SiriusBlack
New member
We are so, so grieved as we decided to let our beloved, very young (14 months) boy go this weekend. In the end, his aggression became more severe and occurred more often. I am plagued wondering what happened and what we could have done differently, but our behaviorist thinks while his several ortho issues definitely contributed to his reactivity, the majority of it was probably genetic. We tried surgeries, therapies, medications, everything we could think of for the pain--but he could still not walk more than 15-20 mins without collapsing.
We also tried conditioning, antidepressants, anti anxiety, positive reinforcement clicker training, and desensitization for several months with a trained veterinary behaviorist, but his aggression towards children and his extreme noise reactivity (violent reactions to noises) put everyone at risk. He was just not a stable dog. We were in touch with our regional Newf rescue, but in the end, because of his aggression, he was not a candidate for rehoming, and we believe it was our responsibility as his people to let him go.
We are devastated. I can't even describe how much pain we feel.
We made the decision last week and he went gently to sleep on Saturday afternoon, in the backyard, beside his favorite digging spot, surrounded by his whole family. My young daughters and my husband and I were weeping over him and telling him how much we loved him. None of this was his fault. He wanted so badly to be a good dog--I know that.
His entire medical team (physical therapist, vet, veterinary behaviorist, trainer, surgeon) all told us we were making the right choice, but I doubted it right up until the last minute.
I actually felt the most peace after he was already gone, as the tone in our house changed dramatically, and my kids were no longer confined to their bedroom as they had been for so many weeks as we tried desperately to condition him. I realized how tense and vigilant he had been for so long, and I was glad that he didn't have to suffer that anxiety anymore. But it's still so hard.
We are glad we let him go before he did tremendous damage to anyone or to himself. I can't describe how awful it feels to make that choice, but we are also comforted knowing we could do that one last thing for him.
The house feels so empty, and quiet, and clean. I hate it. I miss him tremendously. Our hearts are totally broken. He was a good boy deep down, and we will always remember that.
Thank you to everyone for your love and prayers and support. Much love to all. This is what I posted on his IG page and the FB page:
***
Sirius Black Marauding as Padfoot.
8/31/2015-11/5/2016
We are so sorry and so deeply sad that we couldn't fix you. We tried so, so hard. But we are also so glad that you were our puppy, and that you came to be in our family. It was a difficult, heartbreaking, awful and beautiful privilege to be able to set you free from the pain and anxiety you suffered your whole short life. Thank you for loving us. I hope you know how much we love you back. Goodbye, buddy. May you finally be perfect and whole and at peace. We will miss you forever, our sweet, goofy baby boy.
We also tried conditioning, antidepressants, anti anxiety, positive reinforcement clicker training, and desensitization for several months with a trained veterinary behaviorist, but his aggression towards children and his extreme noise reactivity (violent reactions to noises) put everyone at risk. He was just not a stable dog. We were in touch with our regional Newf rescue, but in the end, because of his aggression, he was not a candidate for rehoming, and we believe it was our responsibility as his people to let him go.
We are devastated. I can't even describe how much pain we feel.
We made the decision last week and he went gently to sleep on Saturday afternoon, in the backyard, beside his favorite digging spot, surrounded by his whole family. My young daughters and my husband and I were weeping over him and telling him how much we loved him. None of this was his fault. He wanted so badly to be a good dog--I know that.
His entire medical team (physical therapist, vet, veterinary behaviorist, trainer, surgeon) all told us we were making the right choice, but I doubted it right up until the last minute.
I actually felt the most peace after he was already gone, as the tone in our house changed dramatically, and my kids were no longer confined to their bedroom as they had been for so many weeks as we tried desperately to condition him. I realized how tense and vigilant he had been for so long, and I was glad that he didn't have to suffer that anxiety anymore. But it's still so hard.
We are glad we let him go before he did tremendous damage to anyone or to himself. I can't describe how awful it feels to make that choice, but we are also comforted knowing we could do that one last thing for him.
The house feels so empty, and quiet, and clean. I hate it. I miss him tremendously. Our hearts are totally broken. He was a good boy deep down, and we will always remember that.
Thank you to everyone for your love and prayers and support. Much love to all. This is what I posted on his IG page and the FB page:
***
Sirius Black Marauding as Padfoot.
8/31/2015-11/5/2016
We are so sorry and so deeply sad that we couldn't fix you. We tried so, so hard. But we are also so glad that you were our puppy, and that you came to be in our family. It was a difficult, heartbreaking, awful and beautiful privilege to be able to set you free from the pain and anxiety you suffered your whole short life. Thank you for loving us. I hope you know how much we love you back. Goodbye, buddy. May you finally be perfect and whole and at peace. We will miss you forever, our sweet, goofy baby boy.
