But not in a creepy way.
Some of you will be angry at me for what I'm about to tell you. If this makes you angry, let me know so I can come take a crap in your family room and see how you react. If that's no big deal to you, I can come back once or twice a week for six or seven years and leave a present for you in the corner of your kid's room and another under your bed.
This morning, when the dog did her business right in the middle of the front room, it was the last straw. Actually, a couple years ago, right after we moved into the new house and the dog decided to make a habit of welcoming all our new neighbors by biting them on the Achilles tendon. That was the last straw.
Understand something. We love animals. That's why we adopted the dog in the first place. We rescued her from the pound, cleaned her up and welcomed her into our family. But I couldn't exaggerate this, she has been just too much to handle. And admitting that makes me feel like a failure. Like there's more I could have done.
But there wasn't. So this morning, with tears in her eyes, Donna took the dog to the local animal shelter.
"How was she?" I asked her.
"Scared. She knew."
Instantly I saw the dog in my mind as I had seen her so many times before. With her tail tucked between her legs, crouching against the ground shuffling away while she looked over her shoulder. But this time she wasn't trying to avoid punishment for another accident. This time, she knew.
I cried. Right there in the lobby of my office. I felt sick about what was happening but I knew it had to be done. At this point all I could hope was that she would be adopted by a nice family with miraculous dog training skills and a huge fenced yard with a red barn out back. I told myself this might happen.
"The woman at the shelter told me that if we left her there she'd be put down because she has a history of biting."
I knew this.
"So I signed the paperwork and cried my way home."
As I write this I'm trying not to think about the dog sitting in a dark kennel awaiting her fate. Instead, I actually find comfort in telling myself that they would never make her wait alone for the entire weekend and that she was humanely and reverently euthanized within minutes of her arrival. And I hope they gave her a piece of cheddar cheese first.
If there's any consolation to the situation it's that it has taken my mind off fact that I had to fire a dude this afternoon. Yeah, today was THAT great.
Filed under - Family | MiscWe had to do this a few years ago when the first baby came along. Only this dog had saved my life during a break-in. She was never the same after that and we couldn't have her around a baby.
I'm sorry, it sucks.
I am so sorry. That is a very hard thing to do. I know. I've had to do it once and I cried as well. I wish I could give you a big old hug right now. :(
We adopted a feral cat over ten years ago. She was never a loving and friendly cat. She was just a wild animal in our house for a few years. Her last straw should have been the time when she purposely peed all over me or the time when she attacked my nephew or the time when she drooled all over the couch, but in the end, we took to the shelter in the middle of the night because of a horrible move.
She was not a good cat. :(
Here's a photo of her: http://laura.moncur.org/archives/2006/10/09/ezzy-demon-cat/
A number of years ago, our second cat made a habit of sleeping in the baby's bed with the baby. He was a big cat, right around ten pounds. Finally, after finding him there with the baby in the crib several times, we took him to the pound. He, too, was a bit of a demon animal. He liked to pee everywhere, clawed up everything in the house, was mean and bit people that tried to pet him, and all that.
I think the only reason we kept him was because despite his huge flaws, he was an absolutely beautiful animal. Sure, he was a mixed breed, but still had a gorgeous, thick, white coat, pink paws, and an excellent physical specimen.
He reminds me viscerally of one of my cousins. She was absolutely amazing to look at until she started talking, then you wanted to tie her hands behind her back and put on her either a bag or a gag.
my son's father brought a cat to us to keep since the owner was old (& so was the cat) and could no long care for it. i said okay, reluctantly. we had a cat already and from minute one, they never got a long. the older one spent days in my closet growling and moaning while our cat tried to investigate it which only caused more growling and more moaning. it wasn't working out. while i went to work one day i asked (pleaded) my mom to take it to the humane society. i felt so guilty for both not having the courage to do it myself and for not wanting to keep him. i still think of him probably more than i should. can you spare a couple xanax?
I'm sorry...I understand, we had a dog like that a few years ago (he actually ended up running off & we never found him) but we debated many times about what to do with him. I know it feels like shit to even consider getting rid of an animal--I feel for you & your family.
My heart aches for you and your family. I can't even begin to know what this feels like. My dog has behavioural problems, too, but they're more like licking you until you're dehydrated and peeing on the couch (the first one is okay, but the second, not so cool.)
:-(
I totally understand. I'm sorry for your lose..cause that is what it is.
That is a really tough decision to make to.
I cried like a baby when we got rid of Scooby..we literally took him back where he came from, which was a no-kill shelter. I knew that he couldn't be with us. I felt like I failed.
I'm happy you got to fire a dude.
about my dog. he's not the animal we were told we were getting. the previous owner lied on his paperwork. bald-faced lied. that bitch.
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I can only imagine how difficult it must have been. I watch Dog Whisperer (way too much) and I see how desperate people can get when the dog is just too much to handle.