please give an extra hug to your furry family members. This is Lincoln. Due to an increase in aggressive behavior, primarily towards children, his human has decided the best
and I don't want to cry to his human about it...because I know he is hurting very much right now and I don't want to put my hurt on him, too. So...I'm sharing here.
he looked into options. He considered training and even medication for anxiety. There are a lot of kids in the family, (the dog bit 2 over the past couple of years) and the logistics of visiting family
w/o the dog were getting impossible. He thought about finding a home for him, but finding someone who'd take a dog with behavioral issues who also could keep him away from children 24/7 wasn't realistic either
He's a heeler...it's in his nature to nip at the heels of small animals (read: children) but he was showing real fear around any fast moving people, too.
He was also involved in a bad car accident years ago, and the recovery process, it seems, made him very insecure around other dogs, who he also started showing aggression towards.
he really did think through all the options...and this seems like the kindest solution for all involved in the long run..it just doesn't feel that way right now. sigh
we thought about how awful it would be if Lincoln DID bite someone else and he was taken away & destroyed because of it. the guilt of the harm caused, and the trauma of having Lincoln taken...would be too much.
i think it happened this afternoon...that was the plan. but thank you for the suggestion, it's a good one. if by some chance he couldn't go through with it, i'll recommend that avenue.
I'm so, so sorry. And I think it's better that a decision like this be made with live and carried out with kindness than a bad bite incident occur and the dog be taken away and put down.