@eeeefarm said in 7 year old Basenji who needs a family:
but dogs don't get the same benefit of the doubt. People often are the authors of their own misfortune. It's too bad it's the animal that suffers the consequences.<<
The answer there is obvious... we hold dogs accountable for having human reasoning, but we don't horses. Of course dogs have reasoning, but it's not ours and people don't get it. It's like people saying their dog KNOWS it's wrong to poop in the house. Well.. no. They know you get mad if they do, they know if you train them they are supposed to go out. But wrong? No.
Sadly, unlike horses, dogs live with us up close and personal. So if one person can handle the horse, no one else has to be around it generally. With the dog, it is trapped in social structure. You can bet your bottom dollar my grandparent's farm dogs would chew you up if you came on the property at night other than to the front porch or drive... but folks expected that and they didn't sue you if they got bit. We are too litigation happy. I am sad that that precise factor makes me so anti-biter placing, because most of the time, I can and do get if a dog is simply unstable or there is good reasoning (at least for the dog) to bite.
Years ago Leora and I were at a dog show and she ... I KNOW she knew better... just suddenly pet this sleeping Great Dane as I was talking to someone next to them. The dog could have inhaled her.. she was maybe 40 pounds and it was huge. It left pink marks on her little white hand as it startled. The owners turned whiter than Leora (which is saying a lot as her friend says she rivals paper). Yes, I could have reported the dog to AKC, but I had zero doubt this was a first, and that the owners would never ever allow such a thing. I calmed them, chastised Leora for risking the dog's life over her behavior, and went on my way.
Years ago, I agreed to evaluate a severely abused 6 or 7 yr old Lhasa the rescue said was named Hannah when they asked me to evaluate her for them. They coordinator called me after about 4 days and asked if I was ever going to deal with them again.. and then admitted this dog had bitten several people, that they actually called her Hannibell Lecture, but they couldn't bear to put her down and if I felt it had to be done, they were behind me. They just wanted one last chance.
I put her on prozac because as it got dark out, she began to get bug-eyed and scary. When you know she was locked in a basement with only a partial window for light for at least 5 yrs... so pitch dark all night.. it made sense. After a few months, she became less fearful and frantic, but she'd still bite. I actually was planning to put her down, but a friend was here and we went to give her a bath and both of us sat bawling because she was so incredibly sweet when she wasn't crazy. Another friend, on a farm, no kids-- didn't like them so no one took small kids to her house lol -- said bring her to me. She lived the next 6 yrs in the huge cat/laundr rooms, cuddling with the cats and having a happy life. If Sally said "walkie walkie" and Hannah growled, she left her. When she didn't growl, she took her for potty breaks and walks. The trade off was Sally's husband refused to do the laundry or cat rooms as long as Hannah was alive. My vet was angry with me for not putting her down, until she got an eye infection and they boarded her 2 weeks clearing it up. So the vet called and said Sally and I were right, and nearly cried talking about how trusting and sweet she was while they medicated and put stuff in her eye. But if I hadn't had a Sally, I'd have had to put her down. So I'm not heartless, just pragmatic. Sally would never have sued me, the dog was on a 13 acre (Paso Fino) farm with almost zero risk for hurting anyone living with dog savvy owners.
As an aside, this same rescue though, nearly got shut down over placing an incredibly beautiful and equally unstable Pekingese in six, yes SIX FREAKING HOMES, with six bite incidents before they put it down. What made me furious is not only did they cause 5 people to get bitten after the first one, they also lost 5 homes that would have taken in and loved a dog that would never use their rescue again, and they assuredly told countless people never go to rescue. The damage just ripples out. So I oscillate between care for the dogs, and wanting to save them, and then balancing one dog against the damage it can do in so many ways beyond just a bite.
A dog savvy secure home. Nancy ... I really hope this works out!
