Last weekend I was called out to a county call and was told there was a Pit Bull out there growling at people and generally being unsafe.
For those who aren't aware, I'm an ACO and work on an on-call basis.
County only calls when it's a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.
I brought along a dog crate and the person who found the dog, the resident that is, placed her in the crate for me, and we loaded the crate up.
When I got to the shelter, I was thinking the worst, and it's so dark down there, I just got the crate out of the back and dragged the whole thing into the shelter and opened the door into the kennel run door.
She went in, looked around and then looked at me like "OK, now what!?"
I fed her and left.
Over the next few days I realized that she was a really TERRIFIC dog, a very short, muscular girl with a HOME crop job. Her ears were all but gone.
Despite how much that must have hurt, she was the friendliest dog and I remember thinking that the jerk at the scene fudged and told the Sheriff that she growled, as I could not see her in a million years growling at any human.
However in this area there's no animal control and the only reason the Sheriff would ever go do something about a dog is if there's actual human aggression involved; for those who are "in the know" they will SAY a dog growled as they know nothing will be done otherwise.
Long story short, I am positive this is one of those cases.
So despite my beliefs about a dog or it's temperament, the county has final say and I got the euth. order Friday.
I didn't name her. But I loved her up alot before it was time for her to go.
I fed her some of her favorite treats and sedated her for the final injection. I rubbed her ears nubs as the sedative took effect and she'd wag her tail 10x harder as I petted her.
As she fell deeper and deeper into her forever slumber, I realized the song on the radio was "Only the Good Die Young" and it seemed so appropriate.
As she slept she dreamed, and her legs began to twitch like dogs do when dreaming. My husband (who sometimes assists me) said she's running for the Bridge...are you going to help her get there?
So I did.
RIP pretty girl. You definitely did not deserve to die.