Surprise overnights and Pit Bulls

I am writing this with a deep sadness and very heavy heart. Yesterday I had to euthanize my friend Violet.

Those of you that have met her know that she was a little off. She had a very strong prey drive and was down to fight if the occasion called. She was a little OCD and had general anxiety about most everything. I tried my hardest all of her short life to help her adapt to life in the world and my pack. She received medication twice daily to combat her anxiety and OCD behaviors, firm but fair discipline sometimes enforced with an electric collar and daily runs on the treadmill(bought just for her) to get rid of her hyperactive energy. All the while I knew in the back of my mind that the day would come when she could no longer be a safe member of my pack and society. Well yesterday was that day. It started about 2 months ago when Daddy came in with a nick in his ear and I knew it was Violet that had done it. She plays a little too rough and sometimes grabs the necks and ears of the other dogs. I gave her a ½ a strike for it and thought they might have been playing too rough and it possibly was an accident. However I did store it away in the back of my mind and kept a little closer eye on her. Two weeks ago she and Lily got in a fight and both got hurt…just a little but they were injured. I didn't see the start of the fight but I had a suspicion that Violet had started it. Lily is very mild mannered as most of you that have met her know but she is a pit bull and if another dog starts a fight she is down to fight. I broke up the fight with just yelling and cleaned up the dogs and stored that incident (strike 2) away in the back of my head. Last week I witnessed some very bad and aggressive behavior on Violets part and disciplined her for it but also stored that away in the back of my mind as the probable reason for the start of the last fight.

Well yesterday after working 16+ hours at the EC all night I came home put the dogs out and proceeded to nap on the couch when I heard fighting sounds from out side. I ran to the window and there was Violet attacking Lily and Lily doing her best to defend herself. It took me at least 10 minutes to get them apart. I kept getting Lily away from Violet and Violet kept coming after her. The entire time I was thinking to myself "She's going to kill Lily right here in front of me and I can't do anything about it" It was quite possibly the scariest 10 minutes of my life. (Keep in mind that I have been awake for over 24 hours at this point and worked 16 of those 24 hours) I finally got them apart and Violet in her kennel and away from the other dogs(who were all huddled in the corner of the yard terrified) I looked at Lily who was pretty badly chewed up (see photo at the end) and decided that she needed to be seen at the hospital immediately. I called and told them I was coming with Lily and that I needed to come back with Violet later to put her down.

To some this may seem like a hasty decision but I don't think it is. I have a small pug that lives in my house and had she done this to her she would be dead. Lily is almost 11 years old and doesn't need to be attacked by a house mate even one more time. I knew when I first met Violet that she was unstable and told myself that I would give her the best life I could and when it came time for her to be put down I would do it. I can't help but think that we did this. Man has been breeding dogs for his own pleasure for hundreds of years. I don't know exactly where Violet came from but I am sure both of her parents are just as if not as crazy as she is. The responsibility started with the breeding of mentally unstable dogs. The responsibility came to me when I adopted her. I couldn't pass the responsibility to anyone else knowing that she is dog aggressive. She would have been three years old in April and dogs are not socially mature until they are four. This would have only gotten worse.

All of this said I still miss my little friend. She was quirky and cute and thought I was the greatest. Despite her many faults and defective brain she was very sweet and is sorely missed. RIP Violet I hope in dog heaven you get a healthy brain and can be relaxed and happy. See you there my friend.

This is the most recent photo of Violet taken on 10/16/09. This is the way I want to remember her.



This is Lily after the fight I posted this because I wanted those who would judge me for putting Violet down to see what I was dealing with. What would you do? The other reason I poted this is so that people might think twice about breeding mentally unstable dogs.