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January 2011 Moms
My dog that has been having issues (long & sad)
I have not had luck finding him a child-free, pet-free re-homing situation with someone I know and trust. I won't do a random craigslist ad or have him turned into an outdoor dog (I need to know and trust the person he would go to and don't believe in a life-long indoor pet being turned into an outdoor one...I understand not everyone will agree with me on those points). I contacted the rescue group I got him from and they have no room for him, and were actually kind of sh*tty with me, suggesting I should have contacted them sooner, questioning if I had tried things like training, homeopathic remedies, or medication and asking whether he had a recent vet exam etc (the answers being OF COURSE).
So I reached out to my vet to get her opinion, and she told me that she thought the best thing for him based on his age, aggression triggers/anxiety level and us having a small child, was to have him put to sleep. She said that even had we had been able to find him a place, she actually thought rehoming was not a good idea, that it would put more stress on a dog like him and there was no guarantee that he would not snap at a person as a result. "Human life must come first" was her exact response.
Last week he snapped at our small boxer again, and another time I was doing dishes while she sat next to me, and I turned around and he was standing there nose to nose with her with his lips up and teeth showing. It freaked me out. We have continued to babygate him away from DD.
So I have an appointment for Friday morning and we will say goodbye to my old pal. I am so sad, but in the end I know he is not a happy dog anymore, the other two dogs deserve to not be on the receiving end of his behavior, and I can't risk anything accidentally happening to my daughter or another person.
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Re: My dog that has been having issues (long & sad)
I'm so sorry, it's such a tough decision to have to make. We made the same choice with our cat when DS was 10 months. It's never easy.
{{big hugs}}
I'm so sorry to hear this. It must be awful. I really can't imagine giving up one of my pets.
Maybe this place can help you:
https://www.bestfriends.org/atthesanctuary/animals/dogs.cfm
I saw a TV show about them and they take last chance animals.
Valley-
Best Friends does great things, but I can't take him to a shelter, I just don't have it in me. He's 10, he came from a shelter environment before I adopted him in '02.
Oh man, I'm sorry this is happening. 9 years is a lot of time to have spent with him...and I'm sure that makes it that much harder to see him go.
We had a Rottweiler puppy (not yet a year old) that drew blood on my hand and snapped quite a few times in a vicious manner when I was pg. He got very ill and long story short we relinquished our rights to the vet who was going to treat him and then find him a home. While he was being treated at the hospital he bit a tech and had to be put to sleep (then his head can be tested for rabies!). My DH cried for weeks after that. The mom in me was not as torn, but it was very sad. My DH was way more attached to him than I was which is what made it so hard for him. It's better to not let it get to that point with Shiloh.
I will pray for you guys to have the strength to make the right decision and feel comfortable with it.
**I hope my post didn't just make things worse for you, just sharing a worse case scenario that you can avoid -- hugs -- **
ETA: to not sound inhumane, we did have a trainer for this puppy too.
I am still hoping for a miracle so that what is the right decision for Shiloh and the other dogs doesn't mean this dog's time is up. I wish we had a bigger house so I could comfortably separate him while we continued trying to find him a new home, but we don't. Separating him means separating the other two dogs with him, and that's not working as evidenced by the snapping. My dad would be the perfect owner for him, but he isn't interested in ever owning another dog...I have tried and tried to convince him, and the answer has been no. My mom offered, but she already has a small dog, plus I know she can't handle him, as a few years ago he pulled her down a flight of stairs at my apartment and she broke her wrist. It was a total accident (my dog saw the maintenance man on his golf cart who always has dog treats on him), but she's just not cut out to be a big dog person, especially with her not having a fenced yard and the other dog. H's best friend would be great, but he is caring for/living with his mother who has stage 4 cancer, and so the timing is not right. Bottom line, I know this is the best thing for my daughter and my other pets, but I will probably always feel guilty about it. It totally sucks.
Of course I could just try to keep going like we are until something comes up, but with Shiloh on the move and the other two dogs on the receiving end of the snapping, I feel like enough is enough. So yeah, Friday is going to be the effin worst day, I am dreading it.