Heart Breaking Decision

[vjgrey]

No one is harassing the group. The greyhound world isn't that big, and Deb knew who to contact to check on Ami. You can't post that she's about to be euthanized and expect GT members to just sit quietly and accept that, especially when there are people here who could help.

[Guest Bakerhounds]

It became a big misunderstanding.

 

Sorry.

 

 

 

 

I hope you are sure in your heart of the truth of your previous posts. Please consider how your drama affected the dog, the adoption group and the gryhound community as a whole. http://buddhasadvice.wordpress.com/speech/

[JohnF]

_{Understood. Thank goodness the dog is now in foster care now which is good standard practice in such situations.}

_{Ami has another chance. Ami's owner needn't feel quite so bad.}

 

_{Maybe the Moderator could close the thread soon?}

[djsgreys]

This group has a good reputation and is committed not just to Ami but providing what is needed for all the greyhounds in their care. They will do right by her - I am convinced of that after our long phone conversation this morning.

 

I love the GT community - no where else on earth or the internet would so many people step forward so quickly to help a dog in need. Thank you for alerting me, so I could follow up and ensure that she was okay.

 

Ami's story reminds me of another thread a few years back that also created a furor - and it was MY group that was "responsible" and about to put down a dog that had been returned with a multitude of issues and a history of bites. It was the poster being just a TAD overdramatic, the reality was that the dog was never in danger of being put down (although I would have liked a shot at the poster's stupid boyfriend). That dog, Sadie, came to me as a foster, we adopted her and she was a happy content member of our pack until osteo stole her from us.

 

My point, there really are two sides to a story and i hope that should any poster ever put my group in a bad light, that I will be given the chance to respond and tell the other side before anyone jumps to conclusions.

[RedHead]

Whew! So glad to read this! Whatever the misunderstanding, I am just glad this dog is in safe and good hands.

[Batmom]

Thank you, Deb.

[Guest DeniseL]

No one is harassing the group. The greyhound world isn't that big, and Deb knew who to contact to check on Ami. You can't post that she's about to be euthanized and expect GT members to just sit quietly and accept that, especially when there are people here who could help.

Yes. When you hear a dog may be pts without a accurate diagnosis, it tends to upset people, especially the people on this forum.

 

I'm sorry this whole misunderstanding occurred, but very happy the hounds is being taken care of....

[Guest IrskasMom]

I am delighted to hear the Outcome of it all

[Acadianarose]

I don't know when but between today and Monday she will be euthanized. I am in shock. ...

 

RIP Ami

I am not seeing how someone could misunderstand this. Seem pretty specific for a "misunderstanding".

 

Nevertheless, I hope Ami is okay and the OP, too.

[kudzu]

Misunderstanding happen & are more often completely unintentional. When you have a situation as emotional as what has happened with Ami, the OP & the adoption group I believe it dramatically increases the chance that this can happen.

 

The OP reached out for help & it is normal for emotions to color the posts. The group is working from another side. Most groups are run by volunteers, human beings like the rest of us who may say things that can be taken in an unintended way. Having helped with dog rescue & adoption for over a decade, I have seen this over & over again. On the adoption/rescue side people can be too quick to make assumptions about those adopting or returning dogs. The adopters don't see all that goes on from the adoption group's side of thing and should not be expected to.

 

On list we only hear the adopter's side of things & it's in written correspondence, usually while the poster's emotions are running high. Making assumptions about the situation based on those posts is unfair to all parties, the poster, the dog & the other people involved in the situation. Though I believe it best to take a poster's word at face value & presume that are speaking the truth we should realize they cannot convey the entire story even when they are making their best effort to communicate the situation to us. Time & time again, on this board & many others, things get out of hand. You'd think at some point we would learn to control ourselves but that rarely seems to be the case.

 

OP, I hope you will take it easy on yourself. Assuming all you posted is what you believed to be the truth (and I am not at all implying anything wasn't true) then you have done nothing wrong. Trying to make use of all the resources available, including Greytalk, would seem to be the best thing to do. This has all be a very hard experience for you. Take time to heal from it. I do hope that there is a new dog in your future somewhere down the line. All that has happened is exceedingly unusual & not at all the norm. You just got stuck on the wrong side of the odds.

 

Very glad Ami is safe. It seems to me the OP did the right thing in trying to get help & also did the right thing by returning her. It sounds like the group is doing the right thing as well. This is as close to a happy ending as this type of sad story can have. I hope things will soon work out well for the OP.

[Acadianarose]

I can see a lot of this being a misunderstanding "The dog will be put to sleep by Monday" is not a misunderstanding. And there is the letter from the trainer who basically said the dog was not cut out to be a pet. We all disagreed with her methods. And the first trainer who poked the dog with a fake hand until the dog bit the hand. Of course, we only have the OP's side of the story, it seemed the dog had been labeled as aggressive.

 

It is very difficult to know what actually happened but regardless I know the group has the best interests of the dogs at heart. Otherwise, they would not do it.

 

Either way, it does not matter any longer. It seems the dog just wasn't the right fit for the OP. Hopefully, she will end up with a more experienced owner. I still feel bad for the OP.

 

And I am super proud of all the GT'ers who jumped in to help the dog.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Acadianarose

[Guest Gemma]

I can see a lot of this being a misunderstanding "The dog will be put to sleep by Monday" is not a misunderstanding.

 

And I am super proud of all the GT'ers who jumped in to help the dog.

 

Agreed.

 

I sympathise with the OP. It's entirely possible that a member of the group did mention euthanasia without full board member approval (this happened to me once with a foster dog). If that is the case, I hope everyone involved learns how important it is to choose your words carefully when dealing with adopters, especially in an emotionally fraught situation such as this.

 

I am glad to hear Ami is safe.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Gemma

[zimsmom]

The dog is safe thank god. Hugs to Ami mom. What a roller coaster.

[Guest Bakerhounds]

I don't assume that the adoption group or anyone associated with it made any such statements at all. We have only the e-communications of a very dramatic poster to attest to any of these facts. I don't know what, if anything, she said was true. This is the internet people - don't help Nigerian princes. I do, however, believe that once anyone posts on a public forum that they are thinking of giving up a hound the adoption group should take it back ASAP. That person is begging for the dog to be gone, not looking for reasons to keep it. We should acknowledge that not every dog will fit into every family. And not every person should have a greyhound, or any dog at all! It is not a matter for fault or blame just recognition, acceptance, and action.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Thanks to those who reached out to Ami's adoption group to check on her - I know we're all thankful for the positive update!

[kudzu]

It's entirely possible that a member of the group did mention euthanasia without full board member approval (this happened to me once with a foster dog). If that is the case, I hope everyone involved learns how important it is to choose your words carefully when dealing with adopters, especially in an emotionally fraught situation such as this.

Thank you, Gemma. That is one of the possible misunderstanding I was referring to.

[Acadianarose]

Thank you, Gemma. That is one of the possible misunderstanding I was referring to.

That is what I thought was most likely too. Especially once they actually saw that the dog was not aggressive.

[Acadianarose]

I don't assume that the adoption group or anyone associated with it made any such statements at all. We have only the e-communications of a very dramatic poster to attest to any of these facts. I don't know what, if anything, she said was true. This is the internet people - don't help Nigerian princes. I do, however, believe that once anyone posts on a public forum that they are thinking of giving up a hound the adoption group should take it back ASAP. That person is begging for the dog to be gone, not looking for reasons to keep it. We should acknowledge that not every dog will fit into every family. And not every person should have a greyhound, or any dog at all! It is not a matter for fault or blame just recognition, acceptance, and action.

When I first adopted Payton, I was completely caught off guard with some of the difficulties I had with him and I posted my concerns on GT. However, I was looking for solutions and reassurance that it would get better. At no time did I want permission to return him, even though a couple of people did suggest he might not be the right fit for us. He is still with us and doing great.

 

Although I do believe there is no shame in admitting a dog is more than you can handle and returning him. If nothing else, keeping a dog you are not happy with is depriving the dog of a happy home.

[Yamaha_gurl]

To the OP, please don't give up on the breed. I sure wish you were closer to me, but I'm sure there are others that can help you out and show you what a typical greyhound is like. Glad the adoption group is stepping up.

[greysmom]

I don't assume that the adoption group or anyone associated with it made any such statements at all. We have only the e-communications of a very dramatic poster to attest to any of these facts. I don't know what, if anything, she said was true. This is the internet people - don't help Nigerian princes. I do, however, believe that once anyone posts on a public forum that they are thinking of giving up a hound the adoption group should take it back ASAP. That person is begging for the dog to be gone, not looking for reasons to keep it. We should acknowledge that not every dog will fit into every family. And not every person should have a greyhound, or any dog at all! It is not a matter for fault or blame just recognition, acceptance, and action.

 

Actually, there are probably as many searching frantically for ways to *keep* their beloved dog as there are people looking for reasons to bounce one. And everyone will have their own experiences and background to draw on. Yes, every adoption group should be responsible for the dogs they adopt out, but many are not. We have all experienced ourselves or known people personally who have dealt with inexperienced, unethical adoption groups who are more concerned with the numbers of dogs adopted or the publicity of it all than with the actual dogs. Just as we have all seen/heard of adopters who are less than ideal. Sometimes things work out in spite of hard times in the beginning, and sometimes they don't.

 

Since this is a forum that is ostensibly here to provide help and support (in addition to socialization for the humans involved), we offered the help and support we could, based on the information we were given. I'm just glad that this worked out for the best for Ami.

 

Thanks for checking into this Deb!

[greytpups]

There are always 3 sides to every story...we only heard one. I wasn't going to respond, but without knowing the OP, perhaps encouraging her to adopt another greyhound isn't in anyone's best interests. The adoption group is in the best position to judge this, not us who have never met the OP.

 

Ami is doing greyt in her foster home (update on fb) and that's all that really matters. We know greyhound people are the best and respond to posts with good intentions. But I sense the group is still perceived as the "bad guy" in this situation and that may not be true at all. jmho

[djsgreys]

Got an update late this afternoon as well. Ami is doing greyt in her foster home, with no signs of any issues. She seems to be enjoying the company of the resident hounds - here she is (ami is the fawn) getting well deserved treats from her foster dad.

 

 

The picture is posted with the group's permission.

 

Deb

[JJNg]

I do, however, believe that once anyone posts on a public forum that they are thinking of giving up a hound the adoption group should take it back ASAP. That person is begging for the dog to be gone, not looking for reasons to keep it. We should acknowledge that not every dog will fit into every family.

 

I disagree that anyone posting to a public forum about considering returning a dog is 'begging for the dog to be gone'. I think most of us who have been reading the Training and Behavior forum here for a while have seen a number of cases that disprove this theory. I do agree that not every dog is a match for every family, and I think most of us who have responded here have tried to be very clear that there is no shame in admitting that Ami was not the right dog for the OP.

 

This whole situation has brought up a lot of different issues, but I wanted to discuss particular point that seems to be often overlooked. While rare, adoption groups do occasionally run into cases where a dog is determined to be unsuitable, or too much of a liability, for adoption. How often is the racing owner or the racing kennel informed of these situations before a decision for euthanasia is made? If, after a honeymoon period, Ami does happen to start showing some of the same aggressive behaviors that she did in the OP's home, is the possibility of euthanasia still there? And will the track/owner be contacted, since it sounds like there are people on that end willing to take her back?

 

In most cases, the racing owner is still the official owner of the dog, but I also find that the majority of the time, once a greyhound is sent to adoption, the racing owner is considered out of the picture and not given another thought. While I'm sure there are a number of racing owners who aren't interested, or don't have the resources to take back an 'unadoptable' dog, I'm also sure that there are many who *do* care and would want the opportunity to take the dog back, or at least have some input in making alternate arrangements.

 

I get the impression that most groups assume that the racing owner/kennel doesn't care and won't want to be involved, or this avenue doesn't even cross their minds as an option to consider. Am I wrong in having this impression? In general, I just don't see adoption groups communicating much with racing owners, and I feel this is something that should be changed to improve cooperation, ensure the best care of the dogs, and make sure all options are considered in difficult cases.

[vjgrey]

Got an update late this afternoon as well. Ami is doing greyt in her foster home, with no signs of any issues. She seems to be enjoying the company of the resident hounds - here she is (ami is the fawn) getting well deserved treats from her foster dad.

 

 

The picture is posted with the group's permission.

 

Deb

Thanks for the pic. She's gorgeous!

[Batmom]

Thank you for the update, Deb.