Dog Suicide Bridge in Scotland

A bridge in Scotland has drawn attention because dogs have been jumping off of it for decades, usually to their death. Some surviving dogs were observed going back and jumping again. Really weird.

MILTON, Scotland -- Donna Cooper still has no idea why her normally obedient border collie, Ben, leaped to his death this spring off a tall rural bridge in Milton without any warning or apparent rationale.


"Ben's feet never touched the wall," she said, referring to the waist-high, 18-inch-thick barrier that has been hurdled -- inexplicably and with a near certainty of death -- by scores of dogs during the past three decades. "He just went straight over."


Maybe it's the whistle of the wind from distant Loch Lomond, or the fabled white lady who is said to haunt an adjacent mansion or the rustle of tree branches next to a nearby waterfall.


Nobody knows for sure, but something strange is causing dogs to jump off the Overtoun Estate bridge, west of Glasgow, at an alarming rate. Most are killed by the 60-foot fall or are so severely injured that veterinarians must put them to sleep. Others have survived, only to come back and try again.


The mystery has prompted investigations by an animal behaviorist and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Even a group of paranormal researchers visited recently. None has found a plausible explanation.

Full Story: Detroit Free Press

Any ideas what's causing dogs to jump off of this particular bridge?

Weeeeeiiiird...

I see a few possibilities:

1. There are trolls under the bridge, whispering to the dogs and tricking them into thinking they can fly.

2. Somewhere near the bridge, someone is playing a Britney Spears album over and over and the dogs just can't take it.

3. The malicious ghost of a bag of dog food is haunting the bridge, floating just over the edge.

4. People who want to kill their dogs are going to the bridge, throwing them off, and then saying, "He just jumped over the edge."

I think I'm gonna go with #4.

Maybe it's the same reason those 1,500 sheep jumped to thier deaths. Only 400 died because of the cushioning from the other sheep.


Story here
blogcritics.org...

WEIRD STUFF!



Now I have Dog and I find this Story somewhat Scary - if I saw my Dog Jumping off the Bridge. And I know few stuff about Dogs.

"Dogs are survivors, born survivors. Everything dogs do is for a reason. ... They're not stupid like we are."

Nice Quote that I kind of Agree with it - Dogs don't do Suicides.

But Dogs do Hear stuff we People don't - so who knows what kind of Invisible Forces are on the Work around and under that bridge.

I have another theory.

The locals have been conducting experiments cross-breeding dogs with lemmings...an experiment that went horribly, horribly wrong.

Maybe it's the same thing that caused this guy to throw his baby off the bridge?

The bridge, over a tributary of the Clyde, lies within the grounds of Overtoun House, an A-listed baronial building currently run as a Christian centre. It was the scene of a family tragedy in 1994 when Kevin Moy threw his two-week-old son to his death believing him to be the Antichrist.

www.timesonline.co.uk...

If he thought a two-week old baby was the Anti-Christ, I guess he's never been around a two-year old.

Maybe that's where all these people got the idea for theory #4......

Originally posted by MauiStacey
Maybe it's the same reason those 1,500 sheep jumped to thier deaths. Only 400 died because of the cushioning from the other sheep.

I think this is a different phenomenon. That was a one-time occurance and sheep are herd animals that tend to follow each other. The dogs here have done this numerous occasions spread out over a long time, not one after the other. There seems to be something around this bridge that makes dogs want to jump off of it.

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by MauiStacey
Maybe it's the same reason those 1,500 sheep jumped to thier deaths. Only 400 died because of the cushioning from the other sheep.

I think this is a different phenomenon. That was a one-time occurance and sheep are herd animals that tend to follow each other. The dogs here have done this numerous occasions spread out over a long time, not one after the other. There seems to be something around this bridge that makes dogs want to jump off of it.

Aww, that breaks my heart. I have 3 great danes and I love them as much as I love my children.... they are my furry children. Poor pooches. They are probably hearing something we can't.

Originally posted by Souljah
WEIRD STUFF!

Now I have Dog and I find this Story somewhat Scary - if I saw my Dog Jumping off the Bridge. And I know few stuff about Dogs.

"Dogs are survivors, born survivors. Everything dogs do is for a reason. ... They're not stupid like we are."

Nice Quote that I kind of Agree with it - Dogs don't do Suicides.

But Dogs do Hear stuff we People don't - so who knows what kind of Invisible Forces are on the Work around and under that bridge.

Souljah- Are you sure you don't want to blame this on the Bush Administration or America in general?? lol

But seriously... I have 3 dogs and I can't imagine any of them doing anything like this. Even the goofy one wouldn't, and she has very little regard for her body's well-being. She jumps over and throws herself into anything.

What I'm wondering, after 3 decades of dogs jumping off this bridge, is the following:
1. Why haven't they put up any kind of additional barrier to the waist-high wall so that the dogs aren't able to jump off?
2. Why on Earth would people still walk their dogs over this bridge when they have to know by now the danger involved in doing so?
3. For those who don't know the dangers of this bridge, are there signs in the area to inform dog-owners of the impending doom???

I think that any moron who knows about the stories surrounding this bridge, and still chooses to walk their poor dog in that area, should be thrown over the bridge themselves for cruelty to animals. To me this is the equivelant of walking your dog down the middle of a 4-lane highway in the middle of the night. You're pretty much just asking for it...

Yea I would think a responsible dog owner knowing about the mythos of this bridge would at least use a leash. If the dog actually jumped anyways the owner would be able to reel him in (or else end up falling also).

Pretty bizarre ... usually animals have built in senses. I've taken dogs hiking and they tend to complain quite loudly when they are at the edge of a precipice. They seem to innately know that it's not a good idea. Horses are the same way.

But dogs eyesight is not quite as keen as ours is ... they rely on their senses of hearing and smell more.

Maybe there is something about the coloration of the chasm that "looks" like ground instead of a wide open drop? Maybe a wierd auditory reflection that seems to indicate solid ground? A hamburger place down there? Strange!

That's nuts. I would go with the whistle, or some sub/super human occurence the dogs are picking up on at that location. Some scientific tests could prove to be really interesting.

Originally posted by wecomeinpeace
I have another theory.

The locals have been conducting experiments cross-breeding dogs with lemmings...an experiment that went horribly, horribly wrong.

I think your on to something here and I bet the neocons are behind it somehow.


Weird I must admit.

I think dogs don't like heights, When I lift up my dog, it tries to squirm lose or try to jump back down to the floor. Then again some dogs like being held. Maybe my dogs don't trust me lol.... Scientific tests would be interesting on this subject...

Thats really bizzare and admittedly interesting.

Have there been tests done? Do compasses act up at or near the point on the bridge?

I'm with Souljah and Amory etc here.

There must be some sort of very high pitched noise going on underneath the bridge that we can't hear but is attracting dogs to go down and see what it is.

The dogs do not simply get up and decide to end it all because Kibbles and Bits changed its recipe. Something is clearly going on there.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
A bridge in Scotland has drawn attention because dogs have been jumping off of it for decades, usually to their death. Some surviving dogs were observed going back and jumping again. Really weird.
...
Any ideas what's causing dogs to jump off of this particular bridge?

Could it be due to Psychotronic Testing being done on animal...maybe via satelite?

Dogs don't have the best depth perception in the world, and if there is something odd about teh view from that vantage point, they may not realize they are jumping 60 feet! I had a sentry dog lead me over a terrace one time; almost broke both of our necks! LOL!

If it isn't that, it must be the Britanny Spears theory. That would be a case where the dog and I would jump at the same time.

Rastputin13,

I agree with you. Why the HELL do people still walk dogs over that bridge if they know they jump off like Nuts? Where are all the Warnings? And why didn't they build a higher Fence?

But maybe somebody WANTS them to jump off and does nothing to prevent that.

Anyway, I also agree with Thomas Crowne that dogs don't have a very good Depth Perception - but that still does not mean they would jump off the 50 meter cliff into the water, after all they have other senses that tell them how deep, how long and how dangerous.

Still - strange stuff...

So do we have any members living near this evil little doggie-killing bridge? Can some one go and take pics and maybe a compass or some type of measuring device? What would be needed to pick up a high-pitched noise that we can't hear?

Wow , what a strange story. I found an image of the overtoun bridge, I'm assuming that there is only one



found here
www.overtounhouse.com...