spiritdogs
Posted : 6/19/2010 6:18:06 PM
This is soooooooo not your fault, and I had a feeling this would be the outcome, but hoped you wouldn't need to know. That shelter is not somewhere that I would ever again adopt a dog from. First of all, they are in complete denial of any breed predispositions to dog aggression. The fact that she did not warn is classic bully breed behavior when they are dog aggressive, and any shelter operator should know such basic information. Brain tumors are rare, dog aggressive bully breeds are not rare. Secondly, if she was returned once, a thorough behavior check should have been done at that time before she was adopted out again, rather than subject you to this heartbreak. Bully breeds that are returned to shelters sometimes are made by people who lie about the reason because they don't want to be responsible for the dog's death, and they hope against hope that the "right" home awaits and everything will turn out happily ever after. That rarely happens. Who really wants a dog they cannot take for walks, to the pet store, or to the agility field without worrying that something will happen or someone's dog will be injured or killed? You did exactly the right thing. You were honest. And, you probably saved Trinket from possibly being abused (many aggressive dogs that get adopted out end up being punished severely by their owners when they growl, bite, etc.). She will always be your dog, and will be there at the Bridge to greet you - you were the only responsible owner she ever had and as sad as this whole thing is, you should be proud of having done the right thing, and for loving her for the brief time you shared...