We Are Now Dogless

[Ted]

Yep, the dog freighter is now sans dog.

About a year ago, Duke, our Rottweiler died unexpectedly, bringing us down to one dog. I had originally adopted Duchess after her family could no longer keep her due to moving someplace that they couldn't have a dog. They made the effort to find her a new home, and I adopted her. She especially loved Laurie, and we gave her 5 (mostly) happy years.

After Duke died, Duchess became "bottom dog" in the house, with a very alpha personality. This ended up manifesting itself in passive aggressive behavior towards our son, which included "accidents" that were very intentional, purposely pushing him over and (the last straw), bearing her teeth. That got her kicked out and turned into an outside dog. We decided we needed to rehome her for everyone's benefit, and started the effort.

It took a few weeks, but we were able to find a good family that was looking for a dog like her. They were a perfect fit, and I dropped her off last weekend. All are doing great. The house feels different without a dog, but it was a necessary change. She's happier with a family that can devote time to her, we're happier without the concern of a dog that might bite our son (and could rip him to pieces), and the new family is happier with a dog that fits them.

The easy way out would have been to take her to the shelter and just turn her in. And she made any actual attempts at biting, she'd be gone. We instead took the earlier warning signs and moved early.

If you care about a dog that you need to rehome, try to do it yourself. The odds of a shelter successfully rehoming an adult dog are very low in many parts of the country. Duchess could have been dead 5 years ago, or last month. Instead, she's been able to continue her happy life.

We'll adopt another dog eventually, but for now our bird is a remarkably good household pet with small kids.

 

[sferguson524]

We had a similar issue with our dog.. He was 14, was having issues going up and down the stairs, and was very much impatient. He bit a couple of kids who were granted, askign for it, wrapping their arms around his neck. the end game was, after i watched him limping up and down the stairs, and falling down the last 2 steps, was putting him to sleep. I miss him every day

 

[Ted]

If our son had been provoking the behavior, it certainly would've been different. But he pet her nicely and gave her cookies, so...

 

[sferguson524]

Indeed.. yeah, our dog would growl at my stepkids anytime they got close to him. He was old, and grumpy as hell.

 

[timwinters]

Sounds like it was for the best, Ted. Doesn't make it any easier, I'm sure. You'll find a replacement soon enough.

 

[Ted]

It'll be a couple years before we decide it's time for another dog. Right now our focus will be on our twins' birth and surviving the first year!

When I was a kid, my best friend had a Samoyed that was old and grumpy, growled a lot. He was also overall harmless, so they kept him until he died. Never bit anyone, but sure scared me when I was 5.

By comparison, Duchess once did this to my hand:



I understood why - she ran off because she got spooked, I chased her, and when I caught her I grabbed her skin, which of course hurt. So, obviously not harmless.

That evening I flew to Alabama to rescue an Aztec full of dogs. Leaning was painful.

 

[JoeSelch]

Sounds like this has turned out well. Still ... A little sad.

In happier news, a rescue dog has found a new home with my parents.

Just the sort of dog they wanted, and with a size and temperament that fits their stage in life - will keep them moving, without pulling them over or knocking them down.
A sweet 3yo pointer (on the smaller side), left at an outstate shelter with her litter. They'd since been adopted, so she made the trek alone to the local adoption event where we found her.