surrendering a pet to a shelter

[Anonymous]

Has anyone ever had to surrender a pet dog to a shelter? We have adopted four
Dogs from shelters over the years and have cared for them until their
unfortunate passing. Three and a half years ago we accepted a dog from a
"friend" with a new baby in the family. They could not care for the
dog anymore and were going to take her to a shelter. Over the 3.5 years
that the dog has been with us she has attempted to go after (attack) several
dogs and once made contact and was injured by the other dog. She has also "nipped" at
several people who have visited our home. Yesterday, due to an unusual sequence
of events (we weren't able to restrain her quickly as we typically do when someone
comes over), she bit a neighbor. She put a hole in his pants and left bite
marks on his thigh with an ugly bruise forming quickly. Our
neighbor has been extremely kind and forgiving. My husband and I have
determined that we must surrender our dog to a shelter. The issue is, none
will accept a dog who has bitten or attacked other dogs. We will be forced to
take her to our county shelter where I'm sure she'll be euthanized, given her
history. I guess I am looking for some comfort, advice, or stories of
similar circumstances. I guess I should add that our "friend" did not tell
us of the dog's aggression so we had no idea what we were getting into. To add to
the stress, I am several months pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Please bring your dog to the vet and have it euthanized with you present. Do not abandon it at the shelter to die scared with strangers.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I am going to call our vet in the morning to ask if she will do it. I'm afraid the vet might not agree to euthanize, but I'm definitely going to try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please bring your dog to the vet and have it euthanized with you present. Do not abandon it at the shelter to die scared with strangers.

+1 You can find a vet that will do it. If a vet is firmly against it, then you can ask the vet to take or place the dog in a home. And then I'm sure the vet will agree.

Once you have it scheduled, clear a day to spend with the dog. Give her a lot of attention. Maybe even buy her a hamburger or something she loves to eat but that is usually forbidden. Spoil her for a day. And then stay with her when you take her to the vet, stay until the last second.

That's the best thing to do.

(This is all assuming you haven't tried hiring a dog trainer. But I couldn't imagine someone being so negligent as to have a dog for a few years, have a few incidents of shown aggression and not hire a dog trainer to see if you can successfully redirect the aggression.)

[Anonymous]

We had this situation happen to our family. The dog even caused my sister to have plastic surgery. You cannot give the dog to anyone else. We had to put the dog down at our vets. The dog was only a year old and it was a brutal experience for my mom at the time. But sadly there was absolutely no other option. My mom cried for months but she new the dog could no longer be around people...children especially.

[Anonymous]

OP again - Yes, a dog behaviorist visited our home several times, taught us how to work with the dog, recommended daily exercise, and concluded that given the dog's history of being bounced from shelter to shelter and home to home, her highly reactive nature was not going to go away. She suggested we always crate her/put her in the basement when people are over. We almost always do, but statistically speaking, over a matter of years there will always be the surprise occasion during which things happen. For example, person filling propane tank outside our home did not warn me he would be coming inside and walked in suddenly - dog nipped him. In reference to the exercise suggestion of trainer - my husband jogs with dog almost every morning, very early when few/no people and dogs are out. Vet has prescribed sedatives - they aren't effective for dog's highly reactive state of mind. We've tried everything.

[Anonymous]

I would be scared to have a child in the same house as that dog

[Anonymous]

Contact the dog wisperer. Maybe he can help take the dog or suggest a similar rehab center for aggressive dogs. Cesar. Milan can do wonders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - Yes, a dog behaviorist visited our home several times, taught us how to work with the dog, recommended daily exercise, and concluded that given the dog's history of being bounced from shelter to shelter and home to home, her highly reactive nature was not going to go away. She suggested we always crate her/put her in the basement when people are over. We almost always do, but statistically speaking, over a matter of years there will always be the surprise occasion during which things happen. For example, person filling propane tank outside our home did not warn me he would be coming inside and walked in suddenly - dog nipped him. In reference to the exercise suggestion of trainer - my husband jogs with dog almost every morning, very early when few/no people and dogs are out. Vet has prescribed sedatives - they aren't effective for dog's highly reactive state of mind. We've tried everything.

OP, you are an incredible dog owner and have gone well above and beyond in terms of trying everything to make it work with this dog. Agree with other posters that you need to contact a vet and see about putting the dog to sleep. Will be very, very hard for you, but far less traumatic for the dog than any other option you have.

I come from families that have always considered dog members of the family, and I still think this is the best/only option you have. I'm sorry you have to go through this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be scared to have a child in the same house as that dog

OP here - Yes, the bite yesterday paired with us expecting a baby is what has pushed us to finally take measures.

[Anonymous]

Please do not abandon to a shelter. There are vets that will come to you to ease your pet out of this life. Sorry about the whole situation. OP. It's not your fault. And poor dog.

[Anonymous]

OP again - Thank you for all he advice and support. We are feeling so guilty but know we have to do something. We are terrified that if we don't, something much worse will occur and we'll forever regret it.

Please do not abandon to a shelter. There are vets that will come to you to ease your pet out of this life. Sorry about the whole situation. OP. It's not your fault. And poor dog.

This is good to know as my fear is our vet won't do it and I'll need to take our dog to a strange vet. Our vet's office has a private entrance into an exam room that is one of the main reasons we go there. Since our dog is so reactive with other dogs, it's extremely difficult to take her to a "regular" vet. We've had to wait for our turn in the car and they call us and we rush into an exam room. To have someone come to our home woul give us great peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please bring your dog to the vet and have it euthanized with you present. Do not abandon it at the shelter to die scared with strangers.

This times 1,000. It sounds like this dog has had a difficult life. Please be with it until the very end so that it has some comfort as it dies. I am so very sad for this dog (and for you OP).

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you have done well more than your due diligence to make this work. I agree that putting the dog down with you there is the best option.

[Anonymous]

Given that your vet knows this dog's history, any qualified vet should do it.

Please update us. We care.