Things I didn't think I'd have to deal with again for at least a few more years:
Having to put a dog to sleep.
My brother's dog has been part of the house here for the past few months. My brother had been having some issues with him that he and his wife thought were behavioral, and they didn't want to deal with around their then-14-month old daughter. He was supposed to be with us for a little while until a more permanent solution could be found. The situation wasn't really all that bad--he's a pretty pleasant dog to be around, generally speaking. He can be a little over-excitable sometimes, and we sort of counted his previous problems toward that because we weren't seeing evidence of any particularly difficult problems. I mean, he was a dog. There were some adjustment issues. He had some problems with dog aggression sometimes, particularly at the fence, but he got along fine with our dog excepting the occasional scuffles over toys/bones/rough housing getting a little out of hand. And at first, those were as likely to be Miska's fault as his. The dogs aren't much different in age--Miska is turning 2 this month, and Sisco (the brother's dog) had his second birthday at some point probably in late December or early January. He was a rescue puppy, so his exact history isn't known.
We were kind of accepting the situation, though, and thinking e might just keep him. He is a good dog, and a lot more obedient than Miska (her obedience has actually improved with him around, because like many dogs she follows the example of other dogs around her doing what they're supposed to), and we hadn't really wanted a second dog, but hey. Life throws you things sometimes.
Then Sisco started having some weirdness. Stiffness or clumsiness that was out of character. Over-excitedness beyond his normal level. And a couple of very erratic shows of aggression. The timing, of course, could not have been worse. My father had some medical bills, including an emergency room visit, earlier this year which put this household's finances in a pretty tight place, and my brother's family is living on my sister-in-law's income while my brother is studying to be an X-ray tech. Taking the dog to the vet was definitely on the priority list, but somewhere below paying off existing human medical bills and handling food, housing and utilities.
The day before we got the check with which we had already planned to take him to the vet, Sisco completely attacked my cat with completely no provocation--or so I'm told. I wasn't there to witness it. I could barely process this then, and I still can hardly believe it. He's always been perfect with the cat. His occasional dog aggression had never, ever extended to other animals, and least of all cats. Seriously, he loves kitties. Luckily, the cat wasn't hurt. But it made it very clear that something was off. What's more, his behavior has been becoming more out of character. Most of the time, he's still an excellent dog, but then he'd so a totally unexpected and unprecedented separation anxiety, or he'd go after Miska without any sign of a reason, or he'd seem to startle over nothing.
In the days since his initial vet visit, things have only gotten worse--he's seemed to have some kind of a mild seizure, and he's attacked a tree. Yes, a tree. He was being normal, it seemed, and then out of nowhere, he charged a tree.
Mom and my brother have been the one's dealing with the vet (my brother and his wife have been pretty good about this, and are helping with the vet bills, so the money issue ought to be more or less settled), and in that as with many of Sisco's worst episodes, I can only speak from second hand. I haven't seen most of these things myself, and the situation just feels amazingly surreal to me. He seems to be a healthy dog, most of the time. He's young, and not as active as Miska, but Miska is a freaking Malamute. A lot of dogs are lazier than her without it being a reflection on some kind of underlying medical concern. I'm sort of hoping writing this will help me process it.
But with the tests results we've had back, and the symptoms my mother has described, the vet feels that the most likely culprits are either brain damage or otherwise a brain tumor or lesion.
The call that my mother and brother are making, faced with that and these random bouts of aggression which seem to be getting worse (considering that he's gone from cats to trees in a matter of days) is to put him to sleep. There are other tests we could run, but costs are still prohibitive in the face of being totally broke and potentially needing to run brain scans on a dog. What's more, his aggression really isn't something that we can deal with. Our location, our other pets, and the fact that my toddler niece spends at least a couple of days a week over here, not to mention the safety of the adults in the household, are all sort of stacked against long decision making processes. I guess. I honestly don't know. I barely slept last night before the phone call (from the vet, no less) that woke me up, and no I'm still trying to deal with and assess all of this.
In the end, it isn't really my choice to make, I just wish that the story of a dog with a brain lesion matched my experience with him better. Making the decision to put a dog to sleep is never easy, and doubly so when he's young and normally happy and healthy seeming. Have I seen some erratic behavior? Yes, some. But I haven't seen anything I'd describe as a seizure, and I haven't seen any of his attacks aside from with the other dog, and those not as extreme as some of them. The closest I've come to seeing his worst is when he attacked Miska and I was able to, pretty much immediately after, see where he'd drawn blood over her eye and on her face. So it's not like it's without evidence, and if that had been my niece... I see why they are making this decision. But still. It's just.
I don't even know. I guess it's just time for me to accept that this is going to be another crap day and another hard, shitty decision. I think the hardest part of having pets is having to be the human and make the calls when it comes down to things like this. We do love this dog, but we can't risk him hurting someone, and it's a medical issue rather than a behavioral one. Mom has made an appointment to have Sisco put to sleep for this evening. Tears have been shed. I am sure there will be more before the day is over.
I wonder if I can just cut my losses on today and go back to bed?
My brother's dog has been part of the house here for the past few months. My brother had been having some issues with him that he and his wife thought were behavioral, and they didn't want to deal with around their then-14-month old daughter. He was supposed to be with us for a little while until a more permanent solution could be found. The situation wasn't really all that bad--he's a pretty pleasant dog to be around, generally speaking. He can be a little over-excitable sometimes, and we sort of counted his previous problems toward that because we weren't seeing evidence of any particularly difficult problems. I mean, he was a dog. There were some adjustment issues. He had some problems with dog aggression sometimes, particularly at the fence, but he got along fine with our dog excepting the occasional scuffles over toys/bones/rough housing getting a little out of hand. And at first, those were as likely to be Miska's fault as his. The dogs aren't much different in age--Miska is turning 2 this month, and Sisco (the brother's dog) had his second birthday at some point probably in late December or early January. He was a rescue puppy, so his exact history isn't known.
We were kind of accepting the situation, though, and thinking e might just keep him. He is a good dog, and a lot more obedient than Miska (her obedience has actually improved with him around, because like many dogs she follows the example of other dogs around her doing what they're supposed to), and we hadn't really wanted a second dog, but hey. Life throws you things sometimes.
Then Sisco started having some weirdness. Stiffness or clumsiness that was out of character. Over-excitedness beyond his normal level. And a couple of very erratic shows of aggression. The timing, of course, could not have been worse. My father had some medical bills, including an emergency room visit, earlier this year which put this household's finances in a pretty tight place, and my brother's family is living on my sister-in-law's income while my brother is studying to be an X-ray tech. Taking the dog to the vet was definitely on the priority list, but somewhere below paying off existing human medical bills and handling food, housing and utilities.
The day before we got the check with which we had already planned to take him to the vet, Sisco completely attacked my cat with completely no provocation--or so I'm told. I wasn't there to witness it. I could barely process this then, and I still can hardly believe it. He's always been perfect with the cat. His occasional dog aggression had never, ever extended to other animals, and least of all cats. Seriously, he loves kitties. Luckily, the cat wasn't hurt. But it made it very clear that something was off. What's more, his behavior has been becoming more out of character. Most of the time, he's still an excellent dog, but then he'd so a totally unexpected and unprecedented separation anxiety, or he'd go after Miska without any sign of a reason, or he'd seem to startle over nothing.
In the days since his initial vet visit, things have only gotten worse--he's seemed to have some kind of a mild seizure, and he's attacked a tree. Yes, a tree. He was being normal, it seemed, and then out of nowhere, he charged a tree.
Mom and my brother have been the one's dealing with the vet (my brother and his wife have been pretty good about this, and are helping with the vet bills, so the money issue ought to be more or less settled), and in that as with many of Sisco's worst episodes, I can only speak from second hand. I haven't seen most of these things myself, and the situation just feels amazingly surreal to me. He seems to be a healthy dog, most of the time. He's young, and not as active as Miska, but Miska is a freaking Malamute. A lot of dogs are lazier than her without it being a reflection on some kind of underlying medical concern. I'm sort of hoping writing this will help me process it.
But with the tests results we've had back, and the symptoms my mother has described, the vet feels that the most likely culprits are either brain damage or otherwise a brain tumor or lesion.
The call that my mother and brother are making, faced with that and these random bouts of aggression which seem to be getting worse (considering that he's gone from cats to trees in a matter of days) is to put him to sleep. There are other tests we could run, but costs are still prohibitive in the face of being totally broke and potentially needing to run brain scans on a dog. What's more, his aggression really isn't something that we can deal with. Our location, our other pets, and the fact that my toddler niece spends at least a couple of days a week over here, not to mention the safety of the adults in the household, are all sort of stacked against long decision making processes. I guess. I honestly don't know. I barely slept last night before the phone call (from the vet, no less) that woke me up, and no I'm still trying to deal with and assess all of this.
In the end, it isn't really my choice to make, I just wish that the story of a dog with a brain lesion matched my experience with him better. Making the decision to put a dog to sleep is never easy, and doubly so when he's young and normally happy and healthy seeming. Have I seen some erratic behavior? Yes, some. But I haven't seen anything I'd describe as a seizure, and I haven't seen any of his attacks aside from with the other dog, and those not as extreme as some of them. The closest I've come to seeing his worst is when he attacked Miska and I was able to, pretty much immediately after, see where he'd drawn blood over her eye and on her face. So it's not like it's without evidence, and if that had been my niece... I see why they are making this decision. But still. It's just.
I don't even know. I guess it's just time for me to accept that this is going to be another crap day and another hard, shitty decision. I think the hardest part of having pets is having to be the human and make the calls when it comes down to things like this. We do love this dog, but we can't risk him hurting someone, and it's a medical issue rather than a behavioral one. Mom has made an appointment to have Sisco put to sleep for this evening. Tears have been shed. I am sure there will be more before the day is over.
I wonder if I can just cut my losses on today and go back to bed?