The Story: A woman goes out for the evening with friends. Upon her return, she is greeted by her pet doberman choking in the hallway. Alarmed, she takes the pet to the veterinarian. The vet announces that he must perform a tracheotomy on the animal and he will call her when he has news. When the woman arrives home, the vet calls and tells her to leave the house at once. The dog was choking on three human fingers (often described as "Mexican Fingers" or "Black fingers"). The woman calls the police, who search the house. They discover the burglar, hiding in a closet, passed out from loss of blood.
The Choking Doberman is a popular urban legend that originated in the United States. It became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Folklorists believe it is a descendant of a much older (Renaissance Era) European folk tale about a clumsy burglar who injures his own hand while breaking into a house. His intrusion is revealed by the discovery of one or more severed fingers. The Choking Doberman and Other 'New' Urban Legends is the title of a book by folklorist Jan Harold Brunvard.
"The Choking Doberman" has circulated in more or less this form for at least three decades, on as many continents. In his book of the same title, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand cites a plethora of known variants, including a British version dating back to 1973. The legend became hugely popular in the United States during the early 1980s. It was published as an allegedly firsthand account in an American tabloid called The Globe in 1981, though subsequent research revealed that the pseudonymous author ("Gayla Crabtree") had actually heard the story secondhand in a beauty parlor.Among other interpretations it can be read as a "just deserts" tale in which the thief, by his own actions, undergoes a punishment appropriate to the crime.
"The Choking Doberman" has circulated in more or less this form for at least three decades, on as many continents. In his book of the same title, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand cites a plethora of known variants, including a British version dating back to 1973. The legend became hugely popular in the United States during the early 1980s. It was published as an allegedly firsthand account in an American tabloid called The Globe in 1981, though subsequent research revealed that the pseudonymous author ("Gayla Crabtree") had actually heard the story secondhand in a beauty parlor.Among other interpretations it can be read as a "just deserts" tale in which the thief, by his own actions, undergoes a punishment appropriate to the crime.
Jan Harold Brunvard's "The Choking Doberman" Front Cover
Variations from this Urban Legend:
* The number of fingers dredged from the dog's throat varies, as does their color. Though in many tellings the race of the intruder goes unspecified, at times the discovered digits are described as "black" or "Mexican," adding a racist spin to the tale.
* In the 1980s, a Doberman was the usual star in this story; in the 1990s, the dog became a pit bull when that breed gained media prominence as the decade's fierce dog of choice. Other breeds of pooch have been known to report for duty in this tale as well — always large, scary-looking dogs.
* The thief is usually discovered hiding in a closet, the bedroom, or in the basement, but in some tellings he gets away from the house and is only brought to justice when his injuries force him to visit an emergency room. His missing fingers identify him as the culprit police are looking for.
* With very few exceptions, the troubled dog owner is female. Moreover, the setting of the tale makes it very clear she lives alone.
* Most of the time, the dog's presence in the woman's life passes uncommented upon; nothing of the dog's history or her reasons for keeping him are mentioned. Occasionally though, we're told the dog was given by her father when she went off to college in a distant city, or that in the wake of her divorce her lawyer recommended her getting a big dog for protection.
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