We gave our aggressive dog to a family friend and it injured another dog so severely the dog needed to be euthanized. Our friend doesn't want the dog anymore, what should be do? We are broke and scared of him but he's a great and loyal dog. I don't want to put him down, but we are strapped for time.

Question

3 years ago my husband and I rescued a terrier mix from a southern rescue. Having had such good luck with our first rescue, we figured we couldn't go wrong. We were told Charlie was 6 months old, house and crate trained. 

The day we got Charlie he was covered in scratches, bites and feces. He was also clearly younger than 6 months old. His teeth had just started to poke through. Either way we brought him home and started to work with him. It was a nightmare. He was anxious and dog aggressive towards children and most other dogs.

To make a long story short, we spent thousands of dollars and had him (and us) in a 12 week intensive dog training camp right before our son was born due to his aggressiveness towards children. at first he responded really well. He loved being busy... keeping us happy. Every now and then while on a walk he would lunge at certain dogs and children, but not all.

Because of this we decided we re home Charlie to someone who doesn't have children or any other dogs. A family friend said the would take him, so we started to ease Charlie into his new owners. I would show them how I walk him, they would walk him... I explained that he was not to be trusted off leash unless there were no dogs or small children around and to ALWAYS be mindful of the fact that he has these aggressive tendencies.

Fast forward to last night. I got a phone call from Charlie's new owners saying that Charlie attacked their landlord's dog (the landlord has a 12 year old cocker spaniel who lives in the same building) and the dog was put down due to injuries. Both dogs weren't leashed and they don't want Charlie anymore. My husband and I were coming back from a vacation and got home and called his vet. She told us the only humane this to do was euthanize him. No shelter would take him due to a bite history and rehoming him would be like giving someone a ticking time bomb.

What do I do? What if he turns on my other small dog or god forbid my baby? We're broke and scared of him. I know he's great and capable of so much. He's a great and loyal dog.

Please give me some advice. I don't want to put him down, but we're strapped for time.

Accepted Answer

I'm sorry but we can't tell you what to do in a case like this. This problem has been 3 years in the making. If the people you rehomed this dog with didn't offer him leadership or training then this was bound to happen. What happened here is why I always caution people about rehoming aggressive dogs.

It's blatantly unfair that a dog is allowed to behave this way for 3 years and then put in the position to attack another dog. To let a dog like this off leash is irresponsible (it's also irresponsible for the owner of the dog that was injured to have their dog off leash).

I'm going to say that if this dog attacked one of my dogs, and injured it to the point that it was euthanized I would sue. I'm not someone who is a fan of solving things via lawyers but in this case I would.

This dog has been let down by the humans in charge. I would let the people who you gave Charlie to have a piece of my mind.

We have resources on our website, to show you how to properly deal with him if you decide to.

Start with our groundwork program, Pack Structure for the Family Pet and Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.

We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.

Usually when we get emails like this, the people writing want us to justify why the dog should be put down so they don't feel as guilty. It's unfortunate that we get many emails like this every week, and in most (not all, but most) cases simple training and leadership in the beginning could have kept the dog on the right track. I can't really sentence a dog to death via email, just like I can't help with medical issues via email.

I can only give you information so you can make decisions based on what's best for your situation.

Good luck.