First of all, let me just say thank you to everyone for your kind words. They mean so much to Bella and myself. I wanted to kind of let everyone know what happened, and to ask for forgiveness. I have never had a harder few days. Yesterday started off no different than any other day, really. Bella and I were getting ready to go to work. I put Arthur in the 'laundry room', which is an area outside which is walled in and has a bolted door, that bolts from the outside. I figured he'd be able to hang out there for the couple hours we were at work, while the other 3 hung out in the yard. The door/gate is over 5 ft high. I went back inside to finish getting ready, when i hear fighting outside.... i run out and arthur had managed to get out of the laundry room by climbing over the gate, and had Charlie in his mouth. This attack was unprovoked. And again, he wouldn't let him go. We kicked, beat and did everything we could to get Charlie loose, including picking up a shovel and beating Arthur over the head with it. Nothing was working! Charlie was screaming. I ran inside and called 911. They called Animal Control. Bella managed to get them separated, and was standing between them, with the shovel in her hands screaming for me to get Charlie in the house, which i did.
That's the explanation. Now, I need to ask for forgiveness. Crying and hysterical, we decided that the best thing to do was to put my big boy down. If he could clear a 5 1/2 ft gate to attack unprovoked, what was next? Our wall is shorter than the gate. What happened if he jumped it to get to a dog outside? What if we rehomed him and he attacked a child? We were out of options. I cry now as I write this, because i still wonder if there was something we could have done. At 8am, Dec. 2nd we took Arthur into Animal Control to have him put down. I have never had to do a harder task in my life. we kept talking to him, telling him we loved him, and that we were sorry but I still feel so guilty. He was just a baby, barely 8 months old. And I'm responsible for taking his life. Does that make me a bad mom?
then today, I had to take Charlie to the vet because I noticed a large puncture wound I hadn't noticed yesterday. They shaved a good half of him, from his ears to behind his front legs. And omg! He's so torn up. There is a HUGE wound, the size of a quarter which is really very close to a thru and thru. There are dozens of punctures, bruises and bite marks. He's on anti-biotics, and I have to flush all the major punctures twice a day, which is not as simple as it sounds. The vet said he was very lucky that he didn't get killed. And at that moment I felt so angry. With myself, with Arthur, with Charlie. That is such a horrible feeling.
Please, please forgive me! Arthur, please forgive me. I love you, sweet boy. I'm so sorry and I love you dearly. Rest easy, little boy. You are sorely missed.
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