I am confused and sad about a loss of a furry friend today.

[Quantess]

The older lady I live with (she's a senior citizen) had a poorly behaved, poorly trained german shepherd, that I regular took for walks. I say had because when I came home she told me the dog had been put down. She was sad about it. The 10 year old dog had severe, chronic, ear infections, according to the vet. This was a total surprise though.

Although I am a dog lover, I thought this dog was kind of a P.I.T.A. because of extreme aggression issues, being poorly trained, etc. But let's get real, I was attached to the dog and I am saddened at the loss. I am surprised that I miss the dog this much.

Her friend posted a facebook photo of the dog taken at the vet's office today, of the dog's last moments. She shook her head and said "I'm going to take that down".

Then she left the house, and I posted a beautiful photo I had taken of the dog onto her facebook page. We have several fb friends in common so I was surprised that only one person "liked" the photo after 2 hours... well, I checked, and saw that she had apparently removed the photo I posted to her facebook page.

I feel kind of let down and lonely about it. But, I feel good that I took the dog out on 2 long walks on Sunday, and I got the dog to smile.

[Myrina]

1. Sorry to hear ...

... and especially sorry for the dog, it sounds like it didn't really know alot of love and appreciation during its life with her. Not sure what to make of her taking the pics down - whether it's from grief or from 'out of sight out of mind' - ness.

10 is old for a Shepherd, but chronic ear infections aren't a showstopper in terms of health or quality of life. I have an 8 year old Chowbrador who's family of origin ignored him for the first 5 years of his life to the point that he's gone deaf from inner-ear damage/infections (allergy related). We changed him to a grain-free limited ingredient diet, keep his ears clean w/ swabs and witch hazel, and keep alot of Benadryl on hand. He's Mr. Happy Go Lucky now.

[Quantess]

2. To be fair, she adopted the dog as an adult.

That's sad to hear that your dog's first family neglected his ears. I wonder if the same thing went on in this dog's life before he came here? I always felt bad for this dog because it was such a mismatch. The dog was way too powerful for a senior citizen. The dog was super strong and pulled really hard on the leash, even with a choke chain. The dog had way more energy than his owner could give an outlet for. I took the dog out a lot. I would have liked to let him off his leash more often, but the aggression was out of control and dangerous.

(I don't want to name names because I don't want this to come up on search engines).

[Myrina]

3. Understood. Perhaps she got it for 'protection' ?

As a single female living alone and pushing 50, there were alot of times before I got my "Bear" that I was a little uneasy - even with an alarm system on my house.

You are right, it should have had some kind of exercise/play/social outlet, dogs like that were made to work.

There's a knucklehead up the street from me with 2 absolutely GORGEOUS purebred Shepherds that he keeps in a cage in his garage. They only ever get out to potty. No blankets, no steady water supply that I can see, in the dark for probably 23 hours/dy 365 days a year, no exercise or socialization.

They're not guarding the house if they're locked in a cage in the garage. They're not guarding the property either. So, WTF? It burns my ass to even think about those poor dogs.

[Quantess]

4. Yes, she is terrified of crime.

Not like she's shaking in terror or anything, but she is preoccupied with crime. I do think that is why she got the dog. She didn't really seem too affectionate toward her dog. Honestly, I think the dog liked me better. I know for sure the dog had a better time when I took him out for walks.

She also wanted a pretty animal to show off, I think. Unfortunately the dog made her look foolish (in my opinion) because he was too unruly and powerful for her.

That's horrible, what you are describing about your neighbor and his dogs. Why do some people even have dogs, I wonder? Owners like that are the reason that poorly socialized, poorly trained dogs eventually end up at the pound.

[IrishAyes]

8. While agreeing with you entirely,

I'd still love to paint a word picture of one of the sweetest things I ever saw in my life. Happened to look out the window of a restaurant one day and passing by in true grandeur were a little old lady and a leashed, extremely well trained Doberman on heel. Though it appeared to be a young adult, the dog had such a beatific calm as it matched its pace easily to hers. I thought, that could be me and a good dog someday.

But granted, it doesn't usually work for most folks. Mostly I think little old ladies are better off with a little lapdog yapper of some kind.

[Phentex]

5. I'm so sorry!

It's easy to get attached to a dog even when we aren't the owners! I know I would be devastated if anything happened to my neighbor's dog since I am a frequent pet sitter and I just plain love that dog.

I'm not sure what is going on with your neighbor. People grieve in different ways. Maybe she isn't ready to even see a picture.

[irisblue]

6. ((quantess))

the kindness you showed this dog is a gift to him and us. I am sorry you have lost an animal friend, and tonight I will light a candle at sunset for him.

[Quantess]

14. Thank you, that's sweet.

I appreciate it.

[IrishAyes]

7. Well, bless you

For taking care of the dog as well as you could, and the little old lady too. She doesn't sound like a real dog person, though, if she just wanted it for 'protection'. That's always counterproductive in such situations.

[Quantess]

9. No, she's brokenhearted over losing her dog, over the past 2 days.

He was a companion animal for sure. I doubt she "just" wanted a big powerful german shepherd for protection... she also wanted a good looking animal and a companion. She couldn't give the dog the kind of exercise he needed, though. The dog was poorly trained and had aggression problems before she adopted him, and it seemed like it was too late to do anything about it (maybe Cesar Milan the dog whisperer could have helped).

I wonder if part of the reason the dog was so aggressive toward other dogs and so overly protective of his favorite humans (he tried to attack people for no apparent reason other than they happened to walk by) was because his ears hurt so much... that poor dog hadn't had the best life. Although, I think his life improved when she adopted him, actually.

The dog was too overprotective and hostile to strangers. Even the elderly lady who was so afraid of crime got really fed up with his behavior. But nothing seemed to work. The poor dog probably hadn't had such a great upbringing.

[IrishAyes]

10. Apparently

But then the road to hell is paved with good intentions, isn't it? I appreciate your correcting my misimpression, though. There was a time in my life when I thought I wanted a margay, but it would've been a disaster. A half bobcat turned out to be all I could manage easily, and that took an extreme amount of adjustment on my part. Sawbuck pretty much had things his own way.

[Quantess]

11. Half bobcat?! Oh my, you wouldn't have been satisfied with a Maine Coon even?

I adopted a rottweiler from the pound once, years ago. He had been abandoned and was sickly and starved. Some people told me I was really brave and/or crazy to adopt a rottweiler with a shady past, but the rottie was very well trained and smart. He was good on a leash, well behaved. It worked out well.

But there's no way I would ever have adopted this german shepherd. He was good looking, but seemed like he had a lousy upbringing. The dog wasn't that bright. Maybe inbred or something. I don't know, but I would have picked a different dog to adopt. Oh well. The dog was extremely loyal, though. Poor thing must have had a crappy puppyhood.

The woman is really sad about her loss, though., and I am too. I went out for a walk and I felt so alone.

[IrishAyes]

12. Any chance she might let you advise her on another, more suitable pet you'd both enjoy?

[Quantess]

13. We'll see!

[IrishAyes]

15. I hope so.

[Sunlei]

17. very sad but the owner probably couldn't treat the dogs ears either.

These kind of aggressive dogs will get along in their new home ok as long as the owner doesn't do anything they don't want or like. like clean ears, cut nails, get him off the furniture, out of the kitchen or give him a brushing or bath.

Probably why the dogs first home got rid of him in the first place.
It's hard enough to give ears the daily treatments they need on a friendly dog, an aggressive dog will not allow ear meds. Sometimes chronic ears need weeks of treatments to become cured.

It's really sad you seemed attached to the dog and she wouldn't have offered you the dog first before she put him to sleep. Probably the Vet recomended during a visit? Do you know if the owner really did have the dog put to sleep by a Vet? or just told you that.

[smokey nj]

16. Sending lots of hugs to you

When, Gizmo, my first dog walking client was put down I felt as bad as I did when my own cats died. Gizmo wasn't the friendliest dog to people and he didn't like other dogs, but I loved that old fart (Giz was at least 15-years-old when I started walking him) to pieces. It was a long time before I could be in his neighborhood without crying.

[DainBramaged]

18. That dog remembered what YOU did for it, and it's spirit will always smile on you

You done good. Your simple act of kindness will be repaid, ow and in the next world....