Methuen High School Online

:cry:

It's with a very heavy heart that I write this note, and ask you for help.

As some of you may know, my husband and I have a 5 year old, adorable border collie mix named Daisy. She is a wonderfully loving and sweet dog, but she is anxious around strangers and children, and has acted aggressively in those situations in the past. My husband and I would like to start a family, and we needed to talk to someone about
whether or not they thought she would be stable enough to be around children.

This weekend we saw an animals behaviorist who diagnosed her with possesiveness and fear aggression. She said that although she is a generally wonderful dog, and it's obvious that we love her more than anything, that we will never be able to trust her with kids. We have three choices. 1) we can keep her and delay having/not have kids, 2) We can find a home for her, or 3) we can euthanize her.

Options 1 and 3 are not options for us.

Neither of us can bear the thought of parting with our beloved dog. She is our daughter. But we also know that we cannot put off our lives either. Here is where you can hopefully help us.

Daisy is a wonderfully loving and loyal dog, but she needs a special home. She needs to be with someone who fully understands her history, and is willing to work with her/deal with her special needs. She should not live in a home with another dog, or with children under the age of 12 (or with someone who plans to have children in the near future.) She should be fine in a house with cats. She has a crate and can be crated for occasional kid or stranger visits for up to 8 hours. She is well trained---she can sit, stay, lay down, give paw on command, she is totally housebroken, is GREAT on walks...I've taken her hiking a lot, she
loves to give kisses and cuddle and she likes to watch football.

If you, or anyone you know might have room enough in their heart and home to take her in...I would not even be able to express how much it would mean to us. It kills me to write this, and to have to ask. But I don't know what else to do.

I will go over a complete history with whoever is interested in her, to make sure it is a good fit for both the potential owner and for her.
Thank you for your help.

Kate, Kevin, and especially Daisy.