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Thread: Such a rough start to the year...

  1. #1
    rachlynn1987 Guest

    Default Such a rough start to the year...

    So my cushing's baby Reese, passed away on January 4th. I'm so upset to say that he passed before his time was up even though he was having many health issues and may not have had long.

    Without getting into the long version, here is what I'm trying to wrap my head around still...

    On the 4th, my boyfriend and I had to return to work after having the days from Christmas Eve through New Years Day off. Reese had a fairly intense case of pancreatitis over the holidays so I pretty much took him everywhere with us and this was his first day back with the pack in a sense. The pack consists of Reese, Doxbee (an 8 year old doxie/beagle mix), and Tucker (an 11 year old basset). I left a webcam on so that I could keep an eye on him as he had slipped on some ice and was limping on one of his legs.

    Toward noon, my boyfriend stopped by to check on the dogs. Everything seemed good although he said Reese seemed a little out of it - he thought he was just groggy as he had been resting.

    An hour later, all hell broke loose on the webcam. It started in a corner that I couldn't see so I'm not sure how it started but when the dogs came into view I could see Reese was on the ground underneath Tucker making injured noises while Tucker and Doxbee went after him. After about 15 seconds of being frozen in horror, I left work.

    I called my boyfriend on my way home (I work 35 minutes from home) and he got to the house about 5-10 minutes later, he says Tucker was in the backyard and Doxbee still had Reese in her mouth still and it she was still being somewhat aggressive with his body although she let him remove the body with no trouble.

    I took the body to the vet who said that she could see no real puncture wounds and he didn't appear to have any type of spinal injury. While I was at the vet, my boyfriend's parents came to the house and picked up the dogs and took them to their home (which they have been to before). They kept them for several days. That same night, my boyfriend's mother was petting Doxbee while her dog, a two year old Airedale, watched. After a minute or so, the Airedale went over tried to push Doxbee out of the way. They snapped on each other and started to bite. His mother tried to grab her dog's collar and Doxbee bit her hard enough that she had to get 3 stitches.

    The dogs came home last night but I'm personally a little fearful of them at this point and all I see when I look at them is what they did to Reese - I feel like such a failure and terrible person for letting this happen to Reese. None of these dogs were new (Doxbee is newest to the pack and she has been with us since December 2014) and hadn't been aggressive other than getting grumpy over food which we don't give them when they're around one another. I'm just so confused, sad, and angry. I feel like I'll never be able to love these dogs again...maybe I'm wrong but I just don't know...

  2. #2
    mytil's Avatar
    mytil is offline Administrator and always In Loving Memory
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    Default Re: Such a rough start to the year...

    OMG I am so very sorry and my heart goes out to you and your family on this. I wish I had words to help ease the pain for you. I do know that at times when a dog in a pack is sick the other dogs' can sense this and they themselves can become more aggressive and will actually attack the sick dog. I do not know if this is the case here as to why Reese was attacked and from what you wrote died from this encounter.

    You had no way of knowing this. Please be kind to yourself!!!
    We can talk more about the other dog's aggression a bit later but wanted to send you healing (((((hugs))))).

    Please stay with us
    Terry

    PS I have added your sweet Reese to our special In Loving Memory remembrance list and linked it to the photo you had in your album (I can change the photo at any time, just let me know).

  3. #3
    mytil's Avatar
    mytil is offline Administrator and always In Loving Memory
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    Default Re: Such a rough start to the year...

    Hi again,

    I am not sure what actually caused Reese to die, but you did not do anything to cause this, please understand this. What else did the vet indicate to you - maybe something internally turned to worse because of the attack?

    It is so very normal for you to look emotionally at the other dogs differently now with what happened to Reese and then your Mom. I am sure they sense something is terribly wrong and their instincts did and are kicking in. I would talk to the vet about this at length when you are able to.

    My continued (((((hugs)))))
    Terry

  4. #4
    rachlynn1987 Guest

    Default Re: Such a rough start to the year...

    Thanks for the encouragement Terry. The vet indicated that it was possible that he had some kind of clot or heart attack from the stress of being attacked but nothing for sure.

    I worry about future aggressive behavior now. In the past, we've taken the dogs everywhere with us - camping, kayaking, jogging, etc. I worry that this may not be a safe thing to do anymore but I also don't want them to be left at home whenever we go somewhere.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Such a rough start to the year...

    Oh my gosh. What a horrible experience and to lose Reese must be so heart breaking.
    There is no way though that you could have known something like this would happen. It hadn't in the past and is really just mind boggling. I too would have a chat with the vet about the behavior issue of the other dogs, as I don't actually know what would have caused that.
    It does sound like the other dogs where stressed, especially Doxbee. I wonder if they started to try to get him to play and he didn't feel like it and it led to a tiff. It certainly could have been that something was going on with him when he was "out of it" that the other dogs caught onto, but I really don't know.

    My heart just goes out to you as not only did you loose Reese but now you have the worries of what happened and what it means for your other dogs going forward.

    How are they acting now? Have they settled?
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Such a rough start to the year...

    I am so terribly sorry, too, to read about your horrible ordeal and Reese's death! I absolutely agree that you were not at fault in any way since there had been no warning beforehand. But now you are left grieving your relationships with all three dogs -- what a painful place to be!

    Tucker may just have been caught up in the moment, but I do think you have reason to be seriously concerned about Doxbee since she also attacked your boyfriend's mother. This was aggression displayed in a second situation that was different from Reese. And since your boyfriend's mom required stitches, I assume the doctor had to report the bite to authorities. If she bites again, I would think there will be consequences. There may even be worries, now, about leaving Tucker and Doxbee alone together given Doxbee's new displays of aggression. So I do think you need to have a professional trainer assess her behavior in order to get some recommendations. I am so sorry to say that in fear that it will add to your heartache. But the last thing you need is yet another incident.

    Please stay with us and let us know how things proceed. And please know that we understand why you are mourning all three of your kids right now. My heart is with you.

    Marianne

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