Special to the Star-Herald
Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always the easy thing to do. I had a call from a kind and caring gentleman today. He has a dog that he loves dearly but needed to place because it had bitten and become unpredictable. I could hear in the man’s voice that this decision was not taken lightly and that he was having difficulty in knowing what the right thing to do was. I had to be honest, as we spoke it became clear that this dog was not mentally sound. The dog was very territorial about furniture and his food bowl, and it would bite. I told him that my biggest fears (from a personal experience) in placing a dog like this were, number 1, that the dog would bite someone; and, number 2, that the dog may be abused due to his behavior.
We love our dogs and, in doing so, we tend to make excuses for inappropriate behavior; we try to fix it because we love them, but the next home that you try to place your dog in doesn’t love your dog yet and may not be as forgiving. It is hard to know what the right thing to do is, but if you search your heart, knowing that you love the dog, but that it is biting you, then the answer is clear. No, not to re-home the dog, but to let the dog go to a better place, heaven. You must be responsible and realistic. There are far too many awesome dogs in shelters all across the U.S. who do not have homes; is it fair to place your dog with a family who had great expectations of having a nice pet only to be bitten? Even when you are totally honest about your dog’s issues, people don’t always listen or believe they can fix the dog.
There are other behaviors that could be deemed unacceptable, but biting is a big one. There is no room in my world for a dog who will bite; I am sorry, but that is how I feel personally. If you can’t trust this dog with your own kids and family, why set someone else’s child up to be bitten, it just isn’t responsible.
In speaking with this gentleman, it became clear he knew the answer to his question and was ready to do the responsible thing.
Unfortunately, I cannot make that decision for people, only give my personal opinion. I had a dog once, remember Odie? I worked so hard to fix my boy, spending thousands of dollars, and many many hours of research, reading and training, but I knew in the end, if he couldn’t cope living here with someone who loved him, then the best thing I could do is to set this troubled dog’s soul free. He had what I call his “nervous breakdown.” I made the hard decision, but it was the right one.
We at the Central Aroostook Humane Society work very hard to place only dogs of sound mind and temperament.
Our manager has been trained in different evaluation techniques. We temperament test, then ask ourselves, “would you take this dog into your home?” “Would you want this dog living as your neighbor?”
It is a tough decision to make, but public safety has to be a priority. We also think of the animals needs, and will not set an animal up, who has questionable temperament, to be abused. Remember that no “testing” techinque is foolproof. We can only do our very best. I tell the children that I talk to about dog bite prevention, “Not every dog will bite, but every dog can bite!”
As I said, doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but that is part of the commitment of being a pet owner. If you are looking for a friend for life, please consider adopting your next pet from the Central Aroostook Humane Society. We are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday or give us a call at 764-3441.
Please have your pets spayed or neutered.
