Now you just said that you can afford it. But you don't want to. You simply retaliate on your dog because "he tried to hurt your baby" - Odin wasn't supposed to be your baby?I tried to help. I'm over it. Do wtf you wanted to do from the beginning, without all those fake tears on 8 pages and hypocrisy and all.
Seriously? I'm pretty sure OdinBB meant that if she needed to pay $5-6K for cancer treatments for a dog with no child aggression, she would find a way to make it happen. But paying $5-6K for medical treatments is a very different thing than paying that same amount for training for a dangerous dog with a multi-bite history.
And you're going to try to put Odin on the same level as you put OP's kids and say she has equal responsibility to both? That's just beyond ridiculous. The safety of the human children in the household by far and away trumps the welfare of the dogs. This is why I can't stand the term "fur baby". Dogs are NOT fur babies. They are not four legged humans. They are dogs. Animals. Calling dogs "fur babies" anthropomorphizes them and blurs the lines of understanding of how and why dogs behave as they do. Understanding that dogs are animals and DO NOT possess the same mental processes and reasoning that humans do is at the basis of healthy dog-human interaction and training.
So while I'm calling dogs animals, let me clarify - I love my dogs greatly. I would do just about anything to maintain their health and happiness. I recently gave up my lease, moved back home and committed over 1/3 of my yearly salary to osteosarcoma treatments. They sleep in my bed, eat better than I do half of the time, get walked no matter how bad my chronic sciatica problems are, have endless amounts of treats and toys and are only trained positively. If I get up and one of them takes my spot on the couch, I will just sit on the floor when I return. I lost Loki in July and still cry about him every day. I am about to tattoo his ashes into my body. I LOVE my dogs, I cannot emphasize that enough. And if Odin were mine, he'd be getting a medical workup and provided nothing physically wrong was found, a long walk, lots of cheeseburgers, and a calm, sad goodbye.
I don't think OP is being hypocritical. As any normal person would do while faced with a tough (literally life or death) situation, she's wavering on what she thinks is right. She's getting advice from some people that he's dangerous, and advice from others that she should keep him in her home after rehab. Every time she reads this thread, there's a different opinion here that perhaps influences her own.
In the future, for both OdinBB and anyone else who may read this - life or death questions like this one are probably best left to professionals who can see and assess the dog in person. Random internet strangers can't really give you the clarity you would need to make this decision, OdinBB, we can only give you "well, I would do this..." statements based on our perception of what happened and our experiences with other aggressive dogs. You are the one with the best and most clear knowledge of Odin, his prior behaviors, and I think you should have a serious chat with your husband, your vet and the humane society workers and decide Odin's future from those conversations. This thread has turned into a whirling mess of opinions and emotions that I imagine are weighing on you more than they are helping, at this point.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. If you do end up going the euthanasia route, please stay with him until the end, if you can bring yourself to. I think we all owe our dogs the opportunity to pass peacefully in ours arms, if we can provide that to them.
