Update On Rory -

[Dlilly]

Hello. It seems like these forums are not very active anymore, but I thought I'd give an update to anyone who remembers Rory. Sadly, this isn't a happy update. I've decided to re-home Rory. He just isn't the right dog for me, and his current living situation is not ideal. I moved last July, and I've lost most of my dog rescue connection, and I now live in a very rural town. I've been trying to re-home him for about a month now.

Last week I took Rory to the vet, and while getting his rabies shot he bit the vet's face. Right when Rory felt the prick, the vet holding him lifted him up and it terrified him. -He bit purely out of fear.- Rory was very nervous being handed and I did suggest to muzzle him, but I should have insisted on it. Rory has been on quarantine since the bite and tomorrow the health inspector will be assessing him.

Because of his dog reactiveness and him being unpredictable around cats (and now his bite history), I'm not sure if I'll be able to find him a new home. I'm going to keep at it but if I'm not able to find him a better home I might put him down. I know many dog owners will disagree with me, but I think a dog's quality of life is more important than living a longer, not so great, life.

 

[running_dog]

I'm sorry to hear about Rory.

Why do you feel he is not the right dog for you anymore?

It would be good if you filled us in on the details of what you have done to work through his dog reactivity and issues with cats, you never know someone might be able to make some suggestions that will help you and Rory. You could even PM Jackienmutts for help as she will always help with dog reactivity/aggression problems.

I totally agree that sometimes we have to make the decision to have a dog put down if we cannot give it an appropriate quality of life, if you look at the thread RIP Brody you'll find Brodys_mum found nothing but sympathy here because we all knew she had made the right decision.

Although I agree with the principle I'm just a little concerned from what you have said that you are not making the right decision and you could end up regretting it later.

 

[southerngirl]

I'm really sorry to hear things haven't worked out with Rory how you wanted.

 

[Dlilly]

Thanks for your concern, but I've had Rory for a long time now, and it's just the right thing to do for him. This was really thought through. He just can't thrive in a home with dogs and is not happy. I'm still trying to re-home him, but it's very difficult re-homing a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs, and who needs an owner experienced with training and willing to deal with all of his behavioral problems. I made this decision with his happiness and quality of life in mind.

 

[kassidybc]

Thanks for your concern, but I've had Rory for a long time now, and it's just the right thing to do for him. This was really thought through. He just can't thrive in a home with dogs and is not happy. I'm still trying to re-home him, but it's very difficult re-homing a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs, and who needs an owner experienced with training and willing to deal with all of his behavioral problems. I made this decision with his happiness and quality of life in mind.

Have you considered surrendering him to a rescue if you aren't able to rehome him yourself? If you can find a good rescue they will make sure he gets a home that he will fit well in.

 

[Dlilly]

Have you considered surrendering him to a rescue if you aren't able to rehome him yourself? If you can find a good rescue they will make sure he gets a home that he will fit well in.

Do you know of a rescue that will take in a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs?? I've found that with (healthy and friendly) stray dogs finding a rescue to take a dog is harder than you'd think.

 

[running_dog]

Do you know of a rescue that will take in a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs?? I've found that with (healthy and friendly) stray dogs finding a rescue to take a dog is harder than you'd think.

Actually I do know rescues that will do this at both the local and national level (Dogs Trust) in my own country (UK) obviously I don't know of your local and national rescues because I don't live in your country. As Rory is not an emergency rehoming a rescue could look for him a home without him ever having to be in kennels. If I had to rehome Zac to a stranger I would always go through a rescue rather than trying to rehome him myself. This is because the rescue centre would ALWAYS be there as a safety net for him if he ever lost his family in the future. If you rehome Rory yourself and then the new home decides they don't want him either there is no safety net for Rory.

 

[running_dog]

What have you done to rehab Rory?

 

[kassidybc]

Do you know of a rescue that will take in a dog that doesn't get along with other dogs?? I've found that with (healthy and friendly) stray dogs finding a rescue to take a dog is harder than you'd think.

I know that many of the border collie rescues that I was looking for a dog in had some dogs that couldn't be homed with other dogs, so I'm guessing there are rescues that will take him.... Sorry, I don't know of any specifically.

 

[running_dog]

I just remembered something that I found out when I caught a straying dog. I don't know about your country but in the UK rescue centres often don't accept strays directly as the dogs have to be processed by the council pound to give the owners a chance to get them back. The situation can be very different if you are the dog's owner and are surrendering it to a rescue.

Also Rory is a kelpie? That means that it would probably be worth checking out breed specific rescues for him.

 

[Dlilly]

I live in the USA. We don't have a Kelpie rescue here but I've contacted some Border Collie and Cattle Dog rescues. Most rescues are full. Also, not many rescues will take in a dog that's bitten someone, so that's making things even more difficult. (He bit the vet while getting a vaccine. He was lifted up as he felt the prick and it terrified him. It was done totally out of fear.)

 

[southerngirl]

I live in the USA. We don't have a Kelpie rescue here but I've contacted some Border Collie and Cattle Dog rescues. Most rescues are full. Also, not many rescues will take in a dog that's bitten someone, so that's making things even more difficult. (He bit the vet while getting a vaccine. He was lifted up as he felt the prick and it terrified him. It was done totally out of fear.)

That's wrong that rescues aren't taking him because of the bite! It was the vets fault,Rory should have been muzzled. You told him that he should be and he didn't! Rory was scared, so he bit.