The Red Dog
A story from a volunteer's perspective
Last night, I received a phone call. The woman that called me had heard that I helped with rescuing border collies. Could I help them? She has an 18 month old female border collie. The border collie is aggressive and the family has an appointment for today to have the dog euthanized. After spending a great deal of time talking with the woman, I learned the following. The dog was purchased at a pet store as a puppy. No, she doesn't have papers, but they were told she is a purebred border collie. I started asking a lot of questions. How do you know the dog is aggressive? How does she behave? The dog chases the neighbor's toddler along the fence. The dog is food protective and growls when the kids bother her while she eats. The dog stole a cookie out of the woman's hand, and when the woman disciplined the dog, the dog snapped at her. The dog is very aggressive toward the woman. How is she with the husband? She is just fine with him and listens to him, but the woman can't control the dog. Has the dog had obedience training or have you sought professional help? No, they have no money for that kind of stuff. Where does the dog stay? Tied to the dog house in the back yard. What does she look like? She is red and white. She was long-haired, but they had her professionally groomed and shaved so that she looks short-haired. (No money for dog training, but enough to have the dog professionally groomed!?). When is the dog scheduled to be euthanized? Tomorrow afternoon. I spoke with the woman for quite some time and tried to enlighten her on border collies and behavioral problems in dogs.
Now I live more than 100 miles from this woman, and work full time. I told her I would work on getting someone to assess the dog and try to arrange to get the dog placed in foster care. Could I work on it, and call them in the morning? Well, I sent email, made phone calls, and talked with several friends about the dog. I talked with my husband about the fact that we may have to take in yet another dog. This morning, I called the woman, and asked her to postpone the vet appointment until I was able to get a friend out to assess the dog. No deal. They have decided that it is easier for them to just put her down.
Well, I guess they got what they wanted out of the dog. The kids have had the opportunity to learn about owning a pet. You buy a puppy, you don't learn about the breed before you purchase, you fail to train it, and when things don't work out well, you kill it.
My heart bleeds for the red dog whose name I don't even want to know. My only comment to the woman this morning was 'I know that I can't make you change your mind, I hope that you understand that you needed to call us long before it got to this point, and that you will have to live with the decision that you are making. We could very probably help this dog if you only gave us the chance'. I cry for this unnamed red dog, and all the other puppy mill dogs who are born and die for a few measly bucks for a breeder. I cry for all the puppies who like this red dog will never have the opportunities that mine have had. You see, we own a 'red dog'. Our Abby was in this position once herself. She was fear aggressive. If it weren't for the loving care of a wonderful rescuer in New York who saw a young dog with potential, we might not have this wonderful little dog today. I am sad for this dog and angry at stupid people. Could I have helped this dog? I don't know. Did I have the resources? Yes, I think so.
If you have a dog and are in a situation like this or know someone who is, please call your local rescue and allow them to do what they can to help. There are many avenues to choose, please chose the right one for you and your dog.
