Today was a very rough day for me and my family. I had to say goodbye to my dog of 9 years 'Finley'. He has been having little 'altercations' with my 2 year old daughter that have been escalating. He finally bit her about a month ago. That was the last straw with him.
He is a great dog he just has a love hate relationship with the 2 year old. She loves him, he doesn't so much. With having baby #2 coming sometime in the next 8 weeks or so I know that Finley would of been pushed over the edge with another child.
He is now in a foster home with a rescue group and will remain there until he is adopted. This was a very hard decision for me to make but I know that it is the best for everyone involved.
My heart aches and my eyes hurt from crying all day today. my husband even got chocked up some. I am waiting for our daughter to look for him...........
Thanks for letting me blow off some steam-hootyhu
I know it is hard and very sad, but you did the right thing. You wouldn't have wanted your granddaughter to be hurt even tho you loved finley too.
It is in the nature of a dog to be very jealous. I hope he finds someone to care as much as you do.
((hooty)) - I'm so sorry you had to give up your dog, Finley. It's hard for animals when they've been the star of the show and then someone else comes on the scene (your daughter). With a new baby on the way you did the right thing as you wouldn't want the baby to get bit too.
Plus, with an upcoming move, that would be yet another change for Finley.
Go ahead and grieve for your dear Finley and pray that he finds a loving family that will love him as much as you do.
Hugs,
Bucky
I'm so sorry for the day that you and your family had to go through today...I can only imagine how sad you must feel. I am glad to hear that Finley is with a foster family of a rescue group and waiting to be adopted...I hope he finds a new and loving home very soon.
My thoughts are with you and your family as you grieve the loss of Finley.
I am so sorry also to hear this. It is a hard thing to deal with, but you didn't have a choice. I have 4 dogs, and they get jealous of each other with our attention, but we love them all. Also our big white cat, but the dogs look after him.
I said a prayer for all of you, and that he will be sent a new person to care for him, and give him all the attention without the other concerns.
You take care, and your precious family also. Life can be difficult.
susanep :)
Hi :)
Oh my, I was glad when I got to the end of your post and realised the dog has been fostered! Before I got to that bit I thought you must have had him destroyed for biting!
I totally understand you missing him but really you are protecting him and the children. It must have been a hard decision to make.
Take care - Scottie :)
It is hard to loose one of our 4 legged friends. When we lost each it was hard.
I'm so sorry to hear of this my thoughts are with you I love animals and know how heartbreaking it can be to lose one.
I so sorry that you had to lose your dog. It's hard to lose an animals either way.
Thank You everyone! Your kind words mean a lot to me. I have friends and some 'facebook friends' that do see me differently since i made this choice however, most of them dont have small children etc.
I know that this was the best thing for everyone involved and I am so grateful to have people that I don't even know offer me words of kindness.
-hootyhu
Hooty,
I understand this must have been such a hard decision to make, but in the end, we must do what's best for our children and family foremost.
Each person's situation is different, and sounds as if you did what was best under the circumstances. We understand! ;)
I hope your dear Finley will be found a great home that's a good match for him. I support you in your tough decision.
Take care, dear.
Melinda
Please don't listen to the people who are giving you a hard time about this. You made the right, albeit hard, decision. I'll share me niece's story with you. She was a cute, sweet, extremely chubby (that's important to the story) second grader who had a friend that lived 2 houses away. The little girl called and asked her to come play and my sister asked her if her mom was home. The little girl LIED and said yes, but since my sister didn't know the truth, she let her go. She had played there many times before. The little girl hollered out the window for my niece to go around back and that she moved the barricade for her to come through the gate. When my niece did, she was savagely attacked by the girl's pet rottweiler. They had just adopted him and he had been prone to biting his last family but they thought they could change him with love. He bit her forearm and threw her down into her stomach and then proceeded to chew and dig up her back right shoulder. My sister heard her screaming and ran as fast as she could to get to her. By the time she got there, she was torn up really bad. The little girl had beat her dog off my niece with a log. And her mom wasn't even home. Her big sister who has down syndrome was asleep in her bedroom through the whole thing. My sister carried my niece home and called the ambulance. At the hospital they said the only thing that saved her was being thrown onto her stomach. Her obesity saved her back and shoulder from sustaining too much damage. If she had been skinny, the doctors said she would have lost her whole arm. She is still horrifically scarred and has had a few surgeries to correct the damage and has a few more in her future as she grows. The dog was destroyed and it not only was sad for the dog, but the family loved their dog. That poor girl had to watch her pet 'eat' her friend (that's how she described it for years, she is still traumatized four years later) but then had to beat her pet with a log to save her friend's life. We're talking 7 year olds here.
Unfortunately the story doesn't end there. My sister also had a big black lab at the time of the attack and a year later he developed a brain tumor and for no reason attacked my niece. Bit her on the side of the head because she turned her face away in time. And then a few weeks later bit my daughter's hand. And another friend's kid. He also had to be put down and it was so hard. But what could have happened if she didn't put him down could have been worse. Had it been jealousy and not a tumor she would have rehomed him, too.
Finley will go to a family without kids and be pampered and well loved until the day he crosses the rainbow bridge :). He will never forget you and will always have that unconditional doggy love for you. He's just off on another adventure. I wonder if you could have an 'open adoption' for him so you can still drop by once in a while to see him? I don't know if that would be hard on either of you. I send you hugs and support. You did the best for your family.
Iknow how hard it was to let your pouchy go, but you made the best decision. My dog Raven died of old age, she was 19. It is all the same we love them and we miss them. Be kind to yourself. Ceceraven
Oh how hard this is for you!
And of course it is the right decision.
Small children simply cannot be exposed to an animal that isn't totally calm and able to deal with them.
The 'right home' will be the very best answer.
Possibly older people or a young couple with no children.
Hang in there.
You have a LOT going on.
Take it a day at a time.
And one day you will get the right dog at the right time and all will be well.
Keep us posted.
Hugs
Elaine
thank you all again for the kind words and, MissyLou......your poor niece, I am so sorry! Everyday it is getting easier for me and my daughter still asks about him but she knows that he is at a new home where he is happy so she is ok with it. My husband and I sometimes think we still here him in quiet moments, kinda weird but kinda comical. I will always have fond memories of my Finley he really was the best lil dog ever, he just needed more.
hootyhu
When we adopted Corky from his mommy with breast cancer, he wrote her letters telling her about his wonderful adventures at Camp Campbell. His trip to New York City, stories about his canine brothers and sisters, and such were most welcomed by his parents.
I bet you could keep in touch with his new family.
Hugs, Sharon