So, we are not going to have a great few days. We have discussed getting rid of her for quite some time, and after the day we had yesterday, realized that we were punishing her and ourselves for prolonging it. Basically, her temperament is one that has to be handled by someone who knows more than we do. She has to be alpha, even over Corey and I, and that has caused problems from the beginning. As first time dog owners, we did not realize it, but there is nothing you can do to fix her temperament. Lately, she has been attacking Bo, sometimes for no reason, but usually over food. He will come to me for protection (after defending himself the best he can), and then not want to be near her for a while. Yesterday morning, she attacked him again (the attacks increased while she was in heat and had been decreasing until the last few days). Then last night, Corey was standing and eating a snack while I was laying in our bean bag cushion, when she attacked Bo again. We had a difficult time separating the two to calm her down and she seemed worse than normal. Then a few minutes later, Corey came and laid down with me. Bo was already laying down beside me, and Bailey came to lay on Corey's stomach. She must not have liked the look Bo gave to her, as she attacked him again, really bad, except that I was in between them. I got bit and we jumped in quicker than normal to separate them. It was scary. After that, we decided that sooner than later would be best to discuss getting rid of her, made a call to animal control and they came and picked her up this morning. I really am struggling with it. I know that deep down it is for the best, and we honestly do not know if they are putting her down, or going to find a better place for her than we can provide. She is so sweet most of the time, and that is what I will remember. She is extremely close to Corey, and at night would sit on his lap and he would pet her. If he quit earlier than she wanted, she would nudge him or nibble on his fingers to get him to continue. She would lick his face in appreciation and love.
Poor Bo is lost now. He saw me go to the back and get her leash and harness, know that he did not get his put on, and that she left and did not come back. He went to the door, looked at it, looked back at me, and looked at the door again, totally confused. I took him outside and he just stood there sniffing the air for her. I took him on a walk to clear his mind. Hopefully he will be okay after a few hours.
Corey and I on the other hand are just a mess. It will take more than a few hours for us to heal. This morning, we went outside with them after we woke them up, and he picked her up to give her his last hug, and she just licked his face as the tears streamed down. It was bittersweet. She has this cute yawn that she has done since she was a wee little puppy, but as she's grown older, has not done it nearly as often. She did that this morning for us, one last time. I could go on forever about her little fun things that she does, but maybe that will be better for a later date.
Bailey at 5 weeks. Mischief maker from the start!
Her favorite way to eat snacks. Later on, she would roll over to get her belly rubbed.
The twins, as I like to call them, at about 8 weeks old. We were rock climbing, and they tagged along. Great playmates.
One of the last pictures of our lovely Bailey, April 14, 2008. She knew something was up, but did not know what. Bailey, we are so sorry we couldn't give you the best home where you could truly be yourself.Just tell me that we are not evil.
4 comments:
That is probably one of the hardest things you'll have to do as a pet owner. When we lived in Cali, we had a lovely dog named Nigel. We were told when we rescued him that he was crate trained (which was the only option, since we both worked full time), but over time, we realized that wasn't really true. We spent as much time as we could with him, only leaving him in his crate as little as possible, but after he had hurt himself trying to get out, we had to take him back. It was really hard, and we both cried. You'll make it through.
No, you guys aren't bad parents. We had to do the same with a dear kitten that we liked. She was an Alpha cat. Used to beat up poor Archie (it was funny because Susie used to say that Faelyn was feminist and wasn't gonna let any guy dominate her!)even though she was a pint sized little thing. Susie was in her early pregnancy with Delaney when we had to send her away. She used to tangle herself in Susie's feet and it was a little dangerous because I didn't want Susie to have an unexpected fall. Susie cried and even to this day misses her lots. The two dogs that we have now are both Alpha dogs. They constantly fight with one another. One is a miniature pinscher and the other a terrier.
p.s. Have you checked out the cute pictures of your niece brushing her teeth?
Maybe it was the fact that she had another dog to compete with, so if she ends up being an "only dog" she might be a better dog. But it sounds like it's really the best thing since all of you were in danger of being hurt when she was in her "alpha" mood. Unfortunately you can't tell them to go to their rooms as you can when other siblings fight, but none of us ever got into physical fights or bit someone. Everything will turn out all right.
Yes, Bailey Sue will be sorely missed, but like everyone has said, and I reiterate, it sounds like it was a good choice to finally do something about it. It's like "the straw that broke the camel's back" kind of thing since you guys still hadn't fully decided on keeping her or not. But at any rate it was fun while it lasted and now you can focus on keeping Bo as a nice dog, right?
~Heidi
P.S. It's actually kind of like with Cheech, just on a larger scale. She's a "tough" little girl and doesn't let just anyone play with her or push her around! But she is silly.
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