There was a documentary about overtoun bridge on UK tv this week, i was out did anyone see it?
Overtoun bridge dog deaths
It is not known exactly when or why dogs began to leap from the bridge, but studies indicate that these deaths might have begun during the 1950s or 1960s, at the rate of about one dog a month.

The long leap from the bridge onto the waterfalls of the Overtoun Estate almost always results in immediate death. Inexplicably, some dogs have actually survived, recuperated, and then returned to the site to jump again. The dogs have mostly jumped from one side of the bridge, during clear weather, and have mostly been breeds with long noses.

The phenomena has received international attention, and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has sent representatives to investigate. No abnormality or explanation has yet been found.

Many people believe theories such as the winds coming from Loch Lomond or a ghost, perhaps that of a lady who resided in the area, influence the dogs to jump off the bridge. Others suggest the bridge's architecture as the cause.

Paranormal experts have travelled to the site to conduct investigations, and have not found anything unusual.

The most likely explanation now seems to be the scent of mink coming up from below the bridge in combination with the solid walls of the bridge.

That's wild. 50 dogs? Crazy.

Wow, this is the first I have heard of this phenomenon. That is as odd as it is unfortunate.....but we should keep this in perspective as far as the animals in question go....after all...this is the same animal that sticks it's head out of the window of a speeding car but can't stand having someone blow on it's face........go figure.

If I see a ghost making dogs jump off a bridge, I'll zap them! I love doggies!!

Well.......most dogs with long snouts are of a scent oriented breed........given that, and the minks in the area, I'd make a guess that dogs might be accidently falling while chasing a mink. Very sad though.

I wonder if it's Jack Russells jumping off!

Pic of the bridge

Quite a curious situation indeed.

I located this article, which explains in further detail the theory of the mink. http://tinyurl.com/suhba

I don't go for the mink theory, there must be thousands of bridges in the uk that span rivers and streams frequented by mink.

Amazing. A camera installed at the location might turn up some interesting results. My 8 month lab won't even jump off the back of the truck into the grass for a treat, nor would my now passed lab mix. Though I'm betting they would in the heat of a chase...

This is terrible. Someone solve this!
Dogs are awesome!
If it's a ghost... he's toast.

Hmm? Why Jack Russells in particular?

Probably because there known for chasing small furry animals
One of my Jack Russell pups

Ohhh - I get ya!!

Awww, he looks like that cute lil dude from "The Mask"! Bless him!!

Omg he is gorgeous!!! Look at the attitude! LOL He's a parson terrier right?

Here is my wee boy




Samatha, I was kind of joking about the Jack/Parson russells but if any breed is silly enough to leap before it looks it's them!

Some fortuitous soul may have stumbled-onto the new thrill-based industry for the 21st century........."doggie bungie-cord jumping"......it's gonna be big.

Interesting story

Apparently all of the deaths have occurred at virtually the same spot, between the final two parapets on the right-hand side of the bridge, and almost all have been on clear, sunny days. Furthermore, the dogs which have perished have all-been long-nosed breeds: labradors, collies and retrievers. A mystery indeed, Dorren Graham, of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals calls the phenomenon a 'heartbreaking mystery'. 'There are lots of owners whose dogs have died and who are trying to find out why they jumped.'

There are lots of theories, these include ghosts and hauntings, doggie depression, doggie telepathy and weird terrain features, beneath the bridge was discovered that mice and mink resided there, while evidence of squirrel nests was also found in cannons embedded in the bridge's structure.

In order to narrow down which smell might be attracting the dogs, Scientists distributed odour from all three species in a field and unleashed ten dogs - of the varieties which have died at the bridge - to see which one most interested them.

His findings were remarkable. Of the ten dogs tested, only two showed no interest in any of the scents while the overwhelming majority - 70 per cent - made straight for the mink.

Could a mink be the cause?
The mink's powerful anal glands leave marks wherever they go and the strong musty smell they emit is obviously proving irresistible to dogs.

It would also explain why the deaths have all occurred on sunny, dry days - relatively rare on the notoriously wet west coast - when the mink smell has not been diluted by the damp weather. Furthermore, the theory fits with the timeline of the deaths - single minks were introduced to Scotland in the Twenties but only started to breed in large numbers in the Fifties - which is when the mysterious dog deaths began occurring. But there are 26,000 mink in Scotland. Why are dogs in pursuit of them only jumping to their death from this particular bridge?


The Mystery conyinues

.....I'm sorry.....I know that this is no laughing matter, and I apologize in advance, but............ doggie depression....... .......oh, brother.

Have you 'NO' heart?

Dogs have feelings just like humans, many b*****s that get depressed enduce phantom pregnancies and produce milk just as they would if they where pregnant.

Doggie depression is real, shame on you

Hmm you can'y say bit - ches

Nope, it's just too much of a "bone"(no pun intended) to throw in the faces of the "you know who's" that sometimes frequent these forums....it wouldn't be pretty, lol.

I think onyx is just joking lily The article makes it sound like it could be a link between depression and jumping off bridges. Which I doubt very much. Never heard of a dog comit sucide.

I vote the minx theory.

I have a lab and I'm not letting him jump off of any bridge!

Seems these dogs have decided to thumb their "long noses" at you Brits.

That must be one hot little minx...to die for, I mean.....

There's a difference between "fresh air" and "bad breath".

Ew. It looks kinda greasy.

This is quite a mystery. If the mink theory is correct, why does it only effect dogs and
why do the dogs jump over the side and not run around or under the bridge to chase
the minks? Maybe it's one of those things we will never learn.

.
That's a very smart looking terrier you have there, my Russell's are registered with the Jack Russell terrier club GB.

Touche'...

I live not far from the river seven, it's plagued with mink and there's a trapping program going on to reduce their numbers, many bridges in my area cross the river, i've never heard of one single case of a dog jumping of any of these bridges, until recently a pack of mink hounds hunted this stretch of the seven, the hunt take's the hounds over the bridges, have any ever decided to take the short cut? not to my knowledge, America has thousands of mink and thousands of bridges, has it ever happened in America, Overtoun bridge is far from being unique yet 50 dogs have jumped from the same bridge.

I've been thinking about all this and I'm beginning to wonder if part of the problem with this Overtoun thing might lie in how a dog's vision works, how they perceive things.

Dogs have trouble distinguishing between grays and green, so perhaps the bridge tends to blend somewhat into the surrounding scenery for them. Couple that with certain problems they can have with depth perception, and it's possible that the dogs who jump off the bridge don't even realize how long of a drop it is. They may think they are just making a short leap onto the ground.....where the minks are.

I did a little searching around to see if I could find anything that might back up my thoughts and found this article on dog's vision:

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=116

You could very well be on to something there, Earthchick! I wish there was a better photo to test your theory - more of a dogs eye view looking down. There is one the linked article but it doesn't show that good of a perspective.

Got me thinking about some of the strange optical illusion locations. Like the hills where you put the car in neutral and it rolls down but it looks like the hill goes up? Something like that.. but maybe the perspective is odd there also. Anyway, good theory.

I think I may have found the answer....

lol

You crack me up! LOL!
This thread needed some comic relief.

Lol, it's not often I get to display my lame photoshop skills!