I had a rescue dog once that was called Oscar. Oscar had a rough life before he came to me. Both the rescue organization told me that, and I could tell when I examined his stomach. He had some very deep cuts on his stomach which obviously was abuse.
Oscar acted out from day one. He really liked causing problems. He did things that my other dog didn’t do. One day I came home and the couch was destroyed. He had chewed the fabric and pulled out the stuffing. It was quite a sight to come home to a couch that was all over the living room. At first, I felt angry, but then I realized that he was bored and that he did this because he was probably stressed as well. It wasn’t fair to leave him with toys like I did my other dog he needed more attention.
So I gave him more attention. For months his fear became less and I felt that we finally made progress where he was going to accept me as a good person in his life. Then one day I was playing with him and he bite me. Sometimes when you play with dogs they will fake bite you, but not pierce the skin, but he did pierce the skin and he didn’t realize this was a problem. Now this was a much bigger problem than Oscar realized.
I lived next to an elementary school and the children would put their hands through the chain link fence and pet my two dogs Oscar was one of them. I couldn’t have him bite one of the kids. That wouldn’t be fair to the child or to Oscar. I talked to my dog trainer, I talked to my dog walker who would stop by the house and take the dogs out for a walk, and I called the vet and did research on the Internet. Apparently, once a dog starts biting, it is almost impossible to not have it happen again.
So with a sad heart, I made an appointment with the vet. I had the dog put to sleep and it died in my arms. I am not telling you this to feel bad for me, my point will be shortly clear. For me, the day that the dog was abused the death of Oscar was certain. We don’t always see the hurt and pain that other humans have in their life, but just like Oscar hurts them deeply. So we try to be kind to others because with kindness others learn to trust and not bite others.
Oscar had a good if brief life with me, and I also protected the children that they encountered. The rescue organization was disbanded and no other rescue organizations would want him. Shelters said he was unacceptable. What would you have done if you were in my place?