Mr Fawcett, an advice for you. Don’t ever be next to the remaining dogs. Your place is not there anymore. Have some respect for those dogs who died so badly in April 2010 Stay away from the site where they rest. Respect!

  13. Horrified
    Horrified February 11, 2011 9:28 am

    First of all I have no enough polite words to describe the horrible death of those 100 dogs. It’s awful and I’m sure that many persons were crying across the whole world after reading the way Mr. Fawcett did. Disgusting and nauseating.
    My concerns is: I thought euthanasy were only with injection at the vet office. Why do they call this euthanasy when they’re using gun?

    My idea about this:
    All the glances which will throw on him, will be scornful looks.
    Before doing such things, think of the consequences that occur after the fact.
    All these dogs which were so welcome at the Olympic games 2010, didn’t deserve this horrible end. They should have known a more responsible trainer. Shame on you Mr Fawcett. Mr Houssian wrote this about you: I know him, he is a good-hearted man. But I could not put this quality beside your name. Sorry!

  14. How nauseating!
    How nauseating! February 12, 2011 5:06 am

    How could this man look at him in the mirror and be satisfied for what he did? Almost of those dogs were trained by himself. The mother of his own pup (Bumble) was Suzie, the beautiful female which was executed in a so terrific way. Shame on you! They killed them one by one in front of the others terrified ones.
    I hope an exemplary judgment for what Mr Fawcett did.

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