Afraid for my dog after giving her to a stranger

I felt like I needed to share this story. It's a really long one.
I adopted a blind dog from a no-kill shelter 5 years or 6 years ago. She was obviously abused and was found roaming the streets completely filthy. When I met her they were keeping her in a travel size crate not suited for any dog or cat to spend more than a few days in. She was a small mutt- about 15 lbs.
I decided to adopt her.
When we got home everything was good. For the most part, she was definitely food aggressive. I'm compassionate and figured I could deal with the food aggression and etc. About a week or so after adopting her she had to go back to see the shelter vet for a check-up. This dog weighed about 12-15 pounds and it took 4 people to hold her down with a towel over her and a muzzle on her face. She escaped, ran under a desk, and it took them quite some time to coax her out. I never took her back there and found a great holistic doctor nearby.
Over the course of the next two & half years her aggression progressed. At any time she would attack aggressively if touched. It was horrible. I also want to say that during this time I was partying a lot. I would sometime leave her alone for long periods of time (not longer than 24 hours- and I always left tons of food & water). Since I got her she would mark all over the house so I left paper on the floor for her to use- she still marked everywhere but when I left her alone for a long time she could use the potty there. In retrospect this did nothing to make her trust me and probably fed into her fear. During the first year and a half she was with me I lived with a great roommate that started dating a drug addict and became a complete crackhead. This led to a stressful home environment. But at the time I thought her aggression perhaps had a lot to do with her blindness caused by cataracts.
So a little over two years after adopting her I decided to move in with a significant other. During this time her aggression got so bad that for a period of time we kept her in only the living/dining area, which we rarely used (again, this was an awful mistake and mistreatment of my dog). I want to also say that her aggression felt like a degenerative mental disorder. She was extremely possessive of food, toys, anything she wanted to have... For example- if I gave her a treat she would not eat it- she would drop it on the floor and start growling and barking over it. This was the same for feedings- she would very very very rarely just eat her food. Usually she would growl over it for hours. I kept her food bowls attached to twine so I could drag it away from her eventually. If you touched her or the treat or her food or a toy she had- she would seriously viciously attack you. She sent said significant other to the hospital once because she bit her hand & it blew up into the size of a golf ball.
Her aggression seemed to be getting worse even in a quieter apartment. When I adopted her from the shelter they told me they would pay for her cataract surgery eventually. So I decided to start harassing (and I mean HARASSING ) them to fix her eyes and eventually they did! This was no easy task! She underwent major surgery and had to get 4 different eye drops in both of her eyes 4 times a day (or so I remember) for over a month. I had to keep a cone on her and it was awful. This was hard with an aggressive dog but I managed (with the help of a muzzle). Soon enough she could see!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was AMAZING! I thought this would be new beginning. I wasn't expecting a miracle but I was hoping for a little improvement. This didn't happen.
Again, her aggression got worse. During this time due to complaints from our neighbors I had to muzzle her whenever her barking got out of control.... So she started getting muzzled during peak-barking time sometimes... So she started to get muzzled a lot- I would take it off of her-I'm not a lunatic but I could NOT get kicked out of the apartment. So she sometimes spent an hour or so with a muzzle on. This sounds horrible in retrospect but at the time I worked from home so I couldn't take her out every time she started having a barking fit or else we would have been broke.
A year and 3 months later said significant other and I broke up. Sig. Other moved out and I was left to find roommates again. A nightmare. The dog kept peeing in the kitchen, bathroom, and marking everything which drove my roommates crazy (this was no matter how often I took her out). They also complained that she would run and try to attack them & they were afraid of her.
About a year later I met and fell in love with the person I am now married to. I moved far from the northern city I lived in and hoped this switch to a peaceful southern house with a HUGE yard and ample space would help her out. The house came complete with 2 other dogs- which I was worried about since my dog HATED other dogs. I flew down once with her to do a trial run and see if she would fit in... Thankfully she didn't attack the other dogs and seemed to get along well. I was so happy! We moved in and of course- she was still the same. The marking began again, she was extremely aggressive. I thought having a yard would help her act like a dog but she would just cower in the yard usually by the door until we let her in... If we were outside with her she would walk around a little or cower by the door.
Since we now lived in a house- I had to feed her in a separate room from the other dogs because of her food aggression.... She then only wanted to spend time in that room. It became hers... It was a lovely sunny room with a window she could see out of and she would spend all of her time in there... Growling over her toy and food pretty much. It was okay at first but she just shivered and freaked out anytime anybody went in the room or near her. When we weren't there she would stand guard of her toy or food- waiting. It was really really sad.
One day I went into the room to take her for a walk with her leash. I perceived her body signs as saying she was not in an aggressive mood (I became over time, very good at deciphering her aggressive body language). On this day I was wrong. She bit my hand so incredibly hard- it bled profusely and I lost feeling in one of my fingers for a few days.
The next time we were able to get the leash on her-we had to leave it on. Period. I could no longer put it on without being afraid and if you hesitate and are fearful with an aggressive dog- you get bit. So my dog now lived with a leash on.
This was when I started thinking about putting her to sleep. People have been telling me to put her to sleep for some time, many told me to give her back to the shelter, and I never listened. How could I? That was horrible!
But this was horrible too. I had a dog that was miserable and I could not do anything to help her. She just sat in a room, alone most of the time- afraid and angry. She couldn't be pet or given treats to make her happy. I remember just sitting in the room with her crying, not knowing the right thing to do. What kind of life is it never being happy?
Then I decided that we should put her down. This was not a life for her... So we drove a few hours away to visit a family member with all of our dogs... We were going to bring her to a vet there to have her put down. This sucked. My dog did like some things- she was okay if I picked her up- I could usually pet her if I could manage to pick her up. She was also not too aggressive in the car. I guess any time she felt like I was the one REALLY in charge- holding her or in a car- she wouldn't be aggressive... So we spent a day at the families house and the next day we took her to the water- she loved the ocean or river sounds...and the breezes... We then started to drive to the vets office....
During the drive our family called to say they got in touch with somebody that takes in aggressive dogs! I was so happy!!! A person that takes in specifically aggressive dogs?!?!?! Awesome. This person also ran a dog adoption organization that sets up outside of petco/petsmart. I have known people that have done that and they're usually great.
So I called the persons number. She told me my dog would never be kept in a cage or euthanized and that she has a few other aggressive dogs. She told me to drop my dog off at a petco later that day with the person running the adoptions... So I did. The woman was very nasty to me at the petco- I felt I deserved it- afterall I was about to murder my dog. Seriously. I couldn't blame her... The petco woman called me about 5 minutes later and asked me to come back and muzzle my dog... I asked how long they would be there and I told her I'd come back later so my dog wouldn't have to sit with a muzzle on all day.
I called a week later and the nicer woman I originally spoke to on the phone said my dog was now with her because the nasty lady "wasn't the right fit". She again told me that my dog wasn't in a cage and wouldn't be euthanized. I asked for her shipping address and sent her my dogs favorite toy, etc. About a week later I also sent her my dogs eye medication which was the whole reason I sent the first package but I forgot to put it in! In retrospect- I can't get it out of my head that this woman didn't remind me or seem to care about getting my dogs eye medications. She still needed drops whenever her eyes got dry- they would sometimes get dry to the point she would have trouble either opening or closing them.
That was in August 2010. I contacted her again around Christmas of 2010 via e-mail and she e-mailed me back saying everything is fine. I e-mailed her September 2011 with a long winded e-mail about how much I would love to hear how she's doing and I'd like to send money to which her reply back was "she is fine and has fit in nicely" nothing else and I recently e-mailed her again.
The reason I e-mailed her again is because I only knew her first name before...Late one night I started really searching for her organization, name, etc. Eventually I found her! And there was an article written about a shelter her daughter runs where 2 dogs were found dead & the rest had no food or water!!!!!!!!!!!! Her daughters shelter is near where this woman lives. Of course there were message boards with people talking about how horrible this woman is-others saying she's not horrible.... So I sent her a link to the article and said I am concerned and would love to know how my dog is and if she could e-mail me I'd be so happy.
So that is it. My entire story. I still sit up and cry about how horrible it is that I gave my dog to a stranger. Not only that, but what was I thinking? My dog was miserable. I'm sure she is still miserable if she's still alive. I keep thinking back to that time and I know it sounds horrible but I wish I would have contacted a vet that did at home euthanasia and had her put to sleep in 2010 at home.... I feel like I sent her to live with a hoarder or something... I keep imagining her with her eyes hurting stuck in a house with a lunatic. So I don't know what to do... I gave my dog up and I have no rights to her so I can't demand her back. I'm lost, afraid for her, and I don't know what to do.

 

Its a difficult situation. You could ask the animal welfare lot to check as you are concerned - although obviously as you have no rights to the dog, it will be down to the kindness of the individual as to how much they tell you. If the woman is that bad, she will doubtless be known to them. The dog should have gone back to the shelter you adopted it from - I suspect you agreed to that. You should have asked their help in getting a behaviousist out - cost is little compared to cataract surgery. At least back in a rescue, she would have had a chance of being seen and finding someone. If its not working - better to return the animal than live in a house full of misery and anger. I have a rescue that has been here for about seven years. She cries to be touched, and will like to be stroked, then will suddenly snap out of fear as she still expects to be beaten around the head. At least she wants to be touched sometimes now. I could not rehome her because of the risk of biting and being given a death sentence for her actions. If any being deserved being PTS its the bitch that made her that way.
Hey ho. Life goes on. If she writes you that its 'gone to live with a man on a farm' - it often means they are dead - there are only so many lonely old men living solitary lives on farms who are happy to take in an aggressive canine companion.
You could come clean to the original rescue. If your adoptions are like ours, thats where the dog is supposed to go back to. They may be willing to fight for her - may even get her back with just a little pressure. Think thats the dogs best chance to be honest.

 

Thank you for your thoughts. I did contact the original shelter about training/aggression therapy and they refused. The cataract surgery was paid for a by a wealthy woman not directly affiliated with the shelter. I have no idea how they found her, her name, but I did speak to her once to thank her.
I did not return her to the shelter because when I found her they had her contained in a small cat carrier- MUCH too small for any animal to spend prolonged periods of time in and they adopted her out to me, knowing full well that she was aggressive. They never ever told me she was aggressive but when I adopted her and got her paperwork it stated at the bottom "biting, had to be muzzled when found". Also when I took her to the shelter vet for her check-up shortly after adopting her they "knew" her. They KNEW she was aggressive and adopted her out. I don't know why they did this and I wasn't going to return her to there.
So I guess I could contact them but she would probably go on to live in a small cage, which is my fear of where she is now. Or best case she goes to the shelter and they adopt her out again- to inevitable attack other people.... Other people that might beat her for it or leave her outside alone.. I just don't know. It's such a shit situation. My plan is to call the woman until she speaks to me and hopefully figure it out with her.

 

Instead of feeling horrible for giving the dog to a stranger you should feel horrible for not training the dog properly. Yeah, I may be harsh, but seriously, if you don't understand the needs and the dedication that are required for owning aggressive dogs then you should have stopped as soon as you noticed food aggression. Nearly everything you did in reaction to her aggression fed into it that's why it progressed.

I'll never understand some people in regards to their dogs.

so while you may find me callous and crude for saying such, I'll at least say I hope you learned a lesson somehow.

 

I'll just add that you should have sought help for this dog a long time ago. I'll just leave it at that.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

 

I have to agree... i love my dog, but my dog does not qualify for equal emotions to my wife and children. i would never abuse him, or neglect him, but i also dont worry about him too much either. I say this to show that i am not an extreme pet person, just a loving pet owner... that being said, ill use my buddy and fellow springer spaniel owner as an example... My buddy loves his dog, like a child. takes her everywhere he goes, skypes with her when he cant. fortunatley this dog is smart enough to skype back with some tech help form a human of course... mine isnt...

Anyway, my buddy would have never let things progress to where this story has. he would have either sought obedience training for him and the dog, or, despite his love for his animals, if need be, i am confident he would have "euthanized" the dog himself. You simply cannot tolerate a dangerous animal amongst people.

I wont be as callous as some have been, but i will say this... I love my kids more than i have loved anything in this world, and because i love them, i discipline them. i teach them. i coach them. Dogs are jsut like toddlers. if you give them an inch they will take a mile. their motivators are food and play. some kids get stingy and demanding... not unlike your dog... when they do, you correct it. i say all this because the vibe i got form your story is that you didnt have the heart to correct poor behavior. Did you ever spank the dog? they need to know who is master... Did you ever use a choke chain on the dog? They make them for a reason... Even the Dog Whisperer form TV uses one (in Public)... Did you spend time running drills for feeding, pottying, and sitting? how can the animal learn if it isnt taught?

I think the lesson referenced above, is that if you get another pet that has behavioral issues, either step up to the plate and correct those issues, or find someone who will, even if it means turning the dog back in to where you got it...

 

SCBronco

With due respect, this type of case did not warrant the use of choke chains or "spankings". It merely needed an actual alpha to be present with reinforcements and reward training. A fearful dog that acts out aggressively is not going to respond to what you have suggested in the proper outlets. Now, if it were a power breed or a working breed, and the owner was wanting to perform guard/shutzhund etc type training, then yes, what you have suggested would possibly be a tool that could be effective.

This is merely a case of the owner needing training and not the dog. Aggressive dogs don't need "oh, but I LOVE YOU!" type owners who are compassionate to a fault that have no sense of alpha, they need an alpha who is firm, can read signals and who understand the breed characteristics. The mutt argument doesn't fly, because while it may be heinz 57, the dog will display the attributes of the dominant breed if you know what you're looking for.

It's great that the OP rescued a dog that most would have turned a blind eye towards, but compassion is not training and regardless of the intent, the owner is the one who failed here, not the dog.

This is no different than people who pick a pit, rottie, GSD, Cane Corso, etc etc etc because they are cute pups and then expect them to turn into lap dogs when they mature and fail to understand the whole point of the breed. So yeah, this shit pisses me off because it's owners like this who give dogs and specific breeds bad names and those of us who understand how to handle power/aggressive/guard breeds can only watch in horror and disdain. Even a 3lb Chihuahua can become a "power" breed if there is no alpha present.

So yeah, call me callous, call me rude, call me an asshole..I don't really care. The owner failed this dog in every respect.

 

First off, let me apologize, i didnt mean for my post to come across as "calling you out" for the callous remark, second, i think we have said almost the same thing, but just gone about it different ways.

Im not arguing with you at all... and while contact orientexd correction may or may not be suitable for this case, some type of correction and assertion on the part of the owner is suitable, and required, which i think we both agree on... im nto knocking the rescue, or the breed... my point was simply that you cant love the animal so much that you dont correct its misbehavior, or the misbehavior on the part of the owner.

i really didnt mean for it to come across in the manner that it seems you have taken it... i was simply supporting yours and other's previous posts... my apologies...

-Bronc

 

SCBronco,

No I didn't take it the wrong way, sorry it appeared that way. Maybe I misread that you were suggesting contact training in this case, if so, that's my fault. I knew you were agreeing to a point, I just simply wanted to expound on what I wrote previously and clear up that in a fearful aggressive dog, contact training is often counter active, much like a dog on a leash 24/7 is asinine and pointless not to mention cruel.

anyways, carry on.. I've said my bit for now and will just shake my head and move on for a bit until the owner or others chime in.

 

Amen to Borla

He says things in a much more succinct way than I do and makes better analogies as well. Heed his advice or I'll just rant over your stupidity

 

Call your humane society and tell them your concerns. As you said, some people become collectors - and it is an illness. Its the equivalent of making a call when you hear a child screaming out for help in the night. True, the dog may be PTS if it is indeed unhomable - but having said that - I did hear of six fighting pitbulls that were 'lifted' and apparently went on the underground railway and were safely although very cautiously re-homed. (Bless the life saving sabs) Fingers crossed and touch a bit of wood. I wouldnt hit Mad Morgan for snapping - it would make her worse - hers are usualy warning snaps out of fear. She will lose her place on the sofa - or I say you dont get tea for biting, so when tea is out, her manners change rather. She will sit prettily and perhaps whimper softly if she thinks it is running out. She does cry to be touched, but its how she recieves it that is questionable. Vet said her teeth were removed 'by some means'. The Massive boy, like Borla we were aware of it being a guard breed, so spoke to breed welfare for advice, and put effort into socialising him properly. I use a regular collar and lead - and have been overheard telling him 'you pull me again, I will sit on you, and then you'll be sorry - when your legs bow out like a ricketts dog and people point and laugh'. Usually 'Oi!' is enough to have him stop and look up at me waiting for what the mad old bat says next. Will the word 'sausages' pop up or 'liver cake, liver cake, lovely liver cake.' Maybe - on rare and blissfull occassions he will hear the words 'fancy a bucket of tea big head?' Sometimes he is told 'we'll take you back to the vet, and he has stolen your testicles so all thats left is your willy'. Dogs might not hear a full conversation in words, but they do hear whats in a persons heart I think. Obviously the new studies in dogs having esp are right - any dog owner will tell you that. They know more than we give them credit for.