Putting a dog down :(

I guess I just need to "talk" about this because I am really sad and feeling guilty. My husband and I adopted a dog 3 years ago. Her owner was terminally ill during her life and she didn't get socialized before us. She was about 7 when we got her. She had never been bathed, or gone on a walk before us.

 We took her in and she and our other dog got along great. She was always timid and her name "Baby" really fit her. She was a biggish hound dog.

Well, we had a baby a year into getting "Baby" and she never got comfortable with it. She was never aggresive with the real baby, but, she never let Megan get close to her.

 Now that Megan is almost 2, things got a little scary. Megan loves the dogs and our one dog (Oscar) is soooo good with her, but, Baby was scared of her and would run from her.....and Megan thought it was fun to chase her. She did snap at megan once, but, I just was scared that someday as megan got faster, she would catch up to Baby and baby would bite her......So we decieded to put her down and my husband is at the vets as we speak. I am just soooooo sad and I hope we did the right thing.

Why didn't you just find a new home for her? I'm sure there would be someone else in your town more that willing to provide the home and care she needed, putting her to sleep seems a bit over the top to me...

I am sorry for your loss. I imagine it was a very very hard decision you made.

Sometimes "the right thing" isn't always clear. But I'm sure that you and your husband talked about it, worried about it and, right now, it's the right thing to do. :(

I do agree with lifeizsweet that giving the dog away to someone without kids might have been a better option. Did you explore it? 

Lyn, I'm sure this is incredibly hard for you.  And, since it sounds like the deed has already been done, I hope people aren't hard on you about it.  :(  It's never an easy decision to make, and it was wonderful of you to give her 3 good years after the first 7 that might have been a bit rough.

Truly, a 10 year old dog would be very difficult to adopt out.  I hope you can cherish the memories and move on as best you can.

Always a very hard decision.  Maybe a new home would have worked.  Maybe not.  A dog that has not been cared for properly and has not learned to socialize well can be very hard to place. 

My friend adopted a dog that had been in the same sort of situation.  And she had a baby years later, but the dog did bite the baby.

They gave the dog away to a new home and it bit someone there.  It was returned to them and they took it to the pound.  The dog was returned twice to the pound from adoptive parents.  It wasn't a mean dog, per se, but just hadn't been trained well for the first 4 years of it's life.  It didn't handle new things well or new situations. It was eventually put down.

((HUGS)) I feel for you.

We didn't try to he-home her because of her age (10 years) and also she is really attached to me and it took her over a year to get used to us. She is also having problems with leaking urine (which is also a reason we had to put her down) There are so many young friendly dogs out there that need homes.

Well, then... as hard a decision as it was, you probably did the right thing. I am sorry for your loss anyways. :( It's always hard to lose a friend. :(

My sympathy on your loss - and I support your decision for the following reasons:

1- As Jenn said it is hard to adopt out a 10 year old dog.
2- If you had adopted Baby out - you would have no guarantee that she would have gone to good people.
3 -  I've noticed that dogs that are skittish of children don't tend to get better with them - usually the opposite occurs - so even if you had found another home for her you have no guarantees that there would never be children around her.
4 - You gave her a happy life and 10 is quite old for a biggish hound dog.

Thanks for the responses. I do go back and forth on if it was the right thing. But, she actually did bite a child a while back. She was running around the house "acting" like a monkey and Baby didn't like it. So, we really tried to make it work with Megan. We would always let her feed the dogs and give her treats. My husband was bitten as a kid, and he had half his lip ripped off! It was a dog he grew up with, his grandma's dog, but since it was getting old and tempermental, it just snapped. We didn't want to wait for that to happen...like Kallie's friend. I really think it would have been very tramatic for her to go to a new home, even if we found one.

Well, It's done.......sob......

The vet said it looked like her hips were going, which would explain why sometimes when we touched her there,she would yelp and jump away...which we thought she was being skittish about. The vet said they hide their pain instinctivley (to not be seen as weak) So, the vet said it was the right thing....I just feel so sad to know she is really gone. She was a great dog and I am lucky to have known her.

 

Wow. You didn't even TRY to adopt her out? Yeah, I'm sure you're all sad and everything. After all, you're killing your freaking dog.

I can understand if it's because of medical reasons but a mild behavior problem? Yeah, okay. Glad it's convenient for you. 

Alright, everyone.

I know this is a public forum and you have a RIGHT to say whatever you'd like, but I'm asking y'all to please try to keep it to sympathetic posts. If you have a beef with her choices, could y'all post about it privately (in your journals) instead of yelling at someone who's clearly upset about what she felt she needed to do.

Please?

It's not really fair to judge someone else on their choices until you're in their shoes. 

Umm hmm I guess all I can say is I'm sorry you had to make this choice. I agree with feanor tho. Things could have been different (a home with no kids, with someone willing to train the dog, hip replacement surgery etc). But whats done is done.

 

RIP "Baby" may you find peace in the green pastures on the other side of the RainBow Bridge. 

So sorry for the loss of your dog Baby.  Maybe plant a tree or rose bush in her honour once the springtime comes.

I'm sorry for your situation....but that is a choice I would never ever make.  :-(  I would have taken him! 

Old dogs make better pets anyway---they're done chewing stuff up and jumping all over the place. 

Again Lyn, my heart goes out to you.  Just remember it's easy enough for people to judge, and it's easy enough for them to kick you when you are down.  Obviously this wasn't easy for you, obviously you care about animals or you wouldn't have adopted the dog 3 years ago.  If the vet said you did the right thing, then you did the right thing.  Don't let people make you feel worse, especially when you were only trying to find some small bit of comfort.  Take care of yourself.

I'm sorry you made that choice.

Sorry about your dog. I had a dog once that bit my son so I had to give her away. She was younger (only 2) so it wasn't difficult to find a home for her. My father in law took her, he has no small children so I felt she would be better off there. But it was still really hard, so to an extent, I understand your choice. It's not an easy one to make. To be honest, if I hadn't have been able to find her a home, I probably would have put her down because I couldn't risk her harming another child.

Don't defend your actions to the cry babies moaning about your choice. You made your decision. Sounds like the dog had a good life with you and with coming health problems, it was inevitable.

"I can understand if it's because of medical reasons "

One of my parents dogs is really old....largely blind... has major joint problems (cant go up stairs and hard time getting up)... largely deaf.... she gets lost in the back yard! o.O Has to be given lots of different medications for her problems.... and yet they would never think of "putting her down" just because she is old! Its like killing your grandma because she needs a cane to walk....

Its not the dogs fault... the dog isnt suffering... it can still enjoy its food and be petted and happy.

I guess some people look at their dogs more like objects and less like feeling/living creatures...

Truly, a 10 year old dog would be very difficult to adopt out.   Actually, you woud be surprised how many people are willing to take on an old dog.  I know several people who would take an older dog as opposed to a younger one.  A friend of mine adopted a 13 year old beagle.  She has had him over 3 years now.

 The dog was returned twice to the pound from adoptive parents.  Was the pound notified about that dog biting in the first place?  I know a lot of people cover up the fact that a dog has bitten but if it were found out later, they could be legally liable if it bites again!

so even if you had found another home for her you have no guarantees that there would never be children around her.  When a dog is adopted out through a shelter, they are usually checked first for their dispositions.  Then, with the information supplied by the previous owner, they place the dog if it passes the tests they put it through.  If the dog is known to be skittish around children, the adoptive family is told they cannot have children around the dog.

 Feanor, If you read on, there were more medical problems than was mentioned in the OP.  And the dog had already bitten.  Had she not bit previously and were there no medical problems, I would have had a hard time accepting that the dog was put down, but because there were other circumstances, I see nothing wrong with it.  Also, the vet probably would not have done it if there wasn't good reason for it.  Many vets will refuse to put a dog down if it isn't necessary.

Did anyone read that it would have been stressed going to a new home? And that it took over a year for her to get close to them? Yes I would have tried first to place her, but the dog could have had a really hard time adjusting, it could have been very stressed out, which would not be good for an old dog.

Anyway I think she already feels bad enough, just leave her alone...