I miss her...

[yilduz]

My dog had to be put down yesterday due to her escalating possession guarding issues. She was always great with people, but she didn't trust other animals when they got near her "resources" (food, treats, certain people, etc). She would turn very aggressive which was unlike her normal personality and even after a year of everything we could think of, we couldn't break her of it. It was a very hard decision and I really, really miss her, but we couldn't let her be a threat to the other animals. We looked for months, but couldn't find anyone willing and able to take her. Inexperience, lack of time, economy, and other factors prevented her from going to a place she could be rehabilitated.

She was a very good dog and I loved her very much. I decided to make a site in her memory. It's not finished yet, but in case you'd like to see it, http://www.AthenaPup.com. I plan on eventually expanding it into an informational site for people in similar situations, and how to be a responsible owner, breeder, etc. Some day when I'm in a better money situation, I can set up some sort of fund to help get dogs like her the rehabilitation they need, because if they're anything like her, they'll surely be great dogs and have touched many people.

Anyway... I've talked about her before in this site, so I figured I'd let you all know what came of her. My beloved Athena is gone and I miss her very much.

 

[Mike]

Very sorry to read this, Dennis!

In regards to your plans of turning your site into a resources site, you should talk to Liquidcherry (Frank). If someone has a heart for dogs it's Frank - second to none.

All the best,

M.

 

[maximum]

Sorry for your loss. Just see her as being in a better place where no one (animal or otherwise) is a "threat" to her "resources" any more.

 

[Vito]

That is very sad.
I know...Our dog is a big part of our family.

You did the right and responsible thing.

Sorry for your loss,
and best of luck on your site!

 

[GF]

I am SO sorry to hear about your loss. Best of luck with this site -- all the best to you.

-Galel

 

[liquidcherry]

Very sorry to read this, Dennis!

In regards to your plans of turning your site into a resources site, you should talk to Liquidcherry (Frank). If someone has a heart for dogs it's Frank - second to none.

All the best,

M.

Thx Mike

Dennis, i feel with you-sorry to hear that.

It is always heartbreaking to lose your best friend but i am sure she is in doggie heaven and is chasing squirrels right now

I am in a similar situation right now, even Victoria Stillwell from "It's me or the dog" helped me and we had huge success, we had some major setbacks and i need to re home Olivia(the aggressive Golden) but with her issues it will be almost impossible, i am aware of that and probably there is only one final solution.

(My last try is to contact Dogtown what i will do this week )

In regards to your idea making a resource site, i love it and i would be more than glad to work with you together on that (let's hook up via PM or messenger)

Cheers

Frank

 

[yilduz]

Thank you, guys... and Frank, I appreciate it.
I'll send a PM when I get the site a little more finished. Thank you very much.

 

[Michelle]

Hugs... I am so so sorry ...

 

[Corey]

candle lit for the two of you

 

[enlytend]

Dennis and Frank, I feel so sorry for you both and my thoughts are with you - in that kind of situation you do the best you can and for many, finances and logistics make for a very sad choice .

Frank - have you checked out any of the people on the ABS list of certified behaviorists? I don't know if any of them are a possibility for you, but they are the top specialists in that field and have done some amazing things. A lot of them work out of the veterinary school hospitals - Tufts, UPA ...

http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

Also, you may want to check out some of the books by Pam Dennison, who specializes in dog aggression - "Bringing Light to Shadow" tells her own journey with her aggressive rescue Border Collie, also her "how to" book, "How to right and dog gone wrong" (google the titles) I've known her for years and have seen the amazing job she's done with some really difficult dogs.

I became an animal behavior junkie years ago when I had a dog/people aggressive dog. We worked through it, but it's a bit easier to do when the dog in question is medium-small (she also never threatened *me*!)

If either of you want any other behavior related resources for your site or for your personal use, feel free to PM me.

 

[yilduz]

Thank you, everyone... and thank you for the offers to help.
I'll send some messages when the time comes. I don't plan on letting that be too far into the future.

 

[liquidcherry]

Dennis and Frank, I feel so sorry for you both and my thoughts are with you - in that kind of situation you do the best you can and for many, finances and logistics make for a very sad choice .

Frank - have you checked out any of the people on the ABS list of certified behaviorists? I don't know if any of them are a possibility for you, but they are the top specialists in that field and have done some amazing things. A lot of them work out of the veterinary school hospitals - Tufts, UPA ...

http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory

Also, you may want to check out some of the books by Pam Dennison, who specializes in dog aggression - "Bringing Light to Shadow" tells her own journey with her aggressive rescue Border Collie, also her "how to" book, "How to right and dog gone wrong" (google the titles) I've known her for years and have seen the amazing job she's done with some really difficult dogs.

I became an animal behavior junkie years ago when I had a dog/people aggressive dog. We worked through it, but it's a bit easier to do when the dog in question is medium-small (she also never threatened *me*!)

If either of you want any other behavior related resources for your site or for your personal use, feel free to PM me.

Hey enlytend,

Thx, i will hit you with a PM anyway but like i said, we got featured on Animal Planet, Victoria Stilwell from "It's me or the Dog" was in our house and helped us tremendously at the beginning but we had major setbacks(last incident let me crippled, got my left hand into the middle of a dogfight and one of my tendons is now cut) and like Dennis, i don't have the time(being unemployed and searching for a job), dedication(14 fights are enough) and nerves anymore...i usually never give up but i am out of options...don't get me wrong, i love Olivia and she is a good dog, i have control over her 95% of the time....but it takes so much of my time...not an option anymore, my marriage is on stake too

Sad but true (still have one chance left, Dogtown)...or...do you wanna take her??

Cheers

Frank

P.Si have 3 other dogs with more issues).....

 

[yilduz]

Hey enlytend,

Thx, i will hit you with a PM anyway but like i said, we got featured on Animal Planet, Victoria Stilwell from "It's me or the Dog" was in our house and helped us tremendously at the beginning but we had major setbacks(last incident let me crippled, got my left hand into the middle of a dogfight and one of my tendons is now cut) and like Dennis, i don't have the time(being unemployed and searching for a job), dedication(14 fights are enough) and nerves anymore...i usually never give up but i am out of options...don't get me wrong, i love Olivia and she is a good dog, i have control over her 95% of the time....but it takes so much of my time...not an option anymore, my marriage is on stake too

Sad but true (still have one chance left, Dogtown)...or...do you wanna take her??

Cheers

Frank

P.Si have 3 other dogs with more issues).....

Your situation is very, very similar to the way mine was. I feel for you and wish you the best of luck. %%-
I really hope you're able to get her the help she deserves. I'd love to learn enough and some day in the future be able to take dogs like this and try to help them.

 

[liquidcherry]

THX Dennis, that means a lot to me and lets hook up and really do something because there are thousands of dog owners out there with similar issues....

Cheers

frank

 

[enlytend]

we had major setbacks(last incident let me crippled, got my left hand into the middle of a dogfight and one of my tendons is now cut) and like Dennis, i don't have the time(being unemployed and searching for a job), dedication(14 fights are enough) and nerves anymore.

Perfectly understandable - you can't risk your own health, your wife's health, your marriage or your other dogs and there's no way you could adequately manage this dog (prevent incidents) while going through the long reconditioning process - you have your hands more than full !

It's sad to hear of a Golden with these issues because it's so contrary to the typical nature of the breed. Unfortunately, it seems to be happening more and more ...

Sad but true (still have one chance left, Dogtown)...or...do you wanna take her??

Sorry - I have 3 dogs, 3 cats (sadly, soon to be just two ) and a very small house - "play nice with others" is a must around here!

Anyway, if you guys want to pick my brain for resources for the site let me know - I mostly run in agility circles (no pun intended) but I've had success with my own dogs and students' dogs with certain issues (mostly phobias), know a lot of behavior specialists and can recommend tons of books, videos, etc. for just about any issue.

Hugs to you both !

 

[Phoebe_]

My dog also has the same attitude with your dog... Our cats left our house bec of the that. Even though she's like that we never allow any harm to be done to her coz we love her very much... Still I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. It's hard to accept. awww that made me cry