Little Grey Bungalow
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Chunk
We had to have him euthanized yesterday, and right now I'm not ready to talk about it. Thanks for understanding.
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Little Grey Bungalow
17 comments:
I am so, so sorry. No talk, just hugs and sympathy.
Sending you Peace.
I'm so sorry, I know how hard it can be to loose pets. Sending hugs your way...
I am so very sorry to hear this. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Keeping you and Spousal Unit in my thoughts. The Maine Coons send purrs to you and the family.
God Bless.
I'm so very sorry. My sympathies to all of you.
I'm so sorry. Love and peace to all.
Sorry. It is so hard to lose a pet.
So very, very sorry to hear this. My heart aches for all of you.
So sorry. You and yours are in my thoughts and prayers
I am so sorry to hear this.
When you adopt a previously-owned dog, you take it for granted that it comes with some kind of history that may or may not work in your favor. In Chunk’s case, all the rescue could tell us that he was an owner surrender. Because he was completely untrained, we assumed that this was another case of a cute puppy growing up into an uncontrollable eighty-pound dog, and the original owners being unable or unwilling to cope with him.
There was a bite incident almost immediately. Well, the law allows a dog one bite, and with Chunk’s temperament and his age – eighteen months -- we thought he was still salvageable. He was such sweet, affectionate goofball it was worth a try. We worked him all summer with a private trainer and enrolled him at the local kennel club in September. He remained very aggressive to anyone who came up to the house; but he enjoyed obedience class, and made friends with all the dogs and their handlers.
He was still way too exuberant! His default mode was “climb in your lap and lick you to death,” and he approached everything like a kid being taken to his first circus. He adored going for rides in the car and being taken for walks. I used him as a training aid for a presentation I gave at the local community college in November, and Chunk spent the entire day giving kisses to nursing students. He was the life of the party at Red Cross meetings.
Last Saturday the other shoe dropped. Brian was chatting with a neighbor and with no warning or apparent trigger, Chunk attacked. We had the option of turning him over to the county but we took care of it ourselves.
We keep asking ourselves if there was something else we might have done but I guess he was too badly damaged by the time he came into our hands.
He could have been a really great dog.
I am so sorry. My forever puppy was a rescue, a dog who loved children and would sit perfectly still while even a small child petted her not very gently. Her triggers were navy uniforms, and men's cologne. She used to bark every time someone in a navy uniform showed up at my door, but I never knew she would be almost uncontrollable or could stretch full height against the screen door (fortunately locked) until a man in a uniform and wearing some ghastly scent knocked on my door one afternoon. I could barely get a well trained and fully grown-up friendly dog shut into the kitchen. You just never know what happened before. You have a big heart. You'll find another one and love him, when you're ready. I bawled for a month when my enormous lady cat had to be put down until the other half said enough and found me kittens. Not the same, but it was what we all needed.
It takes a brave and loving family to take on shelter animals. One never knows what the true history of an animal is. I am so very sorry to hear this. You did your very best to prevent this. No animal could ask for more.
I'm so, so sorry to hear this and it must be so sad and frustrating that the attack happened, especially since you worked so hard to overcome the biting. You did everything you could and had no other choice at that point. You have my deepest condolences.
The trainer at the kennel club said pretty much the same thing, Jackie. Still...
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