A Desperate Plea for Help from My Dog-Loving Community

Before you read this post I need you to read the following:

This post is not a request for advice or judgment. I don't want your ideas on how to "fix" the situation because it is not fixable and we have literally done *everything* we possibly can to avoid this situation. Everything. I wouldn't even be sharing this information at this time (or in this way) except for the fact that after trying to handle it on our own in a quiet way and with local resources, we are desperate for help from the collective internet community and this is the only way that I know how to get it. 

If you cannot comply with my request for ONLY helpful, tangible re-homing ideas and no other advice or judgment, please don't comment on this post on social media or email me. You can, of course, express empathy + love. We all could always use more of that ;) 

So, here goes...

In early June, our beloved dog of 4.5 years, Sayde, attacked our 2-year old daughter, Charlie Mae. It was a very, very, very scary attack that I watched happen right in front of my eyes, and without going into detail about the incident, suffice it to say that it landed Charlie Mae in the ER with multiple deep wounds on her face and left us all VERY shaken up.

For the first 48-hours or so after the attack, I was just focused on Charlie Mae and taking care of her, relieved that she wasn't hurt more but heartbroken that she was hurt as badly as she was. As her wounds started to heal and I came out of the fog caused by my fear for her safety, I started to realize what I didn't want to admit: we could no longer keep Sayde. 

I spoke with multiple dog experts, our trainer, our vet, trusted family members, + fellow dog-loving parents, and everyone continued to tell me what I didn't want to hear--the attack was bad enough that it would no longer be safe to keep Sayde in a house with children. 

For those who want to look for someone to blame (and believe me, I understand that urge), let me tell you that we did everything we could to avoid this scenario. While she had never done anything like this before, we did know that Sayde had food aggression issues around people and that she is aggressive with other dogs and strangers coming to our house. Because of her aggression issues we've trained her multiple times over the years, including our most recent 3-week Boot Camp Training with a renowned local trainer. 

We had also stopped feeding her human food, we never let her in the kitchen when food was being prepared, and we never let Charlie Mae eat food around her. We never left Charlie Mae and Sayde in a room together (ever). We never let them near each other without one of us in between them or monitoring the situation. We were very conscientious dog owners and parents. We were on high alert when it came to our dog and our child. 

But even when you're careful, all it takes is one split second and something like this can happen. In Sayde's defense, she wasn't trying to hurt Charlie Mae--she is an animal who saw food out and believed, in a moment when both she and Charlie Mae were running into the house from outside, that she was competing with Charlie Mae for that food. She was out of her mind and I know without a doubt that she didn't mean to hurt Charlie Mae the way she did. But she did.

Although I know she sounds vicious after this recent incident, if you've been following my blog, social media, or podcast over the years, you'll know that most of the time Sayde is anything but. 

She is SUCH a snugglebug; she sits in my lap or at my feet almost all day long as I work. She sleeps in our bed, under the covers, often curled up against my belly. If there is someone on the couch, she is in their lap or cuddling with them, licking their face, asking for rubs, etc. She loves to play tug-of-war and ball, loves long walks (on a leash, of course) and NEVER tires. Plus, she is extremely devoted and loyal to her family. She has been an amazing dog and we are beyond devastated that we cannot keep her.  

So, I am asking for your help: we need to find a new home for Sayde. All of the rescues that I've called won't work with us in helping find her a new home because she is a liability risk. They don't feel comfortable placing her and I understand that.

BUT, I know in my heart of hearts that there is a perfect home out there for Sayde and that she could make someone else just as happy as she's made us. If this hadn't happened, we wouldn't have given Sayde up in 1 million years.  

Thus, if you know of anyone who might be looking for a lap dog that will become his or her BFF in no time, here is some more information about Sayde and what she needs:

Sayde is about 5.5 or 6 years old and weighs around 12 lbs. We believe she is a Dacshund/Miniature Pinscher/Russell Terrier mix. She's up-to-date on her shots and dental cleanings (haha) and is a wonderful little companion and lover. Here's what she needs in her next forever home:

-No other pets
-No children
-Minimal strangers coming and going

Because of her anxiety, Sayde is not great in public places with other dogs or tons of people. She does obey the commands she learned in her most recent training (sit, down, stay, heel, place, come), but we are still training her and would encourage her new owner(s) to do so, as well. 

We will be doing screenings and if possible, home visits, for anyone who is interested in adopting her, and of course we would want any adoptees to be fully aware of her history and needs in order to keep both Sayde and all humans (and dogs) who come into contact with her safe.

Please help me spread the word by sharing this blog post, asking around, contacting any dog rescue peeps you know, etc. If you come across any leads you can email me with ideas, message me on social media, or comment on this post on social media (comments are intentionally turned off here on the blog). 

Again, please do not send ideas for a solution that would help us keep Sayde. If there was any way that we could do that or any solution that would fix the safety issue in our home, we would have already come to it. 

Thank you for reading and for understanding how hard this is for our family.