Feeling Guilty, Feeling Guilty Options

[ChrissyW]

I don't post very often but it seems lately I am feeling guilty of an adoption that went wrong. I wanted/needed another dog similiar to my boy that passed away and went and found a dog at a local shelter. I was so happy and excited. My kids wanted another dog. But 3 long weeks with a dog that we lived around because of undisclosed illness I couldn't trust him around my children. My cats and other dogs were terrified of him and he tried to get aggressive with my husband so we got on the phone with rescues. No avail. No one wanted to talk to me or couldn't take him. I couldn't risk my children getting hurt. My vet was out and the rescue that kinda helped me ran me through the coals. I am not a vet and don't know why my vet did what he did for diagnosing this dog. Any way we ended having to take him back to the shelter. I didn't want to but for my children I did. I feel super guilty. I am not a bad person, in fact I wish I had a ranch and a lot of money to help animals. Granted our society doesn't really look at animals as part of a family but a possesion. This guilt leads to my boys death. Being a woman, when my hormones go wacky, it brings his death to the surface and I cry. I want him back. I guess I have made it easy on me by putting pictures up everywhere I am. I try to remember the good times. But the guilt doesn't seem to be leaving. I come here and I cry and feel for everyone here at LS. In a way I am sorry we had to come together in this time of sorrow. I also don't know if the sick dog got a new home or went to Rainbow Bridge to meet up with my boy. I hope he is not mad at me. As the title says I am feeling guilty. I just needed to say it somewhere. Thanks for listening.
ChrissyW

[Kathleen032]

Dear Chrissy,

I know exactly how you feel. About 6 weeks after Shiloh died, I was so lonely for dog energy. I had to go to the pet store for kitty supplies and they were having a pet adoption. I met a cute little dog and felt a connection immediately. I ended up adopting her. She was shy and timid from being abused, but she promised to be a good dog. That night when I got her home, she started limping, by the next day she couldn't walk. I took her to my vet who did a full exam and x-rays. My vet said that the dog, "Foxie," had ligament damage in her back leg and possible hip dysplasia. My vet said that there was the possibility that Foxie would need surgery for the ligament damage. I was so sad. I felt like the adoption people had misrepresented her. I had no choice but to take her back to the adoption agency, too. Had I not just 6 weeks earlier gone through caring for a sick dog, I might have weathered it. But I knew emotionally and financially I couldn't cope. I felt so guilty about not being able to care for her and at the same time I felt misled by the adoption agency. If Foxie had been healthy, I would have kept her...just like you would've kept your new dog had he not been aggressive. Please don't feel guilty...you tried.

If I had the money, I'd have the biggest animal rescue in the world. I just wish all humans felt like we do about animals.
Take care,
Kathleen