I will probably not be blogging as much for awhile. I am grieving, and it may take some time for me to get back to normal.
As most of you know, I had a rescued Pit Bull.
The dog had been uncontrollable for about two years.
I really do not know what happened to her, it's just like a switch turned on when she turned five years old and we could not get it turned off.
I lived with her in her crazed state of mind for about two years, too long.
I took her to training and worked with her starting the week I got her, and like I said, she was fine up until she turned five, then she just changed drastically.
I still took her to several other trainers AFTER she started behaving in an unsafe manner, and even they could not figure it out. It was NOT that she was not loved, it was NOT that she was not excercised (we walked her two times a day for 45 minutes each time), and it definitely was NOT that she was not socialized... I took my baby everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.
But, as two of the trainers told me, she is just doing what comes naturally to Pit Bulls.
There was not the option of adopting her into a new home. Obviously is she was not safe with me, then she would not be safe with anyone else.
Her aggression and unpredictability got so bad, that it got to the point that she could no longer go anywhere, except on her walks, and I had to be very careful that nobody or no dog approached us.
Well, I cannot have an unsafe dog with children. I cannot have a dog-aggressive dog. I cannot have a dog that I cannot physically control, or one that kills anything that gets in our yard, or one that is such a liability, I just could not do it anymore.
Having a Pit Bull mentally drained me, seriously.
I loved her very much, but on August 5th, I had to say good-bye, to her, and Pit Bulls, forever.
Rest in peace baby girl . I will miss you forever. All dogs should be as lucky to be as loved as you were.
Even though I'm ok with my decision, I'm not ok..... Does that make sense?
I am so, so sorry that you and she had to go through that. I understand perfectly--sometimes the right thing to do is the thing that rips your heart out. You have my very, very sincere sympathies.
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense, and I am very sorry for your loss. You, your family and your dog have joined the many other victims of a dishonest pit bull advocacy campaign.
ReplyDeleteIt broke all of our hearts.. Even everyone in my family, and especially my children, they knew it was the right thing to do though.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words of kindness.
And Turkey, you are right. I don't think most people know that this is happening more and more. I spoke with a woman that worked at the vet I took my dog to when she was euthanized, and she said this happens often, for many different reasons but mostly for aggression or being uncontrollable, and occassionally just when a Pit Bull attack is in the news. I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteJulie, you made a very brave and difficult decision. A decision that Steven Hayashi and many other owners of pit bulls fail to make, even after their dog causes injury and death to human beings or animals. In time, I think you will find that the "space" your dog took up, in worry and concern, will become filled with positive life experiences and loving memories of your dog.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is, you did the right thing - for the dog, for yourself, your family, and for the safety of your community. A friend of mine went through a very similar progression with his pit bull.
ReplyDeleteAs the dog matured, it became dog aggressive, and then stranger aggressive, then aggressive towards friends the dog had known since it was a puppy. As time went on, the dog became more and more isolated, spending most of its time in a back yard kennel and handled only by the adults in the family. In a final surprise incident, the dog lunged at one of the children through a sliding glass door, cracking the glass across the entire panel. He was outside with the dog at the time, so he grabbed the dog by the collar causing it to spin around and clamp down on his arm. He was lucky to shake the dog loose from his sleeve without serious injury, and put the dog back in its kennel.
At that moment, he realized he'd allowed this to progress to the point that it might not even be safe to take the dog to be euthanized, as his pit had become completely unpredictable. With no options left, he felt the only thing he could do was enter the kennel and shoot his own dog, an event he considers one of the worst experiences of his life.
As difficult as this is for you, you did the right thing. You didn't let this come to a violent end, or risk an incident that would haunt you the rest of your days.
Oh, Julie, I am in tears for you. I know how hard this decision was for you to make. I realize that you loved this dog too. Did you make the right decision, yes you did. Many would chose the wrong way and re-home the dog, lying about it at the same time. You did all you could do, don't ever doubt your decision. I grieve with you, for you and for the dog. What else can I say?
ReplyDeleteAlso, by the way, what you are doing is honoring her memory by supporting BSL. Trying to prevent the bad breeding of pits that ends up with them having to be euthanized is honorable. Can you post a picture on this blog and a memorial?
ReplyDeleteMany might think that us "pit haters" would be overjoyed at this decision but I think you see that we are not. We feel for you, we understand you loved the dog. Pit or not, euthanization is never an easy decision. We agree with your decision but in no way can we be happy that you have had to endured all of this. Neither do we like knowing that another pit has lost it's life because of what it is. Man made dogs, fools made pits for their perverted entertainment. I would like to believe that at Rainbow Bridge, pits become the dogs that all dogs should be, loving, faithful, gentle companions, their genetics left behind on the earthly plain.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry... I know what you're going through....
ReplyDeleteI had to put an aggressive pet to sleep about a year ago. I tried confinement and separation, but it didn't work because he figured out how to unlatch his cage door and severely mauled two of my other pets. It was the worse day of my life.
I felt like a monster as the vet was doing his job, but afterwards even though I was still heartbroken I felt immense relief. I do not want to go through that ever again!
B.
I read your post and I bawled. My condolences to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteI've read about your journey and have seen how thoughtful you are about your dog's welfare and the welfare of your family. I know you loved her. I know she was an adorable pet for you and your family for so long.
Don't feel guilty for waiting too long or for acting too fast. It's a terrible decision to have to make, whatever the circumstance, and you knew the time was right.
I hope you and your family heal quickly.
I know you already know this, but I want to tell you that I understand, too. Her quality of life would have progressively declined as her aggression developed, and she would not have enjoyed her increasing isolation from people and daily life. You did everything possible to make her a loved pet for as long as possible, and she lived her best life with you.
I hope you continue your blog as a tribute and memorial to her. She won't have lived for nothing.
Supporting BSL is an insult to your dog's memory. How could any of you think BSL is in the best interest of this breed. You obviously don't know what it means.
ReplyDeleteAnd ALL the other dog attacks in this country don't result in injury or deaths--just the ones by pitbulls??? Seriously...? So...after all the pitbulls are banned, there won't be any more dog attacks mentioned in the news because we all know pitbulls are the only problem breed in the world and the only breed that can hurt someone.
The ignorance and close-mindedness in the world never ceases to amaze me.
No one "hates" these dogs despite the humane smokescreen blown by the Pit community. People hate the grotesque breed stewardship that produces funerals, lifeflights and Pits being euthanized by the truckload at tax payer expense.
ReplyDeleteCan somebody please explain the logic behind "BSL helps pitbulls"?
ReplyDeleteAs for your decision - have you considered a medical reason, maybe cancer, gum/teeth disease, pain in general for the changed behavior? At age 5 many diseases start showing up.
My dog did not have ANY health problems. Of course I thought about this being an issue and had her checked and even got two other opinions.
ReplyDeleteAs far as how bsl helps Pit Bulls, I will answer that when I get home. Right now I am headed out to a doctors appointment.
I am sorry to be demanding, but...I cannot wait!
ReplyDeleteThe one that wrote you on September 1, 2010 11:42 AM
I apologize, I forgot about this.
ReplyDeleteSo to answer your question, let me first say this - I am not an expert. I am just stating how I think Pits can be helped through my own experience. First of all if you realize that there IS a problem with these dogs killing and attacking people much more often than other breeds, and then be honest with yourself and see that they are very abused and overbred. It should be easy to come up with solutions to these problems.
Pits are different when they attack, they often do not stop, they often do it unprovoked and with devastating results. A Pit attack is not like any other breed attack. That is why they should be treated different than other breeds. They need strict and specific guidelines - muzzled when out on public, if kept outdoors they sould be behind very secure fencing with concrete floors and a roof, if someone owns a Pit they should have to have a very high amount of insurance, they should be required to be registered with that city, give pictures, only be allowed so many per home, and things like that. And then as far as the abuse and overbreeding IT IS BAD. VERY BAD! The only way to stop it is to have these tight laws on the breed. And I think that every Pit should have to be spayed or neutered, unless you have the okay from your city because you have a breeder license (and those should not just be given out freely). Most shelters are overrun with Pits which automatically says there is a problem with the people that own them. Mandatory spay and neuter would be beneficial to the breed in so many more ways than just one. I hope I explained it to you to in a way that makes sense to you like it does me.
Read this post too - http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2009/12/pit-bulls-and-holocaust-deniers.html
Yes, you did explain. Thank you. But here is what I got from your explanation: you not only think there is something wrong with pit bulls, but also with people who own them ("Most shelters are overrun with Pits which automatically says there is a problem with the people that own them.") I am afraid then you and I could not have a reasonable conversation, since you think there is something wrong with me based on what dog I may have...Nevertheless, I will try. First of all, you need to understand that when you call for BSL you are not asking for spay/neuter, muzzling etc, you are asking for killing of the breed, to be more specific - no dog even looking like a pit bull is allowed in the area. This is that simple. On the other hand, I could not agree more with you with requirements for spay/neuter, for breeding license, for registering the dog with pictures with the authorities and only a certain number of dogs per household (based maybe on square footage or care givers). That should be for every dog, not only pit bulls. If you go to California shelters, most of them are over flowing with chihuahuas. As for registering your dog - it would be safer for the dog in case it gets lost and identification purposes on all ends. And number restriction is a must for neighbors' well being as well as everybody's involved in the household. When it comes to your proposed requirements for the outside dog - I have to say, I don't agree with the dog's confinement outside, in any shape or form. I walk my dog on the leash when we are off property, and if she is in the back yard, I am always there. Yes, always, even if it is just peeing. Muzzling - there should be a weight requirement, not a breed. I say so based on my personal experience - any big dog does big damage...
ReplyDeleteWell in short, I don't think your requests are unreasonable. On the contrary, I agree with you on the measures, maybe not with the reasons behind it all. However, when you demand for BSL, in most jurisdictions you are proposing killing the dogs based on how they look, maybe what they capable of doing (this is philosophical question, since just like humans - we are capable of killing, but only few do so, thank goodness...) but certainly not for what they have done. Hence, if I may, don't say you are FOR BSL, unless you are FOR KILLING DOGS BASED ON HOW THEY LOOK.
Sorry for your lose. Staggered that anyone would choose to comment here toward you in a negative way.
ReplyDeleteSo that’s why most of you seem so angry, malicious, hateful and bitter. You’re all former pit bull owners who had to have you dogs put to sleep. Wow. When I first came here I thought you all were just caught up in the media frenzy and decided to hate Pit Bulls because that’s what the news said to do. Reading this I realized you don’t actually hate pit bulls, you’re hurt because of losing your own dogs. Now I’m not gonna try to say “oh get another Pit Bull it might work out” or “just et them all die” what I do want to say is just cherish the good memories of your dogs. Do not dwell on the bad memories dwell on the good memories, realize that even though they may have had problems at least for a time things were going smoothly. I do have one thing I would like to say, perhaps giving the dogs up to someone who knew how to handles dogs that had a lot of problems would have felt better. This is just my opinion not me trying to boss anyone around, none of what I have said was me trying to boss anyone around. Well this will be my last time posting on the blog until I acquire my dog and if anyone would like some helpful advice or anything else just tell me. With that I leave you all with my deepest sympathy, condolences and prayers for you along with your families and the good memories of the dogs you once had.
ReplyDeleteSayonara <3
P.S.
If anyone seeks to contact me you can either message me or find me over at the VRC(Villalobos Rescue Center) blog.