Anyway, one night back in May we were all sitting in the living room enjoying our night together. Jesse was sitting on the couch, I was next to Briggs on the floor leaning against the couch and Kylie was climbing on Briggs. (Everyone was in arms' reach.) All of the sudden, Briggs snarled at Kylie, barring teeth, and was in her face, and she started crying and was very scared. I swept her up while Jesse took Briggs outside... he knew he was in trouble. We thought about it and decided that Kylie must have grabbed him or did something to provoke this because he has never, even remotely, been aggressive with her. He has always been amazing with kids and we loved that about him.
Needless to say, we had a decision to make... keep Briggs and risk something happening again, or get rid of Briggs. This was a heartbreaking decision because Briggs is part of our family. He was my first "baby" and got me through the rough times when Jesse and I couldn't get pregnant and start our family. We also thought, it couldn't have been his fault... this was not our Briggs! (In writing this post, I am regretting our decision.) Anyway, we decided we couldn't risk it happening again, so we thought it was best to find Briggs a new home.
Now, for a little bit of silver lining. Jesse's boss offered to take Briggs. He has four kids and the youngest is going into kindergarten this year. His wife prefers small dogs, of which they have two, while he likes big dogs. We, of course, disclosed all of the details of what happened and told him to really consider this with the help of his wife and family because we would hate to hear that it happened to one of his kids. They still said they would take him, and they are such a GREAT family for Briggs.
All of the kids love and adore him! Jesse's boss brings Briggs to work everyday and when the two of them get home, all of the kids yell, "BRIGGS!!!!" (not, "DAD!!!") His wife also loves Briggs. I forewarned him that Briggs would be her dog because he likes women. (He always followed me around and made sure I was ok.) I guess the big dogs that they had in the past, weren't as great of a dog as Briggs is and she has sort of changed her mind about big dogs.
So, to sum up, we got rid of Briggs and he is with a great family who loves him as much as we do! We got to "dog-sit" Briggs last weekend and it was nice to have him in our house again. He steered clear of Kylie but let her pet him and licked her face when we asked him to sit so she can get near him. Kylie was glad to have him back as well. Her face totally lit up when Briggs and I would go in her room in the morning when she was awake.
So, what do you think? Did we make the right decision? Have you ever had to get rid of a pet? How did you get over the guilt?
2 comments:
We had to actually put our dog to sleep when I was younger! He got kicked in the face by a neighbor boy and started biting. He was the best dog till that all happened and it was tragic to have to put him down. So just be glad that Briggs is still alive!! I think it was a good decision. You would regret it if something did happen to Kylie. Tough, but I agree with your decision.
That is a tough and sad decision. I am sure it was so hard. I hate the what if's in life. I think you made the right decision. At least you dont have to worry if something were to happen to Kylie.
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