Yesterday we said goodbye to a beloved member of my family: our four year old schnauzer named Ike. He didn't die or anything morbid like that. Mom said that we had to return him to the shelter where we got him half a year ago. He had gotten into the habit of biting people almost every time he was touched. This started last April after a huge thunderstorm one night. Ike was in his pen, and the thunder terrified him. After that moment, whenever there was a thunderstorm, he would run and hide in the most inconvenient of places. Whenever you would try to coax him out, he would bite you. This used to only happen when there was a storm, but soon it started to happen whenever he was picked up or told to go to his pen.
Other than the biting, he was a very sweet dog. He loved to just crawl up next to you and lay down. He loved to go for walks. He loved playing fetch. He loved being brushed. He loved just being there. He was easier to train than our other dog, Oscar, and was able to do many things. I taught him to dance, my sister taught him to roll over.
The man from the shelter met with us yesterday. He took Ike away. I thought that I would be sad, but honestly, I wasn't. There was nothing there. My mind told me that Ike was gone for good now and my heart replied with a "meh". There was no emotion. I wasn't sad to see him go and I wasn't happy to see him go, I just felt nothing.
Man... I'm a jerk.
Not a jerk, is it being put to sleep? If not that's probably why your not sad. I honestly don't get sad about animals aside from a simple "Awe how sad." That's only when I accidentally run one over with my car.
~~~~~I wanna change the world. Who's with me?!!~~~~~
I am something of an animal lover. Not a crazy PETA type, but rather a ex-farm-boy who has lived with animals of one kind or another my entire life. I think that owning a pet is a privilege that comes with a great deal of responsiblity, and I always cringe when I hear of an owner giving up on an animal just because they don't know how to properly care for and train them. Dogs are really very easy to train, if you know what you are doing.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ian_dunbar_on_dog_friendly_dog_training.html
Proper training is essential for any pet, and sometimes that means turning to outside help to get it. Was the shelter you contacted to take your pet away a "no kill" facility? If not, the situation is unfortunate, but it could be worse. If it IS a kill facility, then I have to agree with you when you say, "Man... I'm a jerk."
TTFN,
Blackout
---
Marriage in the Bible
---
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the Progressive U community.
The whole thing was not my idea. My sister and I made a little progress with Ike, but my mother wasn't willing to risk another "attack".
She also claimed that since I was the only one taking care of the dogs she would have to give away one of them eventually because I leave for college next month. Oscar is more managable than Ike in her opinion.
And no. Ike will be raised in the shelter and re-trained before anyone can come and take him. Hopefully my mother will reconsider (it may not be too late) and I'll see Ike on the holidays.