Pete the peacock, Sandbridge neighborhood celebrity, killed by dog

I hope you are enjoying a lovely Saturday morning...inside, until the smoke from nearby fires clear. Ira, I also enjoy watching dogs romp in the beach and in fact had the most lovable SPCA Doberman who loved to frolic at Chicks's Beach. I observed the rules and cleaned up after him which few folks do. The thing about the Art festival is simply that there are too many people. I feel sorry for the humans and the animals fighting for room to walk. It's just not safe, in my opinion, to have little kids face to face with dogs which we all know can strike for reasons we find baffling. Then again, I have personal experience which taints my perception. My 3 yr. old son was bitten in the mouth by a "friendly" lab who neighbor said had never bitten before. Great! That doesn't change the trauma my family went through nor erase the scar my 31 yr. old son will wear for a lifetime. Bring dogs to the "beach", not the "Boardwalk", when there are thousands of people milling around.

Nah, my beach is a secret. Can't tell you. Wish I could. I imagine you would make for great conversation.

Do none of you realize dogs will kill birds? Do none of you realize peacocks are not a native species either? Sure, the dog should have been controlled, however, what he/she did was not unnatural for a dog, and the peacock should also have been confined. The peacock living "wild" in this area is just the same as a stray dog in this area. Sure, it can make it for a while, but that doesn't mean it's native or should be that way. It's a sad thing to happen but don't demonize the dog for it.

I hope that beach isn't Sandbridge unless it is before 9 am or after 6pm. Or between Memorial and Labor Day. You may have the best dog in the world but rules are rules, chief. Have a good weekend.

I will call a truce on the dog thing. Tomato, tomato...that doesn't work in print. Anyhow, I like having a lab next to me at the beach to play with. There is something about a lazy beach that is unencumbered by rules and silly laws that appeals to me. At least it will be many years before anyone tries to gentrify the beach I attend.

"Let the dogs run" you say? Why don't we just fling our feces at each other and call it a day. VB is no longer backwoods. Your Sandbridge being "country" argument doesn't hold water. Again, dogs can we dangerous animals. Not all of us are happy when we see one loose.

First, I will repeat that people should not bring the city with them when moving out to the country. You yourself katet have advocated no smoking and dogs being allowed a the beach when you attend festivals. What's the beach w/o dogs? You all have effectively ruined VB's oceanfront by turning it onto a urban beach. Leave Sandbridge alone. Everyone misses the bird but these things happen. Like Reid said, dogs are dogs.

Secondly, the bird was not leashed either. The peacock in question is not a native species. Where's the outcry about unleased peacocks running around? Let the dogs run.

As a long-time resident of Virginia Beach and avid Sandbridge visitor, I was overcome with great sorrow upon learning of Pete the Peacock's violent death. While the manner of death in which the city's beloved peafowl endured was terrible, let's not forget the full life that Pete experienced, and the love and togetherness he spread amongst us as brilliantly as his beautiful tail. Pete, I will personally miss the way you greeted my family and I with your colorful plumage and earsplitting shriek during our Sandbridge visits. Rest in peace, my friendly fowl.

...and levy the appropriate penalty on the dog owner. Whatever VB was in the past is irrelevant to the current situation. Times change. VB is a city.

More stories about Pete....Pete was sunning himself one summer day, when he suddenly went flat on the ground and looked skyward. We looked up and much to our surprise there was a bald eagle circling overhead. Pete loved his treats, whether it was raw peauts in a shell, green seedless grapes, raw broccoli or any lettuce except iceberg; however, he had a wild streak to his appetite. He liked to follow behind the lawnmower and snatch the bugs that came out of the grass. Also, he loved to peck the dead bugs on the front license plate of a vehicle.

Pete loved people and made his wishes known but a clucking sound. He constantly responded to loud noises from trucks and sirens by wailing, "Ahhhhh, Ahhhhh." He would squawk at night and disturb the uninitiated's sleep, but to many of us it was a melodious sound that meant all was well in "Pete's World."

For 25 years Pete endured climatic enemies such as hurricanes, nor'easters and ice storms. He avoided natural enemies such as foxes and dogs by sleepiing in a tree at night. He ran and flew away from people who chased him because they "just wanted a feather." Maybe he was wily or maybe he was just lucky to have survived so long

Pete didn't need to meet his demise so violently. He should have died of old age, a cause befitting a lovely creature who hurt no one and enriched lives. Clearly the dog should have been leashed as should ALL dogs. My neighbor who had about 8 yapping hunting Beagles in his yard couldn't believe how I was not entertained by their howling. His comment was that this was/is "country". Sorry, but it's now more urban and thus laws governing noise restirictions/number of animals per family need to be maintained for the good of everyone. I don't think the pooch needs to be offed, but he sure needs a leash.

I'm glad you mentioned the one on PA Rd, I haven't seen that one running the street in a very long time. Have you? I'm curious.

Dogs running loose at the beach and in the country is not unusual. First, Sandbridge is the beach. Growing up, that entire area was considere to be country. Now people have moved there with their city values and ideas that dogs should be fenced or leashed. You cannot move somewhere and try to make it like where you are from. The bird died. There is another one that runs in the road over on Princes Anne. Go grab it and name it Pete 2. If someone says it is an odd name tell them it is from Bangladesh.

My wife and used to walk around Sandbridge for exercise (we lived there 13 years). Out of the blue Pete would let loose with an ear piecing cry - it was an odd sound and it could really surprise you. We'd look around and eventually spot Pete - often perched on the peak of a roof or strutting in someone's yard. While we were startled a few times, it was fine with us - Pete seemed to "fit" Sandbridge. Sandbridge is simply a different kind of place. Of course there was a wild peacock living there. Along with wild horses, deer, racoons, sea turtles in our back yard, foxes, and all manner of critters roaming about. Sadly, the skyrocketing property values and related city taxes meant our family, like so many other working class families, had to find somewhere more affordable to live. As for the dog - well, dogs are dogs. Dogs chase birds, that is what dogs do. It is sad, but advocating the killing of someone's pet would only compound a sad situation and make it worse. What is done is done. RIP Pete.

The city will not do a thing about the dog that killed Pete (what a beautiful bird). A dog broke down a fence to our neighbor’s yard, and killed their dog-they found parts of their dog all over the back yard! What happened to the dog that killed their dog, nothing! Nobody saw it happen, and the dog is back with his owners!?!?!? I don’t know, I think the evidence was in the yard and dog!! Got to love VB!!!

Yes, I agree that this is a sad event.. Pete lived 25 YEARS as a "wild" peacock in Sandbridge. 25 years people! Thats a pretty good run for a bird.
What if a car had hit Pete? Would you all be saying, "Put that driver DOWN.. take away his license!" I seriously doubt it. I agree with the "nature of the beast" statement. Animals will be animals.. The dog may have felt threatened by the big bird and felt it needed to attack it.
If AC gave the dog back, there is a good reason for it.
The dog shouldnt be put down for killing a wild bird.. If my dog was to kill a blue jay or a robin or even a crow, should he be put down? I dont think so.

The bizaro logic is the same that everyone else posting on this has. I just figured I would join the circus of the bizzar.
Also, a squirrel can kill a child. Ever hear of rabies?? It's a well know issue around these part. A rabid squirrel can harm or kill a child just as much as a roaming dog.

Of course it is the nature of the dog to attack - all the more reason it should be leashed. Also, a squirrel cannot kill a child. What kind of bizarro world of logic do you live on, anyway?

Sad to hear about Pete. Sounds like he had quite a character about him.

As for the dog. The dog needs to be controlled otherwise lose the dog. Report the owner to the police if it continues to run loose.

Oh give me a brake! Yes this is a very sad and terrible tragedy, but for crying out loud it is in the nature of a dog, cat, raccoon, or what ever kind of beast to do this kind of thing. There you go…leash laws for raccoons, foxes, and cats. How about leash laws for squirrels to go with it. Had that squirrel been on a leash it would not have ventured in the dogs yard and would be alive today. So, how many of your who want the dog put down are anti death penalty for convicted murders? Food for thought.

At the very least the owner of the dog should be fined and the dog put to sleep! What a terrible set of circumstances. It's a dog, not a person.

I don't care what a dog does in the owners' fenced yard. That's your business. But when the dog is roaming the neighborhood it becomes my business.

Enforce the leash law, VB.

Just strangle him.

My dog killed a squirel just the other day that was in our fenced yard. Should I shoot him with a 357 or is lethal injection the best way to go?

i have a feeling that the owner of the dog invloved might be talking to a realtor. i am sure they feel terrible, i hope.

An animal that attacks that viciously needs to be put down. Next time it could be a child.

Yesterday the Pilot reported he died "on his own terms" so I was thinking it meant "old age", not mauled to death by a dog. Only the Pilot.

Pete was a character. North Sandbridge won't be the same without him.

Pete died from a violent attack. This attack occured blocks away from the dog's yard. His feathers were strewn all over three properties and the canal. He suffered over twenty puncture wounds: all his tail and body feathers had been pulled out; his back skin peeled away; both legs broken; and a wing broken. An exotic bird specialist/veterinarian assesed these injuries. Pete could not be saved.

The animal control delivered the dog back to the owners after Pete's massacre. The irony to this tragedy is that the dog contines to run loose.

People loved this majestic bird and his survivor spirit. He was the talk of the "Sandbridge" town.

Last time I checked, Virginia Beach has a leash law. Too bad it never seems to be enforced. Small animals, children, and - alas - Pete are all victims to too many dogs running loose. Want some revenue, Virginia Beach? Heavy fines for leash law violators. We'll have funds for road building within a year.