MovieChat Forums > Year of the Dog (2007) Discussion > Who thinks Peggy was just as responsible...

Who thinks Peggy was just as responsible for her dog's death as Al?

posted 18 years ago by JC_Aliss
22 replies | jump to latest

This point was brought up by the person I saw this film with. It hadn't occurred to me, but I thought he made a good point (he's a dog lover himself and his dog is his baby!)

He felt that Peggy's disgusted "fine, then just STAY out there" when Pencil didn't want to come in that night was irresponsible. She left the dog outside, in the dark, unleashed and unsupervised (what IS IT with people being so incapable of hooking a long leash out in the yard somewhere? I had a dog for YEARS that was NEVER unleashed outside, even ONCE. You can't trust a fence alone, people!) Heck, she even SAW HIM run outside the fence and away, yet she went inside annoyed and shut the door.

Her anger at Al was a bit misdirected. She discovered that the dog had gotten into his garage and chewed at the bag of poison. Okay, so it's not like Pencil ate it right out of the soil in HER yard. Al had the poison packed away in his private property, and his garage door was open but that was HIS business, careless, sure, but it's not like he intentionally bated the dog. It's not illegal to have those poisons stored in the garage of one's own property.

Does anyone think in any way that Peggy had ANY guilt for what happened to the dog? It would have been nice to see them explore that a bit.

[–] generationrex 18 years ago

My girlfriend and I had the same discussion after the movie. It was one of the main reasons why I couldn't relate to Peggy. She let the dog stay out. The dog is her responsibility, not her neighbor's. In general, I found Peggy to be rather unlikable. She admires animals for their loyalty, but betrays just about everyone in the movie.

[–] whipsnade76 18 years ago

YES! She is a wreck of a character. But that is sort of a point of the film, I think. It is an very untidy character study - tittering on sympathetic and unsympathetic.

[–] adamsmo 18 years ago

yeah, I think so, too. She was definitely meant to be seen as a mess of a human being. Kind of made me like the character quite a bit, really.

And yes, she's absolutely at fault for the death of Pencil. Though how irresponsible is it to leave our garage door open, also?! You shouldn't really let your dog wander into someone else's yard... though, I think, legally, she could have been able to press charges.

[–] IMDbyebye 18 years ago

Her anger at Al was keyed by his murderistic ways. She wouldn't have even suspected his garage if his house hadn't been full of animal heads and knives and his conversation with tales of hunting. But his bloodthirsty hobby riled her up and gave her suspicion.

Don't be fooled that she was only angry at Al for Pencil's death.

[–] jessie142 18 years ago

Interesting point. It is true that dogs are like kids- you have to watch them.

But I think everyone with a dog has made a little mistake like this (just as people with kids sometimes do.)

But since the bag has warnings about not leaving it where pets or kids could get into it, Al is ultimately to blame.

A child could have gotten into it as well and died.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chipandluna 16 years ago

Poison kills. Al left the poison in the garage and left the garage door open. He knew that. If he didn't want to kill anything, he would have been more mindful and closed the garage door. Because he wasn't extremely careful, it makes me wonder if he did want something to die. That means Al is a murderer. Yes, Peggy was at some fault in Pencil's death. But if Pencil hadn't gotten there and eaten the poison, a feral cat or wild squirrel or chipmunk or bird would have gotten in and eaten it, so it would have died. Then Al would be solely to blame for killing that animal.

~::~::~
The midget I'm dating could be my daughter! ~Denny Crane

[–] SiamBlu 16 years ago

In my opinion, I think that Al simply wasn't thinking. He was the type of person who wasn't mindful of something like that, it clearly wasn't part of his mentality. That's probably how he shot his own dog -- because he wasn't one to practice safety and common sense. Additionally, it is clear that his value of an animal's life was different than that of Peggy's -- therefore, I don't think that squirrels, chipmunks, birds or stray cats even crossed his mind. He simply wanted to get rid of moles/rats or whatever was on that package. And you KNOW he didn't read the directions on the package...he hardly looked like the "literary" type. So he probably didn't know or consider the dangers of leaving the poison in the garage.

I don't think he purposely sought to kill the dog. It sounds like he didn't even know the dog lived there. He just figured, "It's my garage, no one should be in here, so whatever."

So in that respect, I have to put the blame on Peggy. Sure what Al did was irresponsible and negligent, but the ultimate blame goes on her because she allowed Pencil to roam into the neighbor's yard unattended. If he put the poison on her property or dumped it somewhere out on the public street, I would say it was his fault.

What I'm curious about, did Pencil access the poison in the garage, or did Al put some out. It looked like the poison was hidden under a lot of stuff and was hard for a dog to access...yet it did look like the bag had teeth marks in it.

ForeverBlue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYqhDJdXbVA&feature=related

[–] new_world81 14 years ago

Are you kidding me? Did you not see how hard it was for Peggy to find it slug bait? It's not like he left it in a dog bowl sitting right in the middle of the floor. Peggy lost her temper and got angry, left the dog out, and so Pencil died. The end. Except for his love of hunting, he was pretty civilized.

[–] egoangel18 14 years ago

I would never leave my doggies outside all night. Sometimes they really piss me off & won't come in, so What do I do? I go outside & pick them up! Duh Peggy.

i hope you choke on your bacardi & coke!
*Team Landa*

[–] sabar-1 16 years ago

I agree to an extent. Especially with hound dogs - they will follow their noses and get into stuff or get too far from home. I do think part of her anguish was guilt.

The only thing I would add is that I wish everyone would be more mindful of harmful situations. I personally wouldn't use anything in my yard that might hurt any pets or children, whether they were mine or not.

Rachel

[–] IrishLass240 16 years ago

Al had no responsibility at all for pencil's death. I truly related to Peggy's grief. I have had and loved a number of wonderful pets in my life. But, not only have I had pets, but I have had a child of my own. I understood that during their period of innocence, a house must be child-proofed as well as pet-proofed. But, the only control I have over whether my pet or my child will be safe once it leaves my home, is for me to watch over it. If I let my child or my pet run free, I, and no one else, would be responsible for any danger they were exposed to. Now that my child is a teenager and I have no pets, my home, just like Al's, or many of my neighbors, may have dangers that would make it unsafe for an innocent pet or child.

My goodness, when she asked Al if he kept anti-freeze in his garage, I lost a lot of respect for her. The world is full of dangers. We as caring parents and pet owners must always watch over them. Since pets never mature, as our children will, they require constant watching over as long as they are with us. Peggy's love for Pencil was a bit too selfishly-based. He was wonderful when he curled up by her side on lonely nights, but not so cute when she should have chased after him on that cold dark night.

Sheila

[–] sabar-1 16 years ago

I think she was more interested in finding out what happened to Pencil than in blaming the neighbor. Her violent reaction to him was about more than her dog - the whole hunting thing, etc.

Rachel

[–] swinggold 13 years ago

I'm amazed at how people are trying to blame all of this on Al. It was an accident, plain and simple. Things happen. It could have been prevented if Peggy had brought the dog in or kept him on a leash or made sure her yard was escape proof but animals are willful creatures when left on their own. But if anyone is to blame, it's her. It's not Al's job to make sure his property is safe for other's pets or kids. When you venture onto another's property, you incur all the risks. Al didn't intend to hurt anyone by leaving the poison out and the dog obviously chewed through the bag.

[–] Nova_UB313 16 years ago

I saw this film in two parts. The first time I was channel surfing and tuned in at the scene where Peggy found Pencil dying. I grieved for some time thinking of my own dogs, but never knew what actually happened to Pencil. I saw the film in it's entirety yesterday and now I feel that Peggy was indeed responsible for Pencil's death.

I have an Airdale and a Pomeranian. The Pom came to me from the Humane Society--a wonderful dog in every way, but when I got him he was a 'runner.' Meaning he'd run away anytime the front door opened even a crack. I thought I'd weaned this out of him, but one night when I was taking out the garbage after midnight, he tore past me into the darkness. Could I actually then go back to bed and sleep? Impossible. So I spent the entire night with a flashlight, screaming my little boy's name until I found him.

Like someone mentioned earlier, animals are like children. They'll get into everything, even run off into traffic. It's up to us as responsible pet owners to keep them out of trouble and to protect them from the trouble they'll most inevitably get themselves into. But I still can't get over this cute little dog and how he died. Simply heartbreaking. What a great little actor too, he really did look like he was lying there curled up in pain. :(

More science, less fiction.

[–] angelicblood89 16 years ago

I do think it was her fault just as much as it was his.
As others have pointed out, she should have went after Pencil instead of leaving him outside. Another point I've seen, it was Al's garage and on his property, so maybe he didn't see a need to close up his garage and he probably didn't think much about any warning labels, since he has no pets or children. Her anger came more from knowing he hunted for fun and sport, and she just lost it when she found the cause of Pencil's death.

I'm not sure if she felt guilty at all for Pencil's death because we never hear her express anything like that to anyone, not even Newt... it would have been nice to see something like that, if it even exsisted. Maybe she put the blame soley on Al in order to curb any feelings of guilt? Or maybe she truely felt it was his fault and felt no guilt?

[–] sherrybear 16 years ago

Yeah I think she wanted to blame on anyone else but herself because of the guilt and how horrible she felt. If it was me and I saw the dog leave, you betcha I would've run after the dog and done everything I could to get the dog back safely.

In fact, I've had several times where the dogs had gotten out because the latch on the gate wasn't secured or something else. I have run out in just PJs in the middle of winter with no socks on and no coat just to get them back safely. Trust me, I would not have been able to rest easy until they got back. heck, I was panicking

"Don't milk the cat!"

[–] rowenad 14 years ago

I felt that it was 100% her fault that the dog died. Sometimes I wonder if people like her are really animal lovers. I don't know how she could have just gone back to bed and left her dog outside.

[–] lovedtobescared 14 years ago

I would classifi it as an ACCIDENT.I'm amazed how people are ready to convict her on animal abuse. she did not do it with malice. Why be so judgemental. is it because it's annomyus?

[–] dini0519 11 years ago

Yes, it was an accident, but it was still HER fault. Al was minding his own business, and he even offered to help her find Pencil as well as take her to dinner because he felt bad about the situation. She was basically not a bad person, but she definitely had issues.

Dini