Daisy

geminilady

arlybarly wrote: »

Just typed a long post and promptly lost it, rubbish ipads.


To the op who thinks i should have had loads tests ect then no way, she was snarling in the vets at dd and anyone who was there,

Im a mother first and dog lover second. Vet said she would probably do it again, 8 bites and a coat ripped to shreds make you lose your trust completely. I do not for one second regret my decision, but we have 2 things to deal with, the loss of our beloved daisy and the knowledge of what happened the last day.

If i

The vet could have done the tests under anesthetic. I agree with the other poster it could have been something treatable but you will never know.

skintandscared_2

gettingready wrote: »

Vets are not behaviourists - to make statements that dog "will do it again".

Something has triggered that awful attack, no question about that.

End result - poor girl bruised from the attack and poor dog alone, obviously unwell for whatever reason being put down by a vet by herself,scared and poor OP having to deal with all and pick up the pieces.

Terrible situation for all involved

To be more accurate, poor girl bruised, bitten eight times and with her coat shredded. I would have been terrified. For whatever reason, the dog was capable of doing that to a human he had loved for 5 years. Imagine if Daisy had then done the same to a small child, and it then came to light she had done it previously to her own owner?! I don't honestly believe I'd be able to take that risk.

geminilady

skintandscared wrote: »

On that advice from the vet and Daisy's behaviour even after the initial attack? I think I would have sadly done exactly what the OP did. But nobody can know for sure unless they've been in that situation.

Other people may have differing opinions but personally I think its unbelievably unfair and cruel to air them on this thread when this has just happened and no doubt arly and daughter are still very emotional about it.

The OP should not have posted if she did not want people to comment.I would want to know why if I had had a dog,a loving member of my family since it was a puppy

trolleyrun

I'm in no doubt that I would've done the same as the OP on this matter. Yes, it's a difficult situation, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I let the dog have the opportunity to do this again. It does sound like the dog have some kind of seizure, but as the vet said, it would probably happen again. Vets don't tend to put animals down without reason.

Arlybarly, you did what you had to do. It was a brave decision, and I don't think it was the easy way out. I don't agree with the people who think you should've let the vet investigate and give Daisy "another chance". An unprovoked attack is never acceptable. I hope your dd is recovering well and that she won't have any lasting effects from this. Take care of yourselves. Hugs to you both.

arlybarly

I posted really because i cant make sense of it, wanted reasurrance really but have had that in real life off family and friends who knew daisy.

They were puncture wound bites not nips at all, bruising is around every one, i have been beating myself up so much ever since this happened, why didnt i take her out not dd then at lease dd wouldnt feel so guilty.

We can all sumise what we would have done in this situation, im not saying i was right im not saying the vet knew everything but i have to think of the safety of others. There is a silence in my house now that is deafening, i miss her so much, but i do not regret one day of those 5 years when she came to us as a ball of playful fluff. You really couldnt have met a more faithful and loving dog, she would give us lots of kisses every day, she knew if we were upset and sit by us with her head on our laps, i miss her so much but i dont regret for one minute what i had to do.

Thankyou yet again for the support ive rcieved on here, not everyone is going to agree with my actions but my dd is safe and not in fear now and as a mother thats the most important thing to me.

hazyjo

Big hugs. Must have been an awful decision.

You absolutely did the right thing.

Your DD was lucky no more damage was done - but it wasn't like your dog didn't try. I know there's really no point in What Ifs, but... that could have been a whole lot worse. Sounds like the coat protected her from the worst of the attack. If that had been summer, bare arms, another dog, a nearby child... I know that didn't happen, and it might have been something treatable (although most brain tumours can not be cured - and I doubt they'd take the risk of causing more damage if operating), but after the dog turning like that, the vet wouldn't really have had much choice to put the dog to sleep.

If you read in the paper about a dog attacking someone, you'd expect it to be PTS. Do we really need for someone to be killed for that to be the right option? Nope. Absolutely the right thing in this case. The dog wasn't just growling or snarling, he actually attacked quite violently.

Hugs xx

mcja

Arlybarly, I have read through all the posts on this and you absolutely dealt with this right. Your daughter showed huge sensibleness and has obviously been brought up to know how to handle a dog. To be able to do what she did in the circumstance..I think I would have let go of the lead.

You could have out yourself and Daisy through a whole heal of tests to be told she was poorly! then had to medicate her only to have her turn again, you need to be able to trust a pet (as much as you can).

I hope you are able to make sense of what happened.
Xx

meritaten

I totally agree with your decision Arly.

Those who would give the dog a second chance - have they considered how they would live with themselves if the dog then attacked again? with fatal consequences?
Because to me it sounds like they are prepared to put people at risk for the purely selfish reason of keeping THEIR pet alive for themselves.
As a mother and a responsible member of society you did the RIGHT thing - and don't let any numpties tell you otherwise!

Spirit_2

So sorry for the tragic day you have had.

This is a dreadful loss for you all, and a brave clear decision none of us would want to have to make.

krlyr

Give the dog a vet check and a second chance, and there's the risk the dog could attack again - possibly with worse consequences. The humans involved aren't just the factor here either, but the dog could be suffering mentally or physically depending on the cause of the behaviour.

Euthanise the dog without thorough medical exams, and you run the risk of having missed a treatable condition that could have resulted in the dog having several happy, issue-free years.

Both decisions have pros and cons, but the latter has a more serious consequence for the dog, the former potentially for the humans involved.

I don't think either decision is right or wrong, and whilst I'd like to think I would choose the second option, there are so many factors that could affect that decision. For example, the dog was showing distress at the vets still - my decision to put a dog through a lot of medical examinations could be swayed by its behaviour at the vets.

As a dog owner, even I would be careful not to put a dog above human safety in every situation. And as a GSD owner, I can understand the size and strength of the breed can make them harder to manage (my previous GSD started to get some minor pain-related aggression issues towards the end of her life, thankfully more predictable and managable than this situation but it was something we had to be very aware of as there were visiting kids in the house). Not to mention the reputation of the breed - if OP's dog were to attack again, I imagine the press would be all over it much more than if it were a "Labradoodle" or a fluffy little lapdog.

At the very least, dogs have no expectancy of their lifespan, they don't know if they're destined to be here for 3 years or 13. We may regret taking away those extra years, but the dog will not be aware of it. They've just gone to the vet, and gone to sleep.