New Family Member
- Thread starter bmac
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siphoxolo
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- Feb 21, 2003
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- SE Michigan in the middle of nowhere
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- Kubota M9000 HDCC3 M9000 HDC
That is a familiar scene at our house times 4. We never throw out and food. What my wife and I don't consume, the dogs do.
They all sit at our feet waiting patiently for their dinner, or our dinner, depending on what way you look at it.
They all sit at our feet waiting patiently for their dinner, or our dinner, depending on what way you look at it.
ikline
Silver Member
Looks like Peg was really hungry, she ate part of the plate. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Well, I thought I needed to ressurect this old thread because I'm feeling a little hypocritical right now. If you read my earlier posts here, I made some comments about commitment, loyalty and love when referring to our then-new family member Lucy. I still believe everything I said last year when we discovered that Lucy had some health problems. But, I'm saddened to report that Lucy is in the process of finding a new home.
At about 6 months of age, she started to develop an aggressive behavior towards our little ****zus. She had also "snipped" at some young children visiting our home as well as my 2 children. In addition to these problems, she continued to be destructive, eating a sofa, leather recliner, woodwork, etc. This last problem was more aggravation than anything else and, although I feel she will eventually outgrow this, the destructive behavior worsened over time. We enlisted the services of a dog trainer who came to our house and spent many hours with us. I say dog trainer, actually, he was training us /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. We did see some initial improvements in Lucy's behavior but her training was interupted due to some surgery she required. and she quickly reverted back to her old ways.
It became clear to us that Lucy needed to be in a home where she was the only dog and with owners who could dedicate the time necessary to teach and reinforce some "social skills" that I and my family failed to do.
So, this past Sunday, I reluctantly turned Lucy over to a "foster parent" from the bulldog rescue group. Lucy will spend at least a week or two with this volunteer who will observe Lucy's behavior and then match her with an applicant who can satisfy Lucy's needs. She will be placed in a home with no other dogs and no small children and with an owner who can give her the time and attention she deserves. For those of you who have adopted rescue dogs, you know that there is a screening process involved along with follow-up visits to ensure the adopted dog will be well cared for.
Needless to say, we had a difficult time explaining to the kids why Lucy had to find a new home. My 7 year old daughter, with tears in her eyes, reminded me of my "pets are family" speech from last year (and we think our kids don't listen to us). Boy, that was a tough parenting moment. However, because we have young children who have young friends that often come over to play, my wife and I felt we were being irresponsible by keeping a dog who had aggressive tendencies. Were another child seriously injured by Lucy, we would not have been able to forgive ourselves. I hope we conveyed this to our daughter. Dang, parenting can be tough!
In any event, attached is a photo Lucy's foster mom sent us today. I'd say she looks happy. Wish I was /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.
Because of the kind words many of you offered last year when I originally introduced Lucy to TBN, I felt it was important to admit that I failed to live up to the accolades that were offered here. You see, I think we failed Lucy rather than her failing us. She required more time and attention that we were able (?willing?) to provide. And that, my TBN friends, saddens me more than Lucy's departure.
At about 6 months of age, she started to develop an aggressive behavior towards our little ****zus. She had also "snipped" at some young children visiting our home as well as my 2 children. In addition to these problems, she continued to be destructive, eating a sofa, leather recliner, woodwork, etc. This last problem was more aggravation than anything else and, although I feel she will eventually outgrow this, the destructive behavior worsened over time. We enlisted the services of a dog trainer who came to our house and spent many hours with us. I say dog trainer, actually, he was training us /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. We did see some initial improvements in Lucy's behavior but her training was interupted due to some surgery she required. and she quickly reverted back to her old ways.
It became clear to us that Lucy needed to be in a home where she was the only dog and with owners who could dedicate the time necessary to teach and reinforce some "social skills" that I and my family failed to do.
So, this past Sunday, I reluctantly turned Lucy over to a "foster parent" from the bulldog rescue group. Lucy will spend at least a week or two with this volunteer who will observe Lucy's behavior and then match her with an applicant who can satisfy Lucy's needs. She will be placed in a home with no other dogs and no small children and with an owner who can give her the time and attention she deserves. For those of you who have adopted rescue dogs, you know that there is a screening process involved along with follow-up visits to ensure the adopted dog will be well cared for.
Needless to say, we had a difficult time explaining to the kids why Lucy had to find a new home. My 7 year old daughter, with tears in her eyes, reminded me of my "pets are family" speech from last year (and we think our kids don't listen to us). Boy, that was a tough parenting moment. However, because we have young children who have young friends that often come over to play, my wife and I felt we were being irresponsible by keeping a dog who had aggressive tendencies. Were another child seriously injured by Lucy, we would not have been able to forgive ourselves. I hope we conveyed this to our daughter. Dang, parenting can be tough!
In any event, attached is a photo Lucy's foster mom sent us today. I'd say she looks happy. Wish I was /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.
Because of the kind words many of you offered last year when I originally introduced Lucy to TBN, I felt it was important to admit that I failed to live up to the accolades that were offered here. You see, I think we failed Lucy rather than her failing us. She required more time and attention that we were able (?willing?) to provide. And that, my TBN friends, saddens me more than Lucy's departure.
