Making the decision to let a pet go

I was just wondering if anyone has ever had to make the decision of putting their pet down. I love my dog, whom I rescued a year and a half ago, more than anything. He has completely changed my life. He sometimes makes it extremely stressful but he is my baby and brings more joy to me than anything. I work at an animal hospital and he came in as a stray. I fell in love with him the first time he looked at me over his shoulder. unfortunately almost two months ago my (now ex) boyfriend decided that we shouldn't be together and kicked the two of us out of our home. We had bought a house together about 4 months before that. Now I am pretty much homeless and living with my mother who wants me out asap. The two of us do not get along at all. I have been trying my hardest to find an apartment that I can afford, $8 an hour full time doesn't cut it, and that will take a 73lb dog. I fib and say he is about 50lds. But I have had no luck. I feel as if I have come to make his life miserable along with mine. I have been so depressed and tired that I can't keep up with him. I am going to school and soon will be working 2 jobs. I don't have the time for him and I feel that I am not giving him the quality of life he deserves. I can't even find a home I can afford for myself without him. I don't want to let him go but I feel as if I have no other option. I have thought about taking him to a shelter but he is a pit bull mix and I deal with strays at work. I know that they will put him down. Most of the pit bulls I send from animal control to shelters get euthanized. I don't want to abandon him and have people he doesn't know scare him and put him down. He is a one person dog and is not good at all with most men. He is extremely dog aggressive and I don't see any hope for him with someone else. I have looked through work to see if I can find him a new home but unfortunately we are all animal lovers and have a few more than we should. I keep telling myself that I have given him a year and a half that was amazing and that he wouldn't of other wise had. But it is so hard. I can't even say it out loud to the doctors to schedual an appointment.

Im sorry if this seemed to be a complete ramble of dissorganized words but I needed to vent. I was just wondering if others have ever had to go through something like this. It's bad enough that I have lost my best friend, family and home but now I have to face losing my baby. I don't know what else to do.

I feel as if I have come to make his life miserable along with mine.

I am sure this is not the case. All they need is to be with their owners, doesn't matter to them whether that is living in a mansion or under a bridge.

But I sympathise with your situation and I am sure you have exhausted all possibilities (friends, dog homes etc.) and I can imagine Pit Bulls are not easy to place.

I hope you do not have to resort to the final solution but I do like the way you have rationalised it, you have given him 18 good months that he would otherwise not have had.

All I can suggest is that you hang out as long as you possibly can and keep your eyes and ears open to possible alternatives.

hey, i would never dream of putting down my babies unless they were sooo sick that it would be better for them that way. but i can understand where you are coming from.

can u put signs up saying "dog for sale" with a picture of your beautiful baby, or something like that????

i would really feel for you if u had to put him down... cant your ex do something???? did you buy the dog together or look after it together??? can the dog stay at ur ex's for a while, at lest until you set yourself up????

this must be really hard for you...

if u need to talk im here

I can sympathise with how you feel. I had a little rotty pup follow me home one day and after searching the entire neighbourhood for the owenr, no one knoew who he belonged to. I looked after him and he was my best friend for 5 years. He was a great guard dog, very protective, but was also VERY tolerant of little kids pulling his ears and tail and very gentle. When we moved into a unit, I had to take him to the pound. I know he got a new home because I made sure I'd found out when someone chose him but it still broke my heart and hurts to think about even now.

I think you should hold on and just keep looking, something will come up eventually.

please keep us posted as to what your decision is, because no matter what happens, all of us here will be here for you. i really hope it doesnt come to putting him down. but please let us know what happens.

i have had a similar experience. my mum died a year ago and i got no support from my dad, who has recently kicked me out. i went to live with my nan but unfortunately i could not take my pets. i found i easy to find them homes, but hard to let them go. i found it especially hard accepting that i hed to rehome Anna who was one of my 7 dogs. she is a five year old rough collie who i have had since the day she was born. Anna was born breech and nearly died, then Nikita(hermum) rejected her so, as my dad worked full time, i had to 6 weeks off school to hand rear Anna and to make sure the other 5 pups were ok with the rest of the adults.

i had a very srong bond with Anna and i was heartbroken when i had to give her up. i knew that if she stayed with my dad she would have a low quality of life and be unhappy. i knew that she would be better off in a new home but this is hard for us, as people, to deal with. she is now in a loving home and is very spoilt. i go and visit her as often as i can and take her out for walks and buy her things.

try to find your dog a home with a friend, then you can still visit him from time to time. if this is not possible, try and see if someone can 'foster' him while you get yourself back on your feet. this, however, may not be the best thing for him as he will be confused with all the changes.

you have to think of your dog. you are responsible for his happiness and if this means finding him a new home, that is what you have to do. your dog knows that you love him and you have given him a good life while you have had him. you wont forget him and he will live with the things that you have taught him - how to trust people, love, loyalty... these will stay with him forever and even if you are not physically with him, you have made the rest of his life good by just knowing and receiving those things

be proud that you have helped your beloved pet in life and understand that you need to do what is right for him. it is hard and you willmiss each other but you will get over it.

good luck in finding him a lovely home where he will live the rest of his life happily

estelle and anna

I really feel for you. I know the issues you face with a Pit Bull mix, especially one that is animal aggressive. Have you looked into the possibility of a no kill shelter? It may be hard to convince one to take him, since they look for adoptable pets first and are in high demand, but it's the only decent option that comes to mind right now. At the very least, they may be able to help out a bit.

If he is a healthy dog, I'm afraid I couldnt consider it. I would put up posters at the vets and anywhere I could think of, advertise in local papers, anything and everything to make sure that I had covered every option.

It's more pain than I could bear, I'm sure. I wish I lived in the same country as you because I would come get him MYSELF.

I do work at an animal hospital and have looked at the idea of putting up flyers there. I've also talked to co-workers and clients. I don't want to let go of my dog. I took him for a reason and I love him more than anything. I hope I don't sound like I have just skipped to this option. But I had to consider it with how he is. He is very aggressive in a lot of situations. I favor pitt bulls and similar breeds over anything else, so I'm not blaming it on what breed he is, but most people think of his breed or a mix and automatically see a horrible animal. In fact they are very sweet and loyal pets who are more apt to be aggressive due to breeding but can be controled and the dogs are taken advantage of by horribly cruel people. I hope I don't sound as if I am complaining about anyone's posts to me. I'm glad that people are so open to share their opinions. It's just very hard to place a breed that is so missunderstood. He, his name is Fox, is a one person dog. I have no idea of what his life was like before I took him. Something horrible must have happened to him because of his reactions to certain situations he faces. He also has many health problems that are expensive to deal with but are able to be dealt with. If I didn't work at an animal hospital then I would not be able to afford it. so that too is a factor.

I am still trying my hardest and won't give up until there is nothing left but that. Sometimes letting them go can be the most humane. But I will try my hardest as I have been. Thank you all so much for your input in my situation.

Pit Bull Rescue ( link removed ) has a lot of information for people trying to place pit bulls and has a good list of contacts for various shelters that are open to accepting them.

Hi there, if you really must find another place for your dog why not try to seek out a No-Kill Shelter? At least that way you can give your dog a fighting chance to be adopted. Some No-Kill shelters will even pay for the costs to get a dog to them. You might try to do a search on link removed

Hope this helps. I also hope your living situation improves. Don't give up.

Uh, this is an old post? Who knows what they did with the dog.

try introducing him to some people that are interested in getting a dog. that way he becomes familiar and comfortable with them. i dont think that putting him down is the best option.