u/D1verse_Yes4

Granted, The Tom and Jerry Show is not the franchise’s magnum opus, but it contributed so many new stories, hundreds, in fact. I’d like to talk with some fellow fans familiar with the show about the best and worst episodes, as well as the tropes and details within them.

My favorite episode is probably “Toodle Boom,” a suburban house episode from season two. While I don’t always take his side, I’m generally sympathetic for Tom, especially in this show because his friends and owners borderline abuse him. I love any episode ending with Tom rightfully emerging victorious, but in “Toodle Boom,” I like that his victory isn’t in impressing his bougie girlfriend, rather getting the mice out of the house and sending a crazy Toodles after them. There’s something so satisfying about watching Tom walk away from it all so confidently.

There are a lot of Tom torture episodes I dislike, but until I think of one that’s potentially worse, I select “Reward If Lost,” another suburban house episode from season two, as the show’s worst episode. It’s so disheartening watching Jerry constantly get Tom sent away from home and into the yard of a hostile dog. In fact, it hits a nerve within me because I’ve been attacked by a dog and know how severe and traumatizing it can be. Granted, I’m also not a cartoon character lol, but I digress.

The worst part of “Reward If Lost” is the ending. Tom finally gets home and kicks out Jerry. Instead of being humiliated like he deserved, the mouse gets angry, does his angry toddler march for the 50th time that season, and manages to let the dog onto Rick and Ginger’s property, where it continues to harass and assault Tom. It’s such a mean-spirited episode. Tom is not a perfect angel, but he deserves so much better.

What do you all think? I’d love to know your favorite and least favorite episodes.

I'm home for the summer from college. I don't particularly like being home nowadays because of the small dog that lives here, despite my repeatedly stating how uncomfortable I was living with a dog when I lived here all year. I have trauma from a large dog attacking me as a child, which almost everyone who was and wasn't there claims it just jumped up at me and clawed my shoulder, and ever since I've been forced to live with the small dog and, for the months leading up to college, our nextdoor tenant's two large dogs, despite my parents' no-pet policy for the house for rent, I've developed sensory issues due to the incessant and loud dog barking. I do have autism.

My stepfather is the one who brought home the dog in the first place, originally to help her because she was living in a field by his workplace. My mother told me it would be temporary, but it became permanent, and the reason for doing so changes almost every time I ask why. My stepfather has a bipolar relationship with this dog, usually treating her like an adorable angel or sometimes like the most annoying creature in the world, which she is very annoying.

Lately, I've been concerned. There are several occasions that my stepfather will be talking cutesy and energetically to the dog when I walk past him, and when he then acknowledges me, his talks to me like he's tired and masking.

Last night, I was baffled. When I walk downstairs for dinner, I hear my parents having a disagreement as to whether the dog or our other furry pets are more high-maintenance. Every time my mother tells my stepfather how she loves the dog but thinks she's a pain in the ass, my stepfather tells her how he thinks the other furry pets do the same stuff but worse. I think he's projecting. The other furry pets are not particularly easy, especially my parents let them and the dog do virtually anything, but how is the same creature that cost my stepfather two family vacations and had him stressed out and busy drinking during a third lower maintenance?

When I returned upstairs close to bedtime, I told my parents that I love them, which I usually do every night before resuming my hobbies. My stepfather looks me in the eyes with a blank face and says nothing. He then looks down, and smiles as the dog licks his face. Granted, this is out of the norm for him, and he supposedly, supposedly has a tendency to give us weird looks without realizing it, but while what happened last night could have been a coincidence, the implications have not rested well within me.

I have a hot take today, especially after hearing my stupid neighbor's small dog have a barking fit outside because she owns three dogs but doesn't take care of them.

It's okay to hate dogs. So often, I hear people tell me that hate is a strong word. To that, I have more to say.

Yes, I hate dogs. Don't confuse it with harming them.

Many of us here are actively bothered or even hurt by dogs on a regular basis. I was attacked at the age of nine, have further traumatic experience with sensory issues due to obnoxious family dogs and having autism, and even when I try to better myself so I can perhaps tolerate the sound of dogs barking, there's no safe space from them. I hear them inside the house, outside, at my job, even from my bedroom. It doesn't help when I'm supposed to believe

Hate and harm are different. If you can control hate so that it doesn't lead you to harm, then it's okay. Dogs harm people on a regular basis, including but not limited to those with allergies, sensory issues, neurodiversity, trauma, sudden attacks, and forms of torture and abuse completely hidden from us. How is it dogs can harm us, but we can't hate dogs?

Suggesting we can't hate dogs is like expecting someone to forgive an awful family member. If that person, or dog in this case, is seemingly incapable of taking accountability or changing their ways, then what's the point of forgiving them? It expects us to change for their sake when they need to change for ours and everyone else's. Not only do we experience manipulation, abuse, neglect, betrayal, abandonment, etc., but we are the ones who need to forget that, let alone when the perpetrator can't or won't? It doesn't make sense to me.

Before I close this message, let me clarify that I'm not accusing anyone in this community. This is simply my opinion and understanding of the concept of hate because I often read people argue that hate is a strong word to use toward dogs. You don't have to hate them, but others don't have to not hate them. What matters most is that we don't reciprocate or cause harm.

I'm in the mood to engage with my friends in this sanctuary. What is your biggest pet peeve with dog owners?

My biggest pet peeve is hearing people talk about dogs in everyday. After being attacked as a child and then experiencing a lot of sensory issues around dogs due to autism, I struggle to understand how these creatures are endlessly treated like babies, and you're manipulated into thinking you're wrong for speaking up if you issue any ounce of aggravation.

This occurred a few months ago while college was in session, but I wanted to share it because it's probably one of the most outrageous dog stories in my portfolio.

I completed my drive back to college after spring break and temporarily parked in front of my dormitory. During my second trip of carrying my belongings upstairs to my room, I heard a car horn immediately behind me. I looked back and saw a woman gesturing at me from her small pickup truck. She does so persistently, so I cautiously approach to inquire if I'm doing something wrong. The woman peers from her window and tells me, "Sorry! That was my dog!" At some point, she also stated that she was helping either her niece or granddaughter move back into the dorms.

Indeed, I see the suspect, not one but at least two dogs. I think there might've been a third, but my memory of that detail is no longer so concrete.

As I enter the dorms, I hear the dogs start to bark. I continue to hear it through the main entrance and then from my room on the third floor. It's persistent. While I'm more comfortable with confrontation than many of my close family members, I wasn't this time. I had also started taking Olly's saffron supplement to help with my autism-and-dog-trauma-induced sensory issues, so the dogs barking was less harmful and more annoying and baffling in that instance. I just drove the nearest student parking lot and minded my business, but the thought of taking a dog, let alone several, with you inside a loaded car while helping your relative unpack is crazy. Why is that necessary, or how does that benefit the woman or anyone else in the car? The last time I was forced to use a car with a dog two years ago, it was a living nightmare because my sensory issues were worsening at the time due to our tenant nextdoor being allowed to own two dogs, including an awful pitbull, despite my parents' no-pet policy.

Everything surrounding dogs is so stupid to me now. Aside from them ruining my life, and I have plenty of posts about that if you would like further context, they are so loud, obnoxious, gross, annoying, and harmful. I saw the dog at another neighbors' house kill some small creature recently, most likely either a mouse of chipmunk. It's so awful, yet this is the world's most popular animal. Dogs are one of those icons that does no harm than good, if any good for us, yet they are idols in so many peoples' eyes. It's like a cult.

If you want more of my college stories, I also have posts about the fake service dogs that resided in my hallway, including how my college lied about carnivorous pets not being allowed on my hall. More specifically, they changed the rule but never applied it to the portion of their website that I consult regarding residence life.

It's a club, we ain't in it, but in this circumstance, I don't want any association with or close proximity to it.

I've told my story so many times here that some users are probably tired of reading it, but I've been thinking lately about what I'm experiencing. I don't know what to do anymore because I've tried everything I know that doesn't hurt anyone's feelings, be that myself or my family. It also helps to talk about this with people who care and understand the struggle, a combination that's rare in my social circle.

There are two reasons dogs affect my mental health so strongly. First, I 'm autistic, and it's common to be very sensitive to noise when one has autism. Second, someone's labrador attacked me at the age of nine. People often correct me said that it just jumped on me, thinking I wanted to play, but it tore a small chunk of flesh out of one of my shoulders, and it went on for something like eight to 10 seconds.

Things were okay for years. We no longer owned a dog after our last one had died before the incident, and while I would panic when a dog jumped on or followed me, no more injuries occurred. When I was 16, however, I returned from a trip one day to learn that my stepfather brought home a dog living in a field by his workplace. I was told this was only temporary, but suddenly, the dog gave birth to seven young. Shoutout to the veterinarian for deciding not to X-ray scan the dog.

All the offspring received new homes, but the dog started to become more vocal, and one day, I asked how finding a home for the dog is going, only to be told that we were keeping her. From then, every time I expressed my discomfort with the dog, I was either shut down or guilt-tripped.

The strange part is that my parents are very kind and generous. They're great parents, if this situation never happened. As time went on, I become more and more sensitive to dogs barking until I couldn't tolerate it. We live in half a house and then rented the space next to us to relation of my stepfather with two dogs, and that's when my sensory issues especially worsened. These dogs were horrible, often sat in the bedroom directly beside mine and barked persistently, and their daughter, who slept in the bedroom next to me, tended to act obnoxiously on select nights, and every time I spoke up about it, nothing changed. I learned after this all happened that my mother would tell our neighbors to take responsibility of their dogs but often just nudged them, afraid what they'd think if she was stern. It pisses me off because she had no problem with firmness when our next neighbors arrived and not only accidentally burned the side of the house with their grill but kept missing payments due to an online shopping addiction. My family also kept defending the daughter of our first tenant because of her ADHD, not to say that it's not a legitimate disorder. It just angered me because I know my family wouldn't excuse me for being annoying because I have autism. My mother has ADHD, so she must justify anything with which she can relate, but I digress severely.

Anyway, my sensory issues worsened, though I think part of my problem is a trauma response to the dogs. I became anxious of hearing dogs everywhere, started becoming triggered when hearing it even distantly in media, and the issue spread to other sounds, including but not limited to people of all ages screaming, large objects grinding against each other like nails on a chalkboard, doors slamming, crowds cheering, boisterous laughter, objects thumping against the ground, and modified cars revving loudly outside. It doesn't help that my father died during this time, meaning his dogfree house was no longer an option.

It seemed my only hope was college, which I attend now, but it's summer, and I'm home. Even by the time I began college, my sensory issues broadened to other sounds, making a difficult transition only harder.

I've tried to make it work, spoken up to my mother, written an eight-page letter expressing what I say in this post, and now, every day is a mountain. I'm exhausted half of the day, I can't do anything or go anywhere without being afraid of dogs barking, and when they do, I freeze up or melt down. I want to exercise more, but I'm afraid to spend too much time outside in this town. I want to accept more invitations for fun activities, but I can't handle them. I feel stuck in a lose-lose situation. I spoke up multiple times, and every single time, my mother either guilt-trips me into thinking she doesn't know what do or acts like there's nothing she can do. Talking to my stepfather feels hopeless because he has thick skin. Every time I talk to him about how I'm feeling, he has an amazing ability to say or do something that makes me feel worse. I'm afraid to speak out angrily now because I know I'm just going to feel more hurt, especially when nothing changes still. This is so stupid, yet my parents remain decent people when what we're doing has nothing to do with dogs or loud noise.

Please, I need your help. I have two questions.

1. Is this abuse? I understand victims often don't realize or accept they're being abused.

2. What do I do now? I can't live this way.

Those who can relate, please talk with me.

The only other person with autism in my family is dead, and my family is a lot more familiar with ADHD. I have bad experiences with dogs. I've been attacked, used to live with one against my will, could not convince my parents to rehome it when I lived with them, even though my mother saw me in tears about the issue twice, and nowadays, I seem to be a lot more sensitive to noise in general. I'm still very sensitive to dogs barking but also now struggle with children screaming, crowds cheering, loud laughter, cars revving, doors slamming, furniture grinding against the floor, and even the sight of dogs makes me nervous. I hate what's happened and don't understand if or what I did to cause this chain reaction. Even when I spoke up, my family didn't listen.

I'm composing this because I woke up miserable and unmotivated again. Please don't feel obligated to answer. Writing just makes me feel less lonely in this issue.

Maybe I'm not the only person who doesn't want to celebrate a holiday today, but it's not because of politics or tradition. I feel more hurt than happy today.

Only 20 years into a life, every day is a mission. As a child, a dog attacked me, not severely, not fiercely enough that the people around me deem it an attack, but the dog wouldn't get off me, it tore flesh out of my shoulder, and I could never look at dogs the same.

I stated my boundaries with dogs, and my parents got one anyway. I was told it would be temporary, and not only did the later learn that the dog was pregnant, but despite finding homes for all seven... *shiver*... puppies, my parents kept the dog anyway. I'm off to college now, but I still come home now and then. My parents are kind and generous, but every time I tell them in detail why the dog makes me uncomfortable, they don't act upon it. Even though I am the form of autism most call "high-functioning," I struggle to function at all when I hear dogs barking. I'm a little more sensitive to noise than others, but this one reminds of me of past fear and danger. It seemed liked so long before someone ripped the dog from the hole in my shoulder.

The problem is dogs, but now I'm more sensitive to noise in general. Children screaming, loud laughter, people yelling, people cheering, doors slamming, thumping on the floor, cars revving loudly, shoes squeaking, furniture squeaking against the floor at even the lightest movement, all sounds that hardly bothered me as a teenager, now repel me from the places I once enjoyed. I enjoy the sound of fireworks a little less each year, especially outside the days I can anticipate them.

I didn't ask for all this, but I'm the villain, the grouch, the one who's no fun, the one told to stay home. I hear the dogs barking through the windows, in media I miss loving. I don't miss being a kid. I miss the freedom of not experiencing sensory overwhelm everywhere I go, every day, multiple times a day. Why should I celebrate the Fourth of July when my comrades and me are being raped of our freedom?

Holy moly, everywhere I go, someone's dog is barking! I'm leaving for work in the morning, and my mother's dog is barking. I breathed too much oxygen in one oxygen, and my neighbor's dog started barking. I took a break from my groundskeeping work at a cemetery on the top of a hill, and someone's dog is barking in the distance. I enter my bedroom anxious and overwhelmed after work, and some other neighbors' dogs are barking especially obnoxiously.

How do people enjoy these animals so much? They're horrible. They make so much stressful noise and get praised for every action and inconvenience imaginable. Not that it's very hard to endure for others, but I especially have a hard time with it because I'm sensitive to dogs barking due to autism. I've been forced to experience it against my will at home for years. I'm home from college, and my mother knows how much her and my stepfather's dog have messed up my sensory processing, but they don't remove it. I don't understand this. My mother is otherwise a kind and generous person, but when it comes to autism and this dog, she's a brick wall. No matter how much I cry, speak my feelings, or write her, nothing changes.

As of today, I've started taking a medication, something I've refused to do for so long because I think it's abysmal that I be expected to drug myself for another's awful behavior, another's living in our house against my will, another's wrongdoing. This feels like a crime. I hate dogs barking so much. It's a never-ending pain as I spend the majority of my life anxious and depressed in noise-cancelling headphones, listening to some kind of noise to block out the traumatizing sound, and it's not even always effective. I've fallen so far from my mental state at the age of 16. Now I'm a first-generation college student living daily life as a half-opportunity, half-nightmare.

Reading a thread in this forum, someone described one of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons as Tom torture. It stood out to me because I firmly believe that Tom frequently gets in trouble or suffers without deserving it. That's not every cartoon, far from it, but it's many more than I thought as a child.

What do you think are some of the most notable examples of Tom torture cartoons from the Hanna-Barbera era?