Need Advice About Lucy Options

[Kim R.]

Hi everybody. Well, I haven't been posting lately because I have been so busy with everything, but I have been reading and praying for you all.
For those of you who read my post 'It's been nearly two years~am I ready for this' I am having a new delimma with Lucy, and knew this was the best place to ask for advice. She has begun to act aggressive toward my daughter about anything that is close to her. She has bitten my daughter twice, which is a zero tolerance behavior when it comes to my child, so I know she can't stay here with us permanently, even if I wanted her to, as she can't be trusted with her. She just loved my daughter in the beginning so I don't know what triggered it, but it has happened none the less. The first incident, Lucy was eating a treat, and Regan ,my daughter, was wanting to help feed her the chunks that were falling (as she always does with our other dog) and Lucy became food aggressive with her (which she hadn't been with us). We decided that we would crate her while she was eating and that would be the end of that. Well, soon after, one of my daughters toy's was lying next to Lucy, and when she went to get it, Lucy bit her again. She hasn't broken the skin, but she left some pretty nice purple indentures! We tried to seperate her into a spare room, but she freaked out and started clawing at the door and barking and howling. Now she is having to stay out in the garage, where she has free access to the backyard, because we can't risk any further aggressive action toward our daughter..no matter what the cause. I really think this household is just too much for an older dog that is used to being an only child with only one elderly person in the household. I think she would be much happier in a more calm environment and that her behavior is only a result of the stress of all the activity around her that she isn't used to. She is still just as loving as she can be with me and my husband and we can do anything we want with her and her food and she never (so far) has given us any trouble, so I think it is just environment and the noise and activity that comes with a 2 year old. I guess my real issue is what do you think of me for deciding that this must be a foster situation (as it was originally intended) only with no hope of a permanent situation. I wrote to an animal loving friend of mine looking for guidance and she basically made me feel terrible about it. She said when you live with animals, you have to expect these things to happen. She said I should better teach my 2 year old. She said I should try 'flower essence' and so forth to try to calm Lucy. The problem is that I'm not willing to use my child as a guinea pig and try a hit or miss method of trying to 'fix' something that is obviously a cause of general unhappiness with her surroundings, nor do I think it is ever acceptable for anyone to allow their child to live in a less than safe environment no matter how much they love animals. I was so hurt when she said 'if you are gonna get rid of Lucy, then you might as well get rid of all of your animals because any animal is capable of biting'. It made me feel as though I was throwing Lucy away like garbage when it isn't like that at all. If I didn't care about her, I would have never rescued her in the first place. I just have such mixed feelings now. I can't keep her, that isn't fair to my daughter, but if I let her go into the rescue that wants to take her next week, I have now been made to feel as though I have thrown her away. I did everything I could to give her a second chance, and just because it can't be here with me doesn't mean she can't still have a happy life...right? I can't say I regret getting her out of that shelter, she was facing a terrible death in there, but part of me does feel now like I should have just left things alone....I just feel terrible. Please give me your opinions on this...even if they may not be what I want to hear...I really need some guidance right now from as many minds as are willing to share..
Thanks yall~Love,
Kim

[Kim R.]

Daisy's mommmy,

For those of us who consider our pets to be members of the family, the thought of killing them for any other reason than they are terminally ill and in pain is unthinkable.

I am one of those people who consider my pets part of the family, otherwise I would have never found LS to begin with. And even though I agree that I don't want Lucy to lose her life, and I am trying my best to prevent it, it is a possibility that she faces, not because of me, but because of the terrible people that dumped her in the shelter. There are millions of healthy animals that are 'murdered' each year because there just aren't enough homes for them all. I got Lucy out at the last minute ( as she was scheduled to be killed the next day) , but I can only do so much...I just can't save them all.

there is no reason why a suitable home cannot be found for a dog like Lucy, who is a loving, faithful pet, who simply can't be with small children. A home with an older childless couple or single person would be perfect. She might even be alright in a home with older children, over the age of 12 or so

The rescue feels this way as well. No one is considering euthanasia at this point and won't unless she enters a state of suffering ( her arthritis is quite severe) before she is placed in a permanent home.

It is not her fault that a baby entered the home and certainly not a reason to end her life.

I just want to give a reminder that it has only been a couple of weeks since we pulled Lucy from the shelter and that she entered the childs home, not the other way around. When we brought Lucy home, it wasn't ever intended as a permanent situation, we only served as a last ditch effort to try and save her from a horrible death...we didn't have time to work out any of the details with her temperment or other issues so we knew we may be taking on a very dificult animal to place in a permanent home, but we had to at least try. I agree with Sue when she says that if Lucy must be euthanized, it is much better to go by injection with loving people by her side than to be thrown in a gas chamber to choke to death. Either way, her sitution has been made better regardless of what the future holds for her.

Killing a healthy animal to me is murder. I am sorry if this sounds strong, but I feel very strongly about it.

I agree completely, so it doesn't sound strong to me at all. I only wish there were more people out there who were willing to act on these feelings and also foster animals in need to give them a better chance for life. It may not always end up like we want it to, but at least it's a chance for them...that's a heck of a lot better than no chance at all.
Kim