Please excuse our regularly scheduled blogging for a sad announcement. Today we had to put down my labrador retriever, Mickey, normally the dog on the banner image for this blog.
As warm and affectionate he was with humans, this dog had a strange aggressive streak towards other dogs. Last Spring, he bolted through a tiny hole in the porch of our cabin and attacked a small dog that was passing by. After reinforcing our fences, dropping a wad of money at a doggie therapist, using a bark collar, we were resigned to the fact he could not be around other dogs.
Yesterday, a visiting relative stopped by the house with his new Great Dane puppy. I was not there, and missed the incident by 10 minutes, but apparently Mickey managed to squeeze out the door, and again went straight for the puppies neck in a death grip. Fortunately they were able to pull him off, and after a trip to the 24 hour pet hospital, the pup was found to have cuts and abrasions, but no serious damage.
I could not put anyone through this again, as Mickey could easily kill another dog, so this morning I sadly took him to the vet to have him put to sleep. This is one of the saddest things a person can do, it is unavoidable with pets, but there is no getting around making these decisions.
I do not blame him, he was a dog, and had animal instincts that proved to be unacceptable. The ironic thing is that this was the first dog we did not get from the pound, but from a “breeder” with papers and such. Given the skin diseases of his sister and Mickey’s aggressive streak, I am rather doubtful of the quality of the papers or the breeders who sold him to us.
His picture will return soon, but for now, in honor of Mickey, he is transaparented out…
Sorry to hear about that Alan, must have been very difficult indeed. It sounds like he had a pretty happy and adored life though and that’s a pretty cool thing for a dog. Thoughts are with you & your family, James
I’m really sorry to hear this and send my condolances.
Alan, you have my deepest sympathies. My wife and I (both recently relocated from PHX to IND) are the proud, happy parents of three wonderful, spastic, sweet, devilish and extremely hairy mutts. I can only imagine the heartbreak you must be feeling now. I hope you and Mickey find peace.
My sympathies. Dog people can empathize; others won’t quite get it.
In 1960, our small, mongrel, family dog, Peanuts, apparently hopped a tall fence and grabbed a lamb by the throat, killing it on the spot. We would have hardly been less surprised had my little brother done the deed.
We were living in a suburb of Paris and had not seen the incident. I rode my motorbike to some neighbors who had witnessed the attack. In my broken French, I asked again and again, “Are you sure? It was Peanuts?”
They’d been fattening up our dog on table scraps and knew her well. “Oui, bien sur.” It was our dog. We had her put to sleep that day. The penalty for a dog acting like a dog. Our neighbor’s gardner said they ate lamb for a week.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
Alan, you have my deepest sympathy. My family and I have lost a few pets over the years, including a couple that we had to decide it was time to put down – such a difficult decision!
So sorry to hear about this, Alan. Brings back some hard memories about one of my dogs who was nipped by a car one day and, though she was alright physically, from that point on she just couldn’t bear to be alone in the house. She just ripped and chewed it up, to the point where we tried medications, etc. but nothing worked. Eventually, I had to have her put down. It was the hardest thing to do to an otherwise healthy, fairly young friend. Hang in.