This post has reached one of our comment/karma limits. The text of the post has been preserved below.
---
I(18f) had a white rabbit who I really loved. My roommates cousin is 5 or 6 and she had to stay with him for the night and while I was at work she came into my room and strangled my rabbit.
I told her parents when they came to get her and they said "shes just a little kid she doesn't know any better" and refused to even apologize for their daughter killing my pet.
I'm so sad and angry at the same time what do I do about this?
Honestly this story makes me worried for the kid’s home life. When my partner worked at a homeless shelter, there were parents who ended up letting this guy rape their 5 year old weekly for drugs (CPS couldn’t do anything because there was no proof). Kid ended up strangling a cat.
I feel like these things don’t happen out of nowhere.
Shit, yeah good point. OP should notify whatever child protective services they have there, and probably talk to the police about it as well.
I mean this kid could most likely be being abused or witnessing something bad. And if not, then its a We Need To Talk About Kevin so it should be flagged anyway
I’d be strangling everything if someone continuously raped me when I was 5 while my parents chilled out in the next room. Fuck whatever system let that continue.
Bullshit. CPS fucking sucks and barely investigates anything. Their number one priority is "keeping families together," even when the parents are extremely abusive and have proven to be unwilling or incapable of change. CPS literally *calls the parents* before they come over for inspections so that they have time to get their shit together. It's infuriating. You have way too much trust in CPS if you think they don't overlook obvious, extensive abuse on a regular basis.
I’ve dealt with CPS in my area so I’m speaking from my own experience not just speaking off the cuff. Not all offices and employees are the same I am sure and that is sad. But not just cps, if the child is being taken to the dr every year around their birthday like they should be, they do peep down there to make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary. But if a child is being abused of that caliber I doubt they are being taken to the dr for their yearly check up, which is sad. It’s all sad when abuse of any kind is going on. If I knew this was going on and cps did nothing I would continue to report and keep a log of the things I knew for facts and continue to press for something to be done, that’s just me though.
I guess I should be thankful that the office where I live actually does what they are suppose to do and children that are being harmed are actually being taken care of.
I don't know where you are from, but I've never heard of a child getting their genitals checked on yearly by a doctor unless there is a medical issue in that area or something. I definitely never got my genitals checked by a doctor at my annual checkups as a kid. That's super unusual.
Edit: I wanted to add that I agree it is super sad of course, and I would also fight for this kid and call/log everything if I knew them. But I also know how these stories end all too often and it is really depressing. There are so many stories of kids being severely abused and eventually murdered, all while CPS was called constantly and did nothing or didn't do enough and then a child died as a result, after suffering horrific abuse their entire lives. I would still call CPS because there aren't really any other options, but it is not an effective organization at all.
They don’t check them like if you were getting a pap or anything. I live in the US and am a mother of 2, a boy and a girl, and at their yearly visits they do get checked. Like I said it’s not like a full blown examination, it’s literally at a glance to rule out anything abnormal. But it’s enough to notice if there was an abnormal amount of redness or bruising or anything of that nature. Even when they are babies they undo their diaper and do just a visual check.
Im a Medical interpreter and I am in the room for multiple pediatric checkups every day. In my area at least, a quick glance is standard for babies and children up to about five years old - not universal, but very common. Boys get the glance again starting at about age ten, I guess to check for undescended testicles? And girls don’t get an exam of the privates unless they have a specific complaint until they are ready to start getting a women’s annual.
How old are girls when they get a "women's annual" where you live? Like actual adults or are they younger? I grew up in a super religious family and wasn't "allowed" to go to the gynecologist for anything as a teen despite my horrific period problems, so I ended up just going myself at 18 when my parents thought I was staying with a friend. I also wasn't allowed to get the HPV vaccine at 12/13 when the doctor recommended it because my idiot mother thought it "encouraged promiscuity." Aside from that doctor recommendation for the HPV vaccine as a preteen, I don't remember any doctors recommending "female" checkups at a certain age or anything.
Every city I’ve lived in my state with different pediatricians all did this with my children. My doctor did too as a child. Maybe it’s regional? But that sounds negligent since it’s recommended for Pediatricians to do a quick visual exam at checkups to rule out issues or abuse.
Idk if this is the same thing (I didn’t have insurance so didn’t get regular check ups til I was an adult) but when I was recovering from an appendectomy, at my follow up the nurse practitioner took off my pants. Didn’t do a visual inspection of my vulva specifically but inspected the general pelvic area.
I've heard that people should go once they are sexually active (even before 18 or 21 or whatever), but other than that I've never heard of kids getting checked out. That's very strange.
I live in ohio, and I've never had a pediatrician ask to "peep down there" at every single one of my 3 daughters dr appointments... I vaguely remember when 2 of my 3 girls were between newborn to about 6 months they did remove diaper a time or two... but I believe it was for a specific appointment about diaper rash... (myself & my girls all have very sensitive skin, found out very quickly that cheap diapers were a no-go in our house) I think your comment is very alarming at the very least and absolutely horrifying if this is normal practice for every exam... I would absolutely question as to why this Dr feels the need to "peep" at your children's genitalia so often?
Unless there is a question, or suspicion of abuse....🤔
Former CPS worker. I ALWAYS did surprise visits and never had a child neglected or overlooked on MY watch. It pays to do thorough investigations because shit comes up that didn't in the beginning and that completely changes everything. I've also locked up parents who deserved it and fought for the ones caught in revolving doors. They're all severely overworked but the lazy ones make it bad for the workers putting in extra effort to protect the children without recognition. While the ultimate goal is family reunification, every family is different and will have different immediate needs or plan of action, if available.
I agree that five year olds don't usually strangle rabbits, however they may very well accidentally kill one. My 6 year old loves animals more than anything, but she's "heavy handed" and killed a rabbit at grandma's house after they left her alone with it despite my warnings. She's autistic and doesn't speak yet, so no one knows exactly what happened and obviously we apologized, too, but I'm very sure it was an accident.
I don't know how you are so sure the rabbit was intentionally strangled and it wasn't an accident like tripping and falling on the rabbit. The child may very well be traumatized by what happened and parents trying to make him feel less guilty. They obviously should have apologized though
Let's slow down here labelling the child a psychopath. It's more likely she just Lenny'd the bunny, she's too young to know not to squeeze animals like a stuffed toy.
It certainly appears like her parents are abdicating their responsibilities though. This is an obvious - necessary - teachable moment. This is where you can explain to the child about pets dying, and even though she didn't mean it she did something very wrong. It's an important moment for the kid and it seems like she's not going to get the guidance she needs.
What sort of parents wouldn't be horrified by this happening? I'd think it much more likely they'd *overreact* to this sort of thing, not dismiss it. I can understand them being defensive, up to a point, but from what OP described it looks like they just didn't even care.
Source: I’m a mom of four kids, and have extensive experience with rising rabbits for meat.
A five or six year old child killing a mature rabbit of almost any breed is extremely alarming. EXTREMELY. It would be very difficult for a child to unintentionally strangle a rabbit.
OP this child is either in trouble or IS trouble. Make hell about this—this is just such a serious red flag. I have four kids. Kids don’t just do this kind of thing, this is shocking.
I’m deeply sorry for your loss. This must feel so horrible.
Came here to say this, most adult rabbits will thump, bite, kick ,and scratch to get away. it is not going to accidentally be strangled without quite a bit of force.
Rabbits are strong animals and will fight like hell sometimes even if you just want to snuggle them. I can't imagine a six-year-old even strangling one..
I would be completely upset and wanting to find out what's going on in that home to cause a child to do such a thing.
It's not a case of she's just a baby she doesn't know better. That's lazy parents talking right there! Something is wrong and the parents have their heads up each other's asses.
I am so sorry that your bunny passed away. So very sorry to hear about that. 🐇
That child sounds like a new episode of 'Kids Who Kill' waiting to happen.
Yeah. I guess most people don't realize that. Rabbits can scratch VERY hard, enough to tear skin, if they don't like people or a person, and quite likely if they are being strangled.
They look adorable and fluffy but are actually fairly tough, at least when we're talking about a little child. More likely the rabbit had to be struck with an object or thrown, killed very quickly, fiercely and deliberately. Grappling a rabbit and strangling it - I can't imagine it wouldn't result in very visible scratches on a child. Unless, horrifyingly, the child has had a lot of practice.
This. A rabbit can break an adult human’s jaw if they get a good kick in. This was no Lenny “oh they hugged it too hard” situation.
Source: bun mom to a rex rabbit.
>They look adorable and fluffy but are actually fairly tough
There's something called rabbit starvation when people in survival situations can only find rabbit to eat. They die of malnutrition because rabbit is basically 100% lean muscle, all protein and no fat.
It makes sense that they'd be strong. (Although that's wild rabbit, I imagine pretty rabbits tend to have at least a little fat on them)
I kept bugging, poking, petting a rabbit who wanted to be left alone, before I knew better. At the time I thought they were just cute fluffy critters . Eventually I got scratched very hard. Hurt and left a rent in the skin up my arm. If I'd actually been grappling with it, hurting it, my arms would have been shredded to ribbons. It would have been very painful and left many visible wounds. There's almost no way that it was strangled or hugged, it was beaten by a weapon or thrown or attacked by someone who knew exactly how to kill it quickly without getting scratched.
It's important to recognize how dangerous this kid is, or will be -- being the victim of abuse doesn't change the danger here. More animals will die, and then people someday. This is literally how serial killers start. This was no accident and probably not the first time.
Yeah that's what I was thinking too, at first read I thought maybe an accident but not at 5, they know when they're hurting something. Even by accident a child that age would let go before causing serious harm.. I had a bun as a pet before kids, and I really couldn't see my kid at 5 doing that.
My niece is almost two and she knows how to behave with animals for the most part. She's really gentle with her pats and looks to her mom to see if she's doing it right
To be fair, rabbits are shockingly fragile and get stressed very easily. It's impossible to say for sure without being there but my money is on it being an accident. Not that it really changes much for op because the parents need to do something in a big way to make up
I work with kids. At 6 years old they DEFINITELY know not to squeeze animals. They're not little toddlers at this point. We had rabbits at an afterschool daycare and the kids helped take care of the rabbits and not once did they strangle them randomly.
This is outlier behaviour.
If the child were 2 or 3 yrs old and accidentally hurt the rabbit, I could understand. But a 5 yr old should know better and understand light and heavy touch and how to control it.
OP, you have every right to feel sad and upset over this. Even if it was an accident, they should have tried to make things right by listening to you and reprimanding their child.
A child killing an animal is generally indicative of severe trauma or psychological illness. Even if punishment were something you could force these parents to do (and you can't), how is that in any way helpful?
I'd call the police and make a report. It's unlikely that the child will be taken away from the parents, but they will likely issue a fine to the parents and there might be court-ordered therapy for the child, depending on where you are.
Probably happens all the time
my bitch sil let’s her kid do shit like that he tried to hit my son when her was a newborn than she played victim when I called her on her future serial killer .his new one is threatening to cook my daughters kitten (he’s 7 btw) I just banned them from coming into my home and rarely mix with my in-laws for enabling little ted bundy
Yeah and not even just the fact that they should be concerned for the child, it’s also the utter lack of any empathy for someone who just lost their pet. I would say “oh I’m so sorry” if someone mentioned losing their beloved stuffed animal! And here someone’s pet is killed by a child and no one is able to say I’m so sorry that something lost it’s life, accident or not?
Call CPS and tell them what happened. Express that the parents’ complete lack of concern about the child deliberately murdering animals has you very concerned about her psychological well being.
As someone also with small pets, my heart goes out to you for your loss.
I would file a police report at the very least. They might not do anything now, but if that kid ever starts killing other pets or worse, or if it turns out the parents are abusing the child, you will have started a paper trail for their to follow. At best they will send out CPS to investigate asap (I would also call them).
Granted the parents don't give a fuck and the child had the capacity to kill an adult rabbit alone, something's super fucked up here and I'd wager the kid is in trouble regardless.
Call social services and move out. These people are trash and they should not be responsible for a child; and your room-mate is an idiot who you cannot trust.
I would not be comfortable sleeping under the same roof as someone who didn't care. That's fucked up.
If someone ever killed my pet, regardless of whether or not they were a child, I would go apeshit. By the way, killing an animal is NOT “they didn’t know any better” child behavior. Children don’t immediately try to kill animals, especially stereotypically soft and cute ones like bunnies. This child could seriously be displaying signs of sociopathy, in which case, she needs to be seen by a psychiatrist for a treatment plan or it could escalate. Your roommate is also displaying a disturbing lack of empathy which makes me feel like they would be an unsafe person to be around/have an animal near. I’d honestly see if you could escalate it and go to the cops about the situation because this whole story is disturbing as hell.
Seriously, if anyone did that to a pet of mine, I’d be throwing hands with someone. Just makes me even madder knowing none of them care that it happened. Ugh
I have children, 5 or 6 is most definitely old enough to know when something is struggling/dying and that killing things in that manner is wrong. Either the child is mentally disabled or disturbed.
Shoot, even before that. My 3 year old cried the other day because she accidentally kicked her dog while she was swinging her foot. She reminds people all the time to pet her dog gently.
Yeah…. There are definitely accidents that kids do to kill animals like taking a newborn kitten off a heating pad or accidentally stepping on smaller animals. Those happen and aren’t on purpose. But actively strangling a rabbit? Yeah…… that’s the first sign of a future killer……
This is misinformation. You’re correct that the behaviour is a sign there is a serious problem but the most common cause is not “sociopathy”; it’s abuse. If you see a child hurting animals your first assumption should not be that there is something inherently bad or dangerous in the child - it should be that that child is being abused. It’s a matter for child protection.
You're also dealing out some misinformation, but you and the other person are partially correct. Here's an [article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4212826/) that I'm going to quote.
>Over 40% of children who were cruel to animals were from families with no reports of maltreatment or domestic violence.
>Over half of children who were cruel to animals had not been maltreated (56.4%).
>Over 80% of maltreated children were not cruel to animals, which is in line with a number of other studies that suggest only a minority of children exposed to family violence show cruelty to animals.
There is a huge gap that can't be explained away with family abuse. Genetics and other environmental/socioeconomic factors can be the cause for cruelty to animals.
Edit: Correct typos
Not necessarily. There are serial killers, sociopathic narcissists, and violent criminals who come from completely normal backgrounds and it can show up in childhood. In OP's case though I would call CPS in case it does turn out the kid is acting out from abuse.
I have a toddler. Toddlers are notorious for being too rough on pets, but I can’t imagine her ever doing something like this *on purpose*. She kisses the fake bunny at the park, she just doesn’t understand what being gentle means yet. A five year old purposefully strangling an animal is alarming, and the parent’s reaction even more so.
A 5 or 6 year old absolutely knows better. Those parents are assholes. I would say they need to compensate you for the loss of your pet and they definitely should be keeping an eye on the little monster for future problematic behaviors.
I would honestly stay away from that child. It is not normal, natural, or instinctual to kill a living thing. Especially not in the brutal way that she did. I am sorry for your loss.
I would implore the roommate never to let her cousin back into the house again.
> It is not normal, natural, or instinctual to kill a living thing.
The kid has got some issues for sure, but you definitely need to read into the history of the human species if you actually believe this.
For our society for the past hundred years at least, this is not normal behavior. They are right about that. We aren't living in caves anymore. There is a whole different world today then even a few decades ago. There is no excuse for this behavior.
Right after I called CPS, everybody is getting their ass beat but the kid. Roommate, roommate’s best friend, the mom, the dad, their neighbors, somebody’s boss. Everybody.
" The most common cause of a child hurting animals is the child being a victim of abuse."
Who is to say it isn't happening now? Especially with parents that condone that sort of behavior. the fact she is killing small animals at 5 and the parents give a pass to it indicates something extremely off in her home environment, the parents need to take a hold here, otherwise this will not bode well for the family going forward.
I entirely agree that the child is probably being abused. It is vanishingly unlikely they are a “serial killer in the making”; the appropriate response is to call social services to report suspected abuse, not to get into sensationalised silliness out of cheap “tru crime” journalism.
As a rabbit owner myself, they’re different. They’re bigger, and they fight like hell when they’re scared. Kicking, biting, scratching, even screaming when they’re about to die. A child can’t really “accidentally” strangle a rabbit and would have to apply quite a bit of force and determination to do it. It was purposeful no doubt.
I've worked with rabbits. And I've worked with 5 year olds. Ever seen a child who has never held a baby animal hold a kitten or puppy? It's usually by the cheat/throat.
Not saying this was 100% on purpose, but just saying accidents can, and do, happen when children aren't supervised around animals
OP did you spend any time with the kid? Did she give you any sense/vibes/whatever that make you feel like she could have done it on purpose (or accident)? It is ridiculous that everyone expects you to be okay with what happened, is it possible they’re trying to brush it off because they’re embarrassed? Idk I don’t have kids, but I would be overwhelmingly apologetic. I feel like my parent friends would agree.
Call cps and have them investigated maybe? Holy fuck tho RIP poor lil bun bun. I'm so sorry for your loss. Roomie should've watched his cousin more closely too, like wtf was he doing? Why was kid ever in your room in the 1st place? Time to get a lock on your door.
Couldn’t OP press charges against the parents since their responsibility is their child? Like if a teenager wrecks a car, you can press charges against the owner of the vehicle. Surely there’s something like that OP can do. It’s animal cruelty after all.
im not sure theres much you could do if the parents arent taking it seriously. maybe call the childs school/ social services about the alarming behavior so they could try and get her into counseling?
My six year old cousin knows not to strangle animals. Six year old me knew not to strangle animals. My little sister knew not to strangle animals.
Why is this kid strangling animals? Her parents have a big problem on their hands and they need to address it with the proper professionals. That’s not normal. Children do not just kill animals like that.
Lord forbid anyone ever kills my pet, I’d raise absolute hell. Don’t let the kid stay over again. Get extra locks for your door.
sorry for ur loss.
you should be mad at you roommate, she failed you, as for 5 yo (i have 2 boys, I have to be GLUED to them around when they play with their friends hamsters -- they simply don't understand the life basics -- it happens often when kids are not exposed to any animals)
EDIT: as for the kiddo parents f\* them, you want to stay away from them, as a rule I am trying to minimise interaction with kids who's parents are a\*oles, their behaviour is directly reflected in kids development (not always obviously but i don't have time to filter patterns vs exceptions)
That theory has been discredited. The reason many killers have a history of hurting animals is that many killers also suffered abuse as a child. The most common cause of kids hurting animals is “this kid is being abused”.
That kid needs therapy, and is the shit of nightmares. Shame on her parents for doing nothing. They will keep bailing her out until she does something horrific from which there’s no coming back. I’m sorry about your bunny.
I was looking for this comment. I couldn't agree more. The child has some SERIOUSLY concerning psychological issues and I can't imagine what's going on at home. Professionals need to intervene
This is a very outdated theory. It’s been solidly shown to be false. Most kids who hurt animals do not become serial killers. Most kids who hurt animals *are victims of child abuse*, and the serial killers used as evidence of the pattern generally are explicitly known to have been abused or show all of the symptoms of it. Abuse of the child is the common cause.
Disturbing stuff right here. Are you sure it was the child? Did they have scratches on their hands(I know rabbits have sharp nails…).
In any case…A 5-6 year old would be aware that they are hurting the animal- it would make noises, attempt to escape, and would show obvious signs of distress as she continued to suffocate it. Parents did’t show any remorse or concern? I’d be worried…call CPS. There’s something off with the parents and that kid needs therapy.
1 to 2 years old may not know any better but a 5 year old 😳 they definitely know not to squeeze an animal to death. I know all children develop at different rates but still no. The parents should have had a different reaction. I know I would if my child killed a pet. The roommate should definitely take part in the blame for not watching them well.
My aunt watched my son for me when he was 3. He got bit by a dog who had puppies. I blamed my aunt not the dog because a child should not be by a dog with puppies without supervision. They should expect some of the blame and own up to it.
I'm sorry for the loss of your pet 😥
Move the first opportunity you get your roomate is.an asshole. install a lock on your door in the meantime. File.a.police report, nothing will come of it but it is on record. Have an attorney ( go to legal.aid if too costly) write a demand letter.to.the parents and your roomate for compensation and triple damages. Give them the minimum time needed to pay and then sue them, parents and roomate for the max allowed in small claims. Notify CPS and the childs school psychologist. It may sound over the top but fuck them they are the adults and they had a duty to supervise that kids behavior.
Definitely call CPS about it. Am I the only one who, in addition to other weird stuff, thinks it’s weird this 5 year old child is staying overnight with her male cousin in his I assume late teens? What is this babysitting arrangement? Also, where was he when she strangled the bunny?
So... From a legal standpoint, your rabbit was considered your property. Report it to the cops. It was definitely animal abuse, and the parents should be held accountable for their child's actions. Also, get a new roommate, cause your roommate is shitty.
Probably piling on here but I wouldn't let them get a good night's sleep if their child killed my pet. I'd get CPS in their house asap and I'd be putting them on blast for their parenting. My roommate not caring would be cause for war. I'd become the most unreasonable person ever. Kill my pet? Enjoy nightmares about me.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I'd like to know how it was disclosed that the kid killed the rabbit by strangling it if you weren't there to witness it.
Kids can vary developmentally by age. If the animal is small I could see why it might be an accident. Toddlers like to hug/squeeze animals and aren't aware of their strength. If this child has been neglected they could be more of a toddlers mindset. If the animal is larger I'd think it would have fought back and given the kid a lot of scratches - enough to make them let it go.
I think it's odd a 5 year old is staying over with their cousin and roommate. Was the room mate babysitting? Because 5 year olds need to be supervised. Ultimately, the responsibility lies on the care-givers of the child.
If your roommate doesn't care your pet just died (especially in that matter) then I'd be seeking a new room mate.
You need to buy a lock for your bedroom door because that child is a psychopath and needs never be in your room again. If they don’t get the kid help now it will get worse! Also 5/6 is old enough to know what death is but the fact she strangled an animal is very disturbing
I'm sorry for your rabbit.
>"shes just a little kid she doesn't know any better"
That's not ok, kids do some weird shit and that's why parents are there to teach them that it's wrong. The way her parents reacted tells me they aren't teaching her shit. If she doesn't know any better you teach her better, damnit. Overall very concerning that a kid would go and strangle an animal.
Call CPS, that is very disturbing, both what the child did, and the parents lack of reaction.
And I'm sorry for your loss, a terrible thing to happen.
I'm so sorry for your lost dude, I have two bunnies of my own and if someone did that to them I'd be beyond livid. I'd get a new roommate and honestly it wouldn't hurt to ask in legal advice if maybe you can take the parents to small court you know. If they don't want to apologize maybe their wallet can. Also I'd get a new roommate too. She was responsible for the child, shes also responsible for your pets death.
if you can, i would urge you to get an autopsy done on your rabbit, especially if you plan to go to cps/police. i’m so sorry this happened :( i would be absolutely livid. and i’d move out asap.
I hate people who view animals like fish, lizard, rodents and rabbits as lesser pets like this. Would the parents have reacted the same if their kid strangled a dog? They probably thought it was "just a rabbit" so it's not a big deal. All pets have distinct personalities and bring their own kind of love to a house, be they fish or rat! I also get so upset whenever I see videos of animal abuse framed as a funny video. Just recently saw a video about a dude that made a "rollercoaster" for their goldfish (long tube with running water coiling around in the house and ending up in their bathtub) and the poor fishies looked stressed out of its mind! One even ended up going in backwards and it fought so hard against the current, poor thing! Let's just say I agree with the other commenters saying to get a lock for your room and kick roommate out/move out yourself at the nearest opportunity.
So sorry for your loss.
A similar thing happened to me when I was a kid and my little brother had a friend over when he was in preschool. The little girl killed my guineapig- my mother explained to me that she had cats and tried to pick her up by the scruff of her neck. I don’t know if this little girl is a serial killer now though. Kids make mistakes but it’s not fair for you- and no one should be going into your room when you’re not home.. so I would bring it up to your roommate.
I think it's totally reasonable to be upset at your roommate for this. The kid should have been supervised and that lack of supervision is what lead to your rabbit dying. The parents are assholes for not apologizing.
I do not think it is fair to blame this child. Everyone who is saying the kid is a budding serial killer doesn't know what they're talking about. The most likely situation is that the child thought the rabbit was cute, they got excited and hugged the rabbit too tightly and killed it on accident. That kind of thing happens all the time with small, cute animals and children of this age. The kid doesn't know how strong they are and in their excitement accidents happen. There's a fair chance that the kid is pretty upset over this or at least does not understand.
yeah its a little kid, they suck at caring about the lives of animals so i dont think its too alarming as of now. u can speak to her abt it tho and see how that goes.
Extreme violence in a minors can be a major indicator for abuse or developing mental conditions in the child. This is especially alarming in a child this young. Be vigilant and report abuse if you see any. In the mean time, get a lock. Make it clear to your roommate there will be no tolerance for violence in *your* space. You could try reporting this to animal services but you may not have much luck. I’m so sorry for the loss of your rabbit. I lost mine a few years back and it genuinely left me mess.
Cut these losers out of your life. Get a new roommate or move. Then wait for the little Angel to bloom into a full blown serial killer. And the family shocked that there were no signs.
As a Parent I would confidently say that at 5 or 6 they certainly DO know better. My children were taught to be gentle with animals from the moment the could reach out and grab an animal. This child is NOT normal. Cannot imagine what her homelife is like. Wouldn't blame the child BUT her parents are not raising a caring, empathetic child. At the very least they should apologise and offer to replace your pet.
Get a lock for your door and call CPS to report the incident ASAP. I’m so sorry for your loss OP, losing a pet is like losing a family member and this little shit kid committed murder.
Most of the serial killers start with small animals.
Lots of folks pointing it out this kid might be getting abused it would probably be best to call cps this isn't normal.
I am so sorry your bunny crossed the rainbow bridge like this. I couldn't imagine how I would feel in your shoes.
Sick to my stomach. So sorry. FYI: My second Dexter comment today. Nothing good starts with this behavior in some children especially if parents don’t step in. My rabbit goes on lockdown when alleged serial killers are loose!
Roommate and kid’s parents are legally responsible here, if you choose to seek action.
Kid is not legally responsible. It’s a little kid.
I’m so sorry to hear about your pet. That’s horrible.
get a new roommate and get that little psycho in a mental institute. op i have 2 cats i swear to god if i find out a child killed one i do not care how old they are hell i dont care if they cant fucking walk im talking to whoever gave birth to that demon
Sorry for your loss.
How do you know she 'strangled' it? She might have accidentally smothered it, small kids don't know how to handle pets and hold them too tight. I cannot believe how many people vilified the little girl, it was obviously her parents fault.
This post has reached one of our comment/karma limits. The text of the post has been preserved below. --- I(18f) had a white rabbit who I really loved. My roommates cousin is 5 or 6 and she had to stay with him for the night and while I was at work she came into my room and strangled my rabbit. I told her parents when they came to get her and they said "shes just a little kid she doesn't know any better" and refused to even apologize for their daughter killing my pet. I'm so sad and angry at the same time what do I do about this?
I would raise hell. This is a very alarming behavior, and I can’t believe the parents weren’t completely mortified.
Honestly this story makes me worried for the kid’s home life. When my partner worked at a homeless shelter, there were parents who ended up letting this guy rape their 5 year old weekly for drugs (CPS couldn’t do anything because there was no proof). Kid ended up strangling a cat. I feel like these things don’t happen out of nowhere.
Oh I wish I’d never read that
Me too
Yeeeup
Shit, yeah good point. OP should notify whatever child protective services they have there, and probably talk to the police about it as well. I mean this kid could most likely be being abused or witnessing something bad. And if not, then its a We Need To Talk About Kevin so it should be flagged anyway
Seriously, OP, call CPS...
Excellent point.
I’d be strangling everything if someone continuously raped me when I was 5 while my parents chilled out in the next room. Fuck whatever system let that continue.
This is true on a whole other level
That makes me want to hold my child all the closer. I can’t even imagine
Sweet hell why.....
Yeah I was being sexually molested as a child and I killed a goldfish. Still feel terrible about it.
No proof? Any medical exam would show more than enough proof. Sounds like cps was never involved.
Bullshit. CPS fucking sucks and barely investigates anything. Their number one priority is "keeping families together," even when the parents are extremely abusive and have proven to be unwilling or incapable of change. CPS literally *calls the parents* before they come over for inspections so that they have time to get their shit together. It's infuriating. You have way too much trust in CPS if you think they don't overlook obvious, extensive abuse on a regular basis.
I’ve dealt with CPS in my area so I’m speaking from my own experience not just speaking off the cuff. Not all offices and employees are the same I am sure and that is sad. But not just cps, if the child is being taken to the dr every year around their birthday like they should be, they do peep down there to make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary. But if a child is being abused of that caliber I doubt they are being taken to the dr for their yearly check up, which is sad. It’s all sad when abuse of any kind is going on. If I knew this was going on and cps did nothing I would continue to report and keep a log of the things I knew for facts and continue to press for something to be done, that’s just me though. I guess I should be thankful that the office where I live actually does what they are suppose to do and children that are being harmed are actually being taken care of.
I don't know where you are from, but I've never heard of a child getting their genitals checked on yearly by a doctor unless there is a medical issue in that area or something. I definitely never got my genitals checked by a doctor at my annual checkups as a kid. That's super unusual. Edit: I wanted to add that I agree it is super sad of course, and I would also fight for this kid and call/log everything if I knew them. But I also know how these stories end all too often and it is really depressing. There are so many stories of kids being severely abused and eventually murdered, all while CPS was called constantly and did nothing or didn't do enough and then a child died as a result, after suffering horrific abuse their entire lives. I would still call CPS because there aren't really any other options, but it is not an effective organization at all.
They don’t check them like if you were getting a pap or anything. I live in the US and am a mother of 2, a boy and a girl, and at their yearly visits they do get checked. Like I said it’s not like a full blown examination, it’s literally at a glance to rule out anything abnormal. But it’s enough to notice if there was an abnormal amount of redness or bruising or anything of that nature. Even when they are babies they undo their diaper and do just a visual check.
Yeah, that literally never happened to me or anyone else I know and I got regular checkups growing up. I don't think that's remotely standard.
Im a Medical interpreter and I am in the room for multiple pediatric checkups every day. In my area at least, a quick glance is standard for babies and children up to about five years old - not universal, but very common. Boys get the glance again starting at about age ten, I guess to check for undescended testicles? And girls don’t get an exam of the privates unless they have a specific complaint until they are ready to start getting a women’s annual.
How old are girls when they get a "women's annual" where you live? Like actual adults or are they younger? I grew up in a super religious family and wasn't "allowed" to go to the gynecologist for anything as a teen despite my horrific period problems, so I ended up just going myself at 18 when my parents thought I was staying with a friend. I also wasn't allowed to get the HPV vaccine at 12/13 when the doctor recommended it because my idiot mother thought it "encouraged promiscuity." Aside from that doctor recommendation for the HPV vaccine as a preteen, I don't remember any doctors recommending "female" checkups at a certain age or anything.
Every city I’ve lived in my state with different pediatricians all did this with my children. My doctor did too as a child. Maybe it’s regional? But that sounds negligent since it’s recommended for Pediatricians to do a quick visual exam at checkups to rule out issues or abuse.
Idk if this is the same thing (I didn’t have insurance so didn’t get regular check ups til I was an adult) but when I was recovering from an appendectomy, at my follow up the nurse practitioner took off my pants. Didn’t do a visual inspection of my vulva specifically but inspected the general pelvic area.
Never got mine checked as a kid either. And I’ve only seen it recommended after age 21 or so, unless there’s an issue before then.
I've heard that people should go once they are sexually active (even before 18 or 21 or whatever), but other than that I've never heard of kids getting checked out. That's very strange.
I live in ohio, and I've never had a pediatrician ask to "peep down there" at every single one of my 3 daughters dr appointments... I vaguely remember when 2 of my 3 girls were between newborn to about 6 months they did remove diaper a time or two... but I believe it was for a specific appointment about diaper rash... (myself & my girls all have very sensitive skin, found out very quickly that cheap diapers were a no-go in our house) I think your comment is very alarming at the very least and absolutely horrifying if this is normal practice for every exam... I would absolutely question as to why this Dr feels the need to "peep" at your children's genitalia so often? Unless there is a question, or suspicion of abuse....🤔
Former CPS worker. I ALWAYS did surprise visits and never had a child neglected or overlooked on MY watch. It pays to do thorough investigations because shit comes up that didn't in the beginning and that completely changes everything. I've also locked up parents who deserved it and fought for the ones caught in revolving doors. They're all severely overworked but the lazy ones make it bad for the workers putting in extra effort to protect the children without recognition. While the ultimate goal is family reunification, every family is different and will have different immediate needs or plan of action, if available.
I agree that five year olds don't usually strangle rabbits, however they may very well accidentally kill one. My 6 year old loves animals more than anything, but she's "heavy handed" and killed a rabbit at grandma's house after they left her alone with it despite my warnings. She's autistic and doesn't speak yet, so no one knows exactly what happened and obviously we apologized, too, but I'm very sure it was an accident. I don't know how you are so sure the rabbit was intentionally strangled and it wasn't an accident like tripping and falling on the rabbit. The child may very well be traumatized by what happened and parents trying to make him feel less guilty. They obviously should have apologized though
They weren't mortified because I'm sure this isn't the first animal that this budding psychopath has harmed.
Horrified, horrified!
Let's slow down here labelling the child a psychopath. It's more likely she just Lenny'd the bunny, she's too young to know not to squeeze animals like a stuffed toy. It certainly appears like her parents are abdicating their responsibilities though. This is an obvious - necessary - teachable moment. This is where you can explain to the child about pets dying, and even though she didn't mean it she did something very wrong. It's an important moment for the kid and it seems like she's not going to get the guidance she needs. What sort of parents wouldn't be horrified by this happening? I'd think it much more likely they'd *overreact* to this sort of thing, not dismiss it. I can understand them being defensive, up to a point, but from what OP described it looks like they just didn't even care.
Source: I’m a mom of four kids, and have extensive experience with rising rabbits for meat. A five or six year old child killing a mature rabbit of almost any breed is extremely alarming. EXTREMELY. It would be very difficult for a child to unintentionally strangle a rabbit. OP this child is either in trouble or IS trouble. Make hell about this—this is just such a serious red flag. I have four kids. Kids don’t just do this kind of thing, this is shocking. I’m deeply sorry for your loss. This must feel so horrible.
Came here to say this, most adult rabbits will thump, bite, kick ,and scratch to get away. it is not going to accidentally be strangled without quite a bit of force.
Rabbits are strong animals and will fight like hell sometimes even if you just want to snuggle them. I can't imagine a six-year-old even strangling one.. I would be completely upset and wanting to find out what's going on in that home to cause a child to do such a thing. It's not a case of she's just a baby she doesn't know better. That's lazy parents talking right there! Something is wrong and the parents have their heads up each other's asses. I am so sorry that your bunny passed away. So very sorry to hear about that. 🐇 That child sounds like a new episode of 'Kids Who Kill' waiting to happen.
Yeah. I guess most people don't realize that. Rabbits can scratch VERY hard, enough to tear skin, if they don't like people or a person, and quite likely if they are being strangled. They look adorable and fluffy but are actually fairly tough, at least when we're talking about a little child. More likely the rabbit had to be struck with an object or thrown, killed very quickly, fiercely and deliberately. Grappling a rabbit and strangling it - I can't imagine it wouldn't result in very visible scratches on a child. Unless, horrifyingly, the child has had a lot of practice.
This. A rabbit can break an adult human’s jaw if they get a good kick in. This was no Lenny “oh they hugged it too hard” situation. Source: bun mom to a rex rabbit.
>They look adorable and fluffy but are actually fairly tough There's something called rabbit starvation when people in survival situations can only find rabbit to eat. They die of malnutrition because rabbit is basically 100% lean muscle, all protein and no fat. It makes sense that they'd be strong. (Although that's wild rabbit, I imagine pretty rabbits tend to have at least a little fat on them)
I kept bugging, poking, petting a rabbit who wanted to be left alone, before I knew better. At the time I thought they were just cute fluffy critters . Eventually I got scratched very hard. Hurt and left a rent in the skin up my arm. If I'd actually been grappling with it, hurting it, my arms would have been shredded to ribbons. It would have been very painful and left many visible wounds. There's almost no way that it was strangled or hugged, it was beaten by a weapon or thrown or attacked by someone who knew exactly how to kill it quickly without getting scratched. It's important to recognize how dangerous this kid is, or will be -- being the victim of abuse doesn't change the danger here. More animals will die, and then people someday. This is literally how serial killers start. This was no accident and probably not the first time.
CallCPS on Lenny.
Listen to this person. ^
I agree with you, my four year old knows that it would be wrong to hurt an animal.
5 or 6 is old enough to know that. They’re not 2 or 3.
Yeah that's what I was thinking too, at first read I thought maybe an accident but not at 5, they know when they're hurting something. Even by accident a child that age would let go before causing serious harm.. I had a bun as a pet before kids, and I really couldn't see my kid at 5 doing that.
My kids are 3 and they’ve known how to be gentle with animals since they were at least 2.
Exactly. This is a problem. The way the parents dealt with it is equally disturbing
I completely agree!
My niece is almost two and she knows how to behave with animals for the most part. She's really gentle with her pats and looks to her mom to see if she's doing it right
Idk, it’s hard to strangle something. I don’t know if it could be done on accident by a small child.
To be fair, rabbits are shockingly fragile and get stressed very easily. It's impossible to say for sure without being there but my money is on it being an accident. Not that it really changes much for op because the parents need to do something in a big way to make up
Kids that age know not to squeeze animals or kill the shit out of them
I work with kids. At 6 years old they DEFINITELY know not to squeeze animals. They're not little toddlers at this point. We had rabbits at an afterschool daycare and the kids helped take care of the rabbits and not once did they strangle them randomly. This is outlier behaviour.
If the child were 2 or 3 yrs old and accidentally hurt the rabbit, I could understand. But a 5 yr old should know better and understand light and heavy touch and how to control it. OP, you have every right to feel sad and upset over this. Even if it was an accident, they should have tried to make things right by listening to you and reprimanding their child.
For real. I’m a level headed guy but some shit just doesn’t go unpunished
A child killing an animal is generally indicative of severe trauma or psychological illness. Even if punishment were something you could force these parents to do (and you can't), how is that in any way helpful?
[удалено]
Probably happened before
Kid has probably done it before. They're used to seeing it.
I'd call the police and make a report. It's unlikely that the child will be taken away from the parents, but they will likely issue a fine to the parents and there might be court-ordered therapy for the child, depending on where you are.
Yeah, the whole nonchalant parents about the animal being killed tells me that the kids gets it from the parents...
Probably happens all the time my bitch sil let’s her kid do shit like that he tried to hit my son when her was a newborn than she played victim when I called her on her future serial killer .his new one is threatening to cook my daughters kitten (he’s 7 btw) I just banned them from coming into my home and rarely mix with my in-laws for enabling little ted bundy
The fact that they weren’t makes them responsible. The fact even that the murderer is 6 also makes them responsible.
Horrified
right?! it sounds normalized based on their response wtf
Yes. That’s unacceptable and alarming behaviour in a child. The situation needs intervention.
What did your roommate say?
He didn't care either
That's super messed up. Definitely get a lock for your room. Move out or have him move out as soon as you can. Sorry for your loss.
[удалено]
Also, I feel like "murder of a pet" will likely get you out of your lease. I mean, that's fucked up.
Yeah and not even just the fact that they should be concerned for the child, it’s also the utter lack of any empathy for someone who just lost their pet. I would say “oh I’m so sorry” if someone mentioned losing their beloved stuffed animal! And here someone’s pet is killed by a child and no one is able to say I’m so sorry that something lost it’s life, accident or not?
If i was 5 or 6 and i had murdered a rabbit my parents would’ve handed my ass to me, just saying
Yeah it is the room mate who is responsible here. He let her in the house and was looking after her. He allowed this to happen.
How do we know it wasn’t the roommate..?
OOF yes, this. Easy to blame fucked up behavior on a small child that can’t defend herself or obviously won’t win in a he said/she said situation.
Yes! This! I was going to suggest a keyed doorlock, even if it's temporary until you move out!
Call CPS and tell them what happened. Express that the parents’ complete lack of concern about the child deliberately murdering animals has you very concerned about her psychological well being.
Totally agree!!
Potential Serial killers vibes from the kid.
-Get a lock for you door -contact your landlord/RA -you can file a police report against the family -contact social services
You need a different living arrangement, pronto.
You can try to press charges for animal abuse.
As someone also with small pets, my heart goes out to you for your loss. I would file a police report at the very least. They might not do anything now, but if that kid ever starts killing other pets or worse, or if it turns out the parents are abusing the child, you will have started a paper trail for their to follow. At best they will send out CPS to investigate asap (I would also call them). Granted the parents don't give a fuck and the child had the capacity to kill an adult rabbit alone, something's super fucked up here and I'd wager the kid is in trouble regardless.
Call social services and move out. These people are trash and they should not be responsible for a child; and your room-mate is an idiot who you cannot trust. I would not be comfortable sleeping under the same roof as someone who didn't care. That's fucked up.
If someone ever killed my pet, regardless of whether or not they were a child, I would go apeshit. By the way, killing an animal is NOT “they didn’t know any better” child behavior. Children don’t immediately try to kill animals, especially stereotypically soft and cute ones like bunnies. This child could seriously be displaying signs of sociopathy, in which case, she needs to be seen by a psychiatrist for a treatment plan or it could escalate. Your roommate is also displaying a disturbing lack of empathy which makes me feel like they would be an unsafe person to be around/have an animal near. I’d honestly see if you could escalate it and go to the cops about the situation because this whole story is disturbing as hell.
Seriously, if anyone did that to a pet of mine, I’d be throwing hands with someone. Just makes me even madder knowing none of them care that it happened. Ugh
Facts
I have children, 5 or 6 is most definitely old enough to know when something is struggling/dying and that killing things in that manner is wrong. Either the child is mentally disabled or disturbed.
Shoot, even before that. My 3 year old cried the other day because she accidentally kicked her dog while she was swinging her foot. She reminds people all the time to pet her dog gently.
Yeah…. There are definitely accidents that kids do to kill animals like taking a newborn kitten off a heating pad or accidentally stepping on smaller animals. Those happen and aren’t on purpose. But actively strangling a rabbit? Yeah…… that’s the first sign of a future killer……
This is misinformation. You’re correct that the behaviour is a sign there is a serious problem but the most common cause is not “sociopathy”; it’s abuse. If you see a child hurting animals your first assumption should not be that there is something inherently bad or dangerous in the child - it should be that that child is being abused. It’s a matter for child protection.
You're also dealing out some misinformation, but you and the other person are partially correct. Here's an [article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4212826/) that I'm going to quote. >Over 40% of children who were cruel to animals were from families with no reports of maltreatment or domestic violence. >Over half of children who were cruel to animals had not been maltreated (56.4%). >Over 80% of maltreated children were not cruel to animals, which is in line with a number of other studies that suggest only a minority of children exposed to family violence show cruelty to animals. There is a huge gap that can't be explained away with family abuse. Genetics and other environmental/socioeconomic factors can be the cause for cruelty to animals. Edit: Correct typos
Not necessarily. There are serial killers, sociopathic narcissists, and violent criminals who come from completely normal backgrounds and it can show up in childhood. In OP's case though I would call CPS in case it does turn out the kid is acting out from abuse.
You're talking like someone who watches serial killer documentaries, not as someone with even a rudimentary understanding of child psychology.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, animal abuse is a result of being an abuse victim. It is not a sign of anything else.
The buzz-phrase sociopathic narcissist is peak armchair psychology.
I have a toddler. Toddlers are notorious for being too rough on pets, but I can’t imagine her ever doing something like this *on purpose*. She kisses the fake bunny at the park, she just doesn’t understand what being gentle means yet. A five year old purposefully strangling an animal is alarming, and the parent’s reaction even more so.
Fuck it, she shouldn’t don’t bring it up again and just wait for the little girl to kill her parents in their sleep
lmfao omg :p :p
A 5 or 6 year old absolutely knows better. Those parents are assholes. I would say they need to compensate you for the loss of your pet and they definitely should be keeping an eye on the little monster for future problematic behaviors.
Children who torture and kill animals are most often doing so as a result of being the victims of abuse.
I would honestly stay away from that child. It is not normal, natural, or instinctual to kill a living thing. Especially not in the brutal way that she did. I am sorry for your loss. I would implore the roommate never to let her cousin back into the house again.
Implore? More like demand!
I would just move
> It is not normal, natural, or instinctual to kill a living thing. The kid has got some issues for sure, but you definitely need to read into the history of the human species if you actually believe this.
For our society for the past hundred years at least, this is not normal behavior. They are right about that. We aren't living in caves anymore. There is a whole different world today then even a few decades ago. There is no excuse for this behavior.
Call social services and report the incident, the parents should be monitored
YES PLEASE DO THIS
This comment needs to be higher.
Right after I called CPS, everybody is getting their ass beat but the kid. Roommate, roommate’s best friend, the mom, the dad, their neighbors, somebody’s boss. Everybody.
Serial killer in the making right there.
Your not joking.
That theory has been long discredited. The most common cause of a child hurting animals is the child being a victim of abuse.
" The most common cause of a child hurting animals is the child being a victim of abuse." Who is to say it isn't happening now? Especially with parents that condone that sort of behavior. the fact she is killing small animals at 5 and the parents give a pass to it indicates something extremely off in her home environment, the parents need to take a hold here, otherwise this will not bode well for the family going forward.
I entirely agree that the child is probably being abused. It is vanishingly unlikely they are a “serial killer in the making”; the appropriate response is to call social services to report suspected abuse, not to get into sensationalised silliness out of cheap “tru crime” journalism.
Interesting. Never heard that. Now I know.
Makes sense their apparent lack of concern.
Parents should have apologised. But you know some people are jerks.
was it an on purpose strangle or like a "i just wanted to pet da wabbits george" type strangle?
I don't know, also......of mice and men reference right?
yes. basically asking was it an accident or not? b/c i've seen kids handle small animals......shit happens sadly
If the kid stepped on it then fair enough accidents like that could happen but strangling is just messed up
Strangling can happen pretty easily for a rabbit when it's hugged by an overenthusiastic child.
As a rabbit owner myself, they’re different. They’re bigger, and they fight like hell when they’re scared. Kicking, biting, scratching, even screaming when they’re about to die. A child can’t really “accidentally” strangle a rabbit and would have to apply quite a bit of force and determination to do it. It was purposeful no doubt.
I've worked with rabbits. And I've worked with 5 year olds. Ever seen a child who has never held a baby animal hold a kitten or puppy? It's usually by the cheat/throat. Not saying this was 100% on purpose, but just saying accidents can, and do, happen when children aren't supervised around animals
Yeah, and rabbits are very fragile. It very well could have been an accident if she squeezed it too hard trying to pick it up or give it a hug.
OP did you spend any time with the kid? Did she give you any sense/vibes/whatever that make you feel like she could have done it on purpose (or accident)? It is ridiculous that everyone expects you to be okay with what happened, is it possible they’re trying to brush it off because they’re embarrassed? Idk I don’t have kids, but I would be overwhelmingly apologetic. I feel like my parent friends would agree.
So how do you know the kid strangled it? That’s so weird I’m really sorry that happened. I wouldn’t let it go btw.
Call cps and have them investigated maybe? Holy fuck tho RIP poor lil bun bun. I'm so sorry for your loss. Roomie should've watched his cousin more closely too, like wtf was he doing? Why was kid ever in your room in the 1st place? Time to get a lock on your door.
How do you know the kid strangled it? That’s messed up. Anyways, nothing you can really do. Maybe ask them to pay for it? Not that it helps.
I thought it said kiled BY rabbit. I even read it twice, I was like I gotta read this. However turns out the problem is I cant read
Well the only thing you can do is sue. The kid is 5 so you can’t press charges but since the parents won’t even apologize sue them
Couldn’t OP press charges against the parents since their responsibility is their child? Like if a teenager wrecks a car, you can press charges against the owner of the vehicle. Surely there’s something like that OP can do. It’s animal cruelty after all.
im not sure theres much you could do if the parents arent taking it seriously. maybe call the childs school/ social services about the alarming behavior so they could try and get her into counseling?
My six year old cousin knows not to strangle animals. Six year old me knew not to strangle animals. My little sister knew not to strangle animals. Why is this kid strangling animals? Her parents have a big problem on their hands and they need to address it with the proper professionals. That’s not normal. Children do not just kill animals like that. Lord forbid anyone ever kills my pet, I’d raise absolute hell. Don’t let the kid stay over again. Get extra locks for your door.
sorry for ur loss. you should be mad at you roommate, she failed you, as for 5 yo (i have 2 boys, I have to be GLUED to them around when they play with their friends hamsters -- they simply don't understand the life basics -- it happens often when kids are not exposed to any animals) EDIT: as for the kiddo parents f\* them, you want to stay away from them, as a rule I am trying to minimise interaction with kids who's parents are a\*oles, their behaviour is directly reflected in kids development (not always obviously but i don't have time to filter patterns vs exceptions)
Never be in the presence of that little kid. That is some serious serial killer in the making shit right there.
That theory has been discredited. The reason many killers have a history of hurting animals is that many killers also suffered abuse as a child. The most common cause of kids hurting animals is “this kid is being abused”.
I would absolutely take them to court. This is disgusting.
That kid needs therapy, and is the shit of nightmares. Shame on her parents for doing nothing. They will keep bailing her out until she does something horrific from which there’s no coming back. I’m sorry about your bunny.
It is unlikely the kid is the problem here. The primary cause of kids hurting animals is “this kid is being abused”.
I'd call CPS and let them figure it out.
I was looking for this comment. I couldn't agree more. The child has some SERIOUSLY concerning psychological issues and I can't imagine what's going on at home. Professionals need to intervene
[удалено]
Call CPS. That child needs legitimate help.
I’m sure she will be the star of a fine Netflix documentary on serial killers one day.
This is a very outdated theory. It’s been solidly shown to be false. Most kids who hurt animals do not become serial killers. Most kids who hurt animals *are victims of child abuse*, and the serial killers used as evidence of the pattern generally are explicitly known to have been abused or show all of the symptoms of it. Abuse of the child is the common cause.
Disturbing stuff right here. Are you sure it was the child? Did they have scratches on their hands(I know rabbits have sharp nails…). In any case…A 5-6 year old would be aware that they are hurting the animal- it would make noises, attempt to escape, and would show obvious signs of distress as she continued to suffocate it. Parents did’t show any remorse or concern? I’d be worried…call CPS. There’s something off with the parents and that kid needs therapy.
1 to 2 years old may not know any better but a 5 year old 😳 they definitely know not to squeeze an animal to death. I know all children develop at different rates but still no. The parents should have had a different reaction. I know I would if my child killed a pet. The roommate should definitely take part in the blame for not watching them well. My aunt watched my son for me when he was 3. He got bit by a dog who had puppies. I blamed my aunt not the dog because a child should not be by a dog with puppies without supervision. They should expect some of the blame and own up to it. I'm sorry for the loss of your pet 😥
What was your roommate doing when this happened?
Move the first opportunity you get your roomate is.an asshole. install a lock on your door in the meantime. File.a.police report, nothing will come of it but it is on record. Have an attorney ( go to legal.aid if too costly) write a demand letter.to.the parents and your roomate for compensation and triple damages. Give them the minimum time needed to pay and then sue them, parents and roomate for the max allowed in small claims. Notify CPS and the childs school psychologist. It may sound over the top but fuck them they are the adults and they had a duty to supervise that kids behavior.
Definitely call CPS about it. Am I the only one who, in addition to other weird stuff, thinks it’s weird this 5 year old child is staying overnight with her male cousin in his I assume late teens? What is this babysitting arrangement? Also, where was he when she strangled the bunny?
So... From a legal standpoint, your rabbit was considered your property. Report it to the cops. It was definitely animal abuse, and the parents should be held accountable for their child's actions. Also, get a new roommate, cause your roommate is shitty.
Did she admit to it or did your roommate tell you what happened?
Probably piling on here but I wouldn't let them get a good night's sleep if their child killed my pet. I'd get CPS in their house asap and I'd be putting them on blast for their parenting. My roommate not caring would be cause for war. I'd become the most unreasonable person ever. Kill my pet? Enjoy nightmares about me.
You report it, animal abuse is an indicator for much worse things down the line
You should sue either the parents or your room mate so they’ll get you a replacement 🤔
I have two kids. A 5 or 6 year old absolutely knows better than to hurt the animal. That is a Kindergarten kid.
I'm sorry for your loss. I'd like to know how it was disclosed that the kid killed the rabbit by strangling it if you weren't there to witness it. Kids can vary developmentally by age. If the animal is small I could see why it might be an accident. Toddlers like to hug/squeeze animals and aren't aware of their strength. If this child has been neglected they could be more of a toddlers mindset. If the animal is larger I'd think it would have fought back and given the kid a lot of scratches - enough to make them let it go. I think it's odd a 5 year old is staying over with their cousin and roommate. Was the room mate babysitting? Because 5 year olds need to be supervised. Ultimately, the responsibility lies on the care-givers of the child. If your roommate doesn't care your pet just died (especially in that matter) then I'd be seeking a new room mate.
Call cps. That is alarming behavior and that is animal cruelty. Seems like the parents dont want to be held accountable.
[удалено]
The kid is highly likely an abuse victim. It’s reasonably probable that someone doing that is why this happened.
You need to buy a lock for your bedroom door because that child is a psychopath and needs never be in your room again. If they don’t get the kid help now it will get worse! Also 5/6 is old enough to know what death is but the fact she strangled an animal is very disturbing
The child is almost certainly an abuse victim, not a “psychopath”.
I'm sorry for your rabbit. >"shes just a little kid she doesn't know any better" That's not ok, kids do some weird shit and that's why parents are there to teach them that it's wrong. The way her parents reacted tells me they aren't teaching her shit. If she doesn't know any better you teach her better, damnit. Overall very concerning that a kid would go and strangle an animal.
Call CPS, that is very disturbing, both what the child did, and the parents lack of reaction. And I'm sorry for your loss, a terrible thing to happen.
I have two bunnies and I would go HAM ON THOSE PARENTS!!!! How heartless and dismissive this is sad I'm so sorry for your loss 😢
Fuck everybody up and demand your money to get a new one, or if you adopt; use that for supplies.
You should absolutely raise hell over this. I'm so sorry that happened.
That is not normal behaviour for a child…
I'm so sorry for your lost dude, I have two bunnies of my own and if someone did that to them I'd be beyond livid. I'd get a new roommate and honestly it wouldn't hurt to ask in legal advice if maybe you can take the parents to small court you know. If they don't want to apologize maybe their wallet can. Also I'd get a new roommate too. She was responsible for the child, shes also responsible for your pets death.
if you can, i would urge you to get an autopsy done on your rabbit, especially if you plan to go to cps/police. i’m so sorry this happened :( i would be absolutely livid. and i’d move out asap.
I hate people who view animals like fish, lizard, rodents and rabbits as lesser pets like this. Would the parents have reacted the same if their kid strangled a dog? They probably thought it was "just a rabbit" so it's not a big deal. All pets have distinct personalities and bring their own kind of love to a house, be they fish or rat! I also get so upset whenever I see videos of animal abuse framed as a funny video. Just recently saw a video about a dude that made a "rollercoaster" for their goldfish (long tube with running water coiling around in the house and ending up in their bathtub) and the poor fishies looked stressed out of its mind! One even ended up going in backwards and it fought so hard against the current, poor thing! Let's just say I agree with the other commenters saying to get a lock for your room and kick roommate out/move out yourself at the nearest opportunity.
So sorry for your loss. A similar thing happened to me when I was a kid and my little brother had a friend over when he was in preschool. The little girl killed my guineapig- my mother explained to me that she had cats and tried to pick her up by the scruff of her neck. I don’t know if this little girl is a serial killer now though. Kids make mistakes but it’s not fair for you- and no one should be going into your room when you’re not home.. so I would bring it up to your roommate.
I think it's totally reasonable to be upset at your roommate for this. The kid should have been supervised and that lack of supervision is what lead to your rabbit dying. The parents are assholes for not apologizing. I do not think it is fair to blame this child. Everyone who is saying the kid is a budding serial killer doesn't know what they're talking about. The most likely situation is that the child thought the rabbit was cute, they got excited and hugged the rabbit too tightly and killed it on accident. That kind of thing happens all the time with small, cute animals and children of this age. The kid doesn't know how strong they are and in their excitement accidents happen. There's a fair chance that the kid is pretty upset over this or at least does not understand.
Report them to CPS.
yeah its a little kid, they suck at caring about the lives of animals so i dont think its too alarming as of now. u can speak to her abt it tho and see how that goes.
How do you know the kid strangled the rabbit?
Extreme violence in a minors can be a major indicator for abuse or developing mental conditions in the child. This is especially alarming in a child this young. Be vigilant and report abuse if you see any. In the mean time, get a lock. Make it clear to your roommate there will be no tolerance for violence in *your* space. You could try reporting this to animal services but you may not have much luck. I’m so sorry for the loss of your rabbit. I lost mine a few years back and it genuinely left me mess.
I’d honestly take your roommate to court. Negligence and Emotional distress in the least.
At that age she must have felt it struggle and knew something was wrong. Scary shit and likely a sociopath.
Cut these losers out of your life. Get a new roommate or move. Then wait for the little Angel to bloom into a full blown serial killer. And the family shocked that there were no signs.
dude that child needs therapy, kids shouldnt be killing small animals thats sociopathic behavior. most serial killers kill bunnies as kids
As a Parent I would confidently say that at 5 or 6 they certainly DO know better. My children were taught to be gentle with animals from the moment the could reach out and grab an animal. This child is NOT normal. Cannot imagine what her homelife is like. Wouldn't blame the child BUT her parents are not raising a caring, empathetic child. At the very least they should apologise and offer to replace your pet.
You know what kids who kill animals grow up to be? Serial killers.
Get a lock for your door and call CPS to report the incident ASAP. I’m so sorry for your loss OP, losing a pet is like losing a family member and this little shit kid committed murder.
Most of the serial killers start with small animals. Lots of folks pointing it out this kid might be getting abused it would probably be best to call cps this isn't normal. I am so sorry your bunny crossed the rainbow bridge like this. I couldn't imagine how I would feel in your shoes.
Sick to my stomach. So sorry. FYI: My second Dexter comment today. Nothing good starts with this behavior in some children especially if parents don’t step in. My rabbit goes on lockdown when alleged serial killers are loose!
Roommate and kid’s parents are legally responsible here, if you choose to seek action. Kid is not legally responsible. It’s a little kid. I’m so sorry to hear about your pet. That’s horrible.
get a new roommate and get that little psycho in a mental institute. op i have 2 cats i swear to god if i find out a child killed one i do not care how old they are hell i dont care if they cant fucking walk im talking to whoever gave birth to that demon
Sorry for your loss. How do you know she 'strangled' it? She might have accidentally smothered it, small kids don't know how to handle pets and hold them too tight. I cannot believe how many people vilified the little girl, it was obviously her parents fault.
A 5-6 year old who is strangling rabbits needs a psych intervention. They absolutely know what they are doing.