August 02, 2005
As I was just saying...
Here we have the story of a couple expecting their first baby. They were concerned about how their 2 1/2 year old terrier mix would react towards the baby, so they brought the dog to a shelter.
Allegedly the dog lunged at a Vet tech and was put down immediately. The couple is now suing the shelter claiming that the stress of loosing their dog has caused incredible guilt, which in turn is ruining their marriage and making them resentful of the baby.
SAY WHAT?
Let's back up and review dog ownership 101.
If you get a dog, you should train your dog, to include child and baby proofing, even if you do not have kids.
Like I mentioned in the previous blog on aggression, your dog is your problem, and you have the best chance of helping YOUR DOG!
When you relinquish a dog to a shelter, you do just that, you give all rights of ownership. This dog was no longer theirs and obviously the shelter did not think they could safely place this dog.
Also as mentioned in the earlier blog, shelters are stressful environments for pets, and behavior problems are often magnified.
Lastly keep in mind that many people use shelters and rescues to "dump" dangerous dogs, instead of taking the high road and having their own dog put to sleep.
Taking the dog to a shelter was not their only option, and if they had issues that they were not willing to work with, then they should have tried to place the dog themselves in an adult home.
Obviously the terrier had issues or they would not have given up the dog in the first place.
Yeah but you misssed the part that the shelter forced them to return it instead of finding it an other home and that it was only returned because it was a no kill shelter.
They found out when they called to say they just could not abandon him and wanted him back.
Still crappy either way though.
Posted by
ChuckAugust 2, 2005 11:24 AM
Why was the shelter so quick to put the dog down? I have worked in shelters before and plenty of volunteers/workers have been bitten. The Shelter was wrong and so were the owners of the dog! A lose/lose situation!!!
Posted by
Mary PernoudAugust 2, 2005 01:21 PM
I can't help but wonder how violent an attack the vet tech suffered. Did she need reconstructive surgery? Did she get hurt badly? The article didn't say. I agree that shelters are very stressful and it's possible that the vet tech somehow startled the dog as she began the examination causing the dog to react....fight/flight. Obviously the dog couldn't escape so he chose to fight to protect himself. It is possible that the dog was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off but that wouldn't be my first guess. I believe that the shelter should have given the dog another chance and had a behaviorist work with him to see if there was any hope. I am saddened at the same time that the owners gave the dog up before giving him a chance to see how he would do with the arrival of the baby unless they knew something about the dog that they didn't tell anyone about. I can see how the owners wanted the dog to have a loving family and how they can be so upset at the 'no kill' shelter's snap decision. Such a sad story.
Posted by
AlyssaAugust 3, 2005 01:44 PM
Omigosh - dead within two hours?!....at a no kill shelter?! what is wrong with that picture?
Shelter personnel should realize that incoming dogs are very aggitated and may need down time before being approached and handled.
If they had the dog for a time with numerous incidents I could understand it being PTS, but, short of a lunge to the jugular, I think this was a case where someone over reacted.
Poor dog!
Posted by
SandiAugust 3, 2005 05:18 PM
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