From one dog owner to another, if you know your dog is aggressive, please keep it on a leash and under your control. Letting it roam your yard in a busy neighborhood is unacceptable. The risk you run of your dog injuring a person or another dog is not a risk to take. The problems those injuries make are long lasting and sometimes very expensive. When the injuries happen to a service dog, we've got big problems.
Sunny was attacked by another dog a couple days ago while on a walk in our neighborhood. This attack was unprompted as we walked by on the sidewalk. Sunny ended up with bites to her front leg and a small wound that quickly became infected. These injuries required vet care and resulted in her being put on an antibiotic as well as pain and anti inflammatory medications. The swelling and deep bruising has made it difficult for her to walk.
And worse, she is now laid up until her injuries are completely healed which could be a week or more. This means that she is unable to do her job with Charlie. This means she is focused on resting and healing and is not able to be with Charlie when we leave the house. This also means it's highly likely she will need re-training to make sure she isn't reactive to other dogs. Re-training isn't cheap.
All of this means that Charlie is unable to use his service dog out in the community while Sunny is recovering. Sunny is critical in Charlie accessing the community. She helps him ride safely in vehicles, helps with deep pressure therapy, assists with transitions and being safe while in public. And this is just the tip of the iceberg on what she does for him. Of course Charlie will be using other skills to be successful in the community without Sunny, but you must understand she is a large part of Charlie's life and staying regulated.
For now, we help Sunny heal. She is being pampered and spoiled and loved on constantly. And we wait. We wait to see if Sunny can successfully return to being a service dog unscathed. Chances are she will need re-training. Luckily we have an amazing trainer who can guide us through this terrible experience.
 |
I am so sorry this happened. I have german shepherds too and we have had this happen to us too (usually with people who have screamed my dog is friendly and the dog was not). I hope she will be okay (I have a huge soft spot for gsds) and I hope that your son is okay through it too. I am glad you have a trainer who can help if needed. Unfortunately you will always have to be vigilant now because there are way more people who are irresponsible with their dogs than us good dog owners.
ReplyDeleteIf she cannot be retrained, what happens to her? I just assume you would not be able to keep her since you need a service dog (forgive me if this is a wrong assumption).
ReplyDeleteIf she becomes reactive to other dogs and we cannot retrain her out of it she would not be able to continue as a service dog, unfortunately. This is worst case scenario at this point, but a possible scenario as well. If that were to happen we would bit get rid of her. She is a very big part of or family and she is very loved. Beyond that we haven’t discussed what we’d do as we are taking this one moment at a time.
Delete