Tommy was a good dog today: the heartbreak of behavioral euthanasia

by Beth Clifton

We made the difficult but necessary decision to end Tommy’s eight-year life today.

This morning Tommy woke up hungry and happy.  That boy could eat!

Tommy was a mix, but definitely had Great Dane and hound in him.  Two veterinary clinics we visited with him agreed that he weighed just over 100 pounds,  down from 114 pounds when last weighed,  according to his previous veterinary chart.

Tommy hadn’t seen a veterinarian in over two years.  He had become obese.  His claws were more than an inch long,  but otherwise he appeared healthy.

Adopted from Mexico by owner who died

In my week of intensive digging for answers about Tommy,  I discovered he had been adopted by his previous owner from the Puerto Vallarta SPCA at a bit less than age one,  seven years ago.

His previous owner died in his sleep from a terminal illness in late July,  only 12 days ago.

Tommy shut down as the life he knew with his evidently loving owner came to an abrupt end.

Just months before,  Tommy’s almost lifelong canine companion of years,  another big dog named Piper,  had also passed.

World turned upside down

Tommy’s world was turned upside down.  Sadness was evident in his eyes and tucked tail,  but his seemingly good nature remained.   His deceased owner’s sister and her husband desperately looked to find placement for Tommy.  He was not a candidate for their home,  four hours away,  with multiple cats and young grandchildren frequently visiting.  They made that clear.

Our local humane society,  practicing limited admission as a “Best Friends Animal Society rescue partner,”  turned Tommy away.

We met Tommy in a restaurant parking lot at lunchtime not even seven days ago,  as he sat waiting in a car for his deceased owner’s relatives to return to him.

Having our lunch at the same deli,  Merritt and I were approached by Tommy’s owner’s sister and her husband.  who saw the ANIMALS 24-7 shirts we were both wearing.  They were hopeful that perhaps we could help them find a shelter or rescue to take Tommy.  They mentioned that euthanasia might be necessary.

We understood the urgency

At the time we understood the urgency for them and their unexpected situation.  Their mentioning euthanasia as an option,  as it turned out,  would have more meaning to us days later.

We chatted with the family through lunch, sharing some possibilities locally for Tommy,  all of which were outside chances.  After lunch,  we walked to their car.  I wanted to meet this unfortunate fellow.

Perhaps both Merritt and I toyed with the idea of giving Tommy a new home with us,  yet we had not verbalized this to each other yet.  They opened the car door and out came this huge,  obese,  friendly canine.  Huge in height as well as girth.

Channeling my vet tech days,  I guess,   I greeted him with a smile and a kind,  friendly voice.  He allowed me to briefly check his teeth and body.

His coat was beautiful,  his eyes clear.  But for his weight and nails,  Tommy appeared to be a well-cared-for dog.  The sister and her husband told us that they were on their way to his favorite,  much frequented dog park,  and then on to a veterinary appointment.  Tommy had not seen a veterinarian in two years,  but he was up to date on his rabies vaccination.

We wished them well

Merritt and I wished the family and Tommy well.  We asked them to keep us in the loop about Tommy’s prospects,  and went on our way.

As it turned out when Merritt and I left them,  we had both thought that maybe Tommy could become our dog,  joining our eight-year-old,  20-pound rescue dog Teddy,  our 18-year-old rescue cat Sebastian,  our immense rooster Henry,  and his hen companion Arabella.

We knew Tommy would come with challenges.  At the time we were unaware that fear-biting would be the biggest and most intractable challenge.

We called Tommy’s family just moments later after talking things out together.  We would meet them at the dog park.  Merritt and I expressed interest to them in adopting Tommy and we met them at the veterinary appointment after leaving the park.

Tommy had never been seen at this veterinary clinic.  We wondered at the time why the sister and her husband did not schedule his check-up with the clinic that had his records,  but did not put deep thought into it.  Perhaps we should have.

All concerned for Tommy’s wellbeing

It was heartening to see four adults,  along with the veterinarian and vet tech,  all concerned for Tommy’s well-being.  Everyone felt very positive that Tommy had a happy future.  As the exam progressed after some basic questions of the family,  the physical exam began––and abruptly ended,  with Tommy shrieking and trying to bite the middle-aged female veterinarian.  Tommy was terrified and defensive.

Then the veterinarian and vet tech placed a muzzle on Tommy.  His shrieking and fearful,  defensive behavior only worsened.  He shrank into a corner,  ready to bite anyone who tried to handle him further.

Tommy did finally come out on a leash.

The veterinarian,  in my opinion,  expressed in not so many words that this was not just a fear of the muzzle,  but indicated a deeper underlying issue with Tommy.

We thought “How could this be?”  Not an hour or so before Tommy had let me handle him,  look in his mouth,  and feel around his body for tumors,  etc.

Tommy became our dog

We concluded that the veterinarian had been too quick to examine Tommy.  She did not greet him and had no bedside manner.  Therefore Tommy was reacting to a stranger who was “all up in his stuff.”

The vet prescribed medication to pre-sedate Tommy for a future appointment and the exam ended.  Tommy’s family,  with Merritt and I,  decided that we were not particularly satisfied with the veterinarian and would schedule an appointment for Tommy with our own veterinarian of 30 years,  in whom we have complete confidence.  He has treated many other dogs for us,  including dogs rescued from known abusive situations and one dog who was suffering from terminal cancer.

The family drove Tommy to our home where he became our dog.

After a few days,  Tommy had settled in and even seemed to be bonding with our little dog Teddy.  He showed no interest in our cat Sebastian.  He was clearly bouncing back to becoming again the happy dog we were told,  and believed,  he had always been.

Took Tommy to the dog park every day

We took Tommy and Teddy to the dog park every day so that Tommy would see familiar faces,  both human and canine.  His human friends at the park were happy to see Tommy.  Tommy and his owner had been regulars at the park.  Tommy’s owner even ran a Facebook group page for the dog park.

One afternoon a pack of five aggressive small dogs,  led by an especially nasty mini-Schnauzer,  attacked Tommy,  who instead of responding in kind,  tried to find his way around them,  back to us.

Tommy could have eaten all five little dogs for lunch.  Instead,  he avoided trouble,  as if they were merely unruly puppies,  leaving any discipline to their mama.  The little dogs’ two owners pulled them away.

Ordered a giant comfy dog bed

I ordered a giant comfy dog bed for Tommy on Amazon.  The large one we’d gotten for him the first day was not big enough.

Tommy was very agile for his size.  In a surprise move one evening,  Tommy hopped up on our bed,  all 100 pounds of him.  His tail was no longer tucked in his body.  His eyes were no longer sad.

Tommy just meshed into our family with very little trouble.  He was good-natured and even affectionate,  pushing into our chests for attention and love.  Of course he received as much or more than he gave.

The morning of Tommy’s vet appointment with our own veterinarian arrived on his sixth day in our home.

I had done my due diligence by calling Tommy’s former veterinarian to find out if Tommy had aggression issues with her.  I was told that there was nothing noted in Tommy’s chart about dangerous behavior,  and that he had not needed to be pre-sedated before exams.

Bit the second vet

I wanted to be sure that our veterinarian was not at risk of being bitten.

At the appointment Merritt and I related to our vet all that had transpired,  our thoughts about his failed appointment days before,  and that I had called the vet whom Tommy had seen two years prior.

Our veterinarian took a great deal of time trying to get Tommy to feel comfortable with him.  If any doctor could win Tommy over,  it would be him.  The moment of truth came when the doctor felt Tommy was ready,  petted him,  and slowly began the exam.

Tommy reacted exactly as he had previously,  only this time he made jaw contact and bit our vet on his hand.

I was mortified and devastated that Tommy had bitten the doctor.  The veterinarian,  taking the bite in stride,  then had me raise Tommy’s front legs a bit off the floor so that the vet could examine his chest and stomach.  Tommy freaked out again and tried to bite me,  afterward his teeth chattering as he delivered nonstop air-bites in my direction for at least 10 seconds.

Potentially a very dangerous dog

At that point we had a conversation with our veterinarian about the prospect of keeping Tommy.  The veterinarian was very concerned for my safety,  and Merritt’s,  and the safety of anyone doing future handling or exams of Tommy.

I did not have to be convinced that Tommy was potentially a very dangerous dog.  Our veterinarian thought it best to end the exam.  We took Tommy home to discuss what our plan for Tommy would be.

The contradiction was that on the one hand Tommy was a nice dog,  well-mannered in all respects and affectionate with us.

But that afternoon,  when Merritt tried to clip a nail as a sort of experiment,  Tommy went for Merritt to bite him also.  Merritt was quicker,  and Tommy’s bite fortunately missed.

I was heartbroken.

Chased our rooster

Though Tommy remained a good dog in most other respects,  he also chased our triple-sized rooster Henry,  who normally does not run from anything or anyone.

Henry has both chased a raccoon and beaten up a coyote who sneaked into our coop,  and then,  under Henry’s attack,  ran every which-way,  bending wire panels and even knocking two screws out of a hinge,  before finding his way out,  leaving panic-stricken tracks and never returning––at least not yet,  almost a year later.

About an hour after chasing Henry,  Tommy began to show aggression toward Teddy.  Nothing serious,  but it potentially and likely would escalate.

After much discussion Merritt and I decided that we had no other choice but to have Tommy euthanized.  Tommy was not a candidate for another home.  Rehoming Tommy,  knowing his size,  strength,  and unpredictably violent reactions,  would have been completely irresponsible.

“You made the right decision”

Our decision was affirmed by dog trainer,  behaviorist,  and animal communicator Martha Norwalk,  who is a friend from her radio program “Martha Norwalk’s Animal World.”

What Martha said was,  “I do agree with the decision you have made. Great Danes can be wonderful dogs but there is an issue with extreme and irrational aggression in the breed.  It relates to an underlying endocrine immune disorder/imbalance that has been missed by traditional medicine.

“Obviously,  especially due to his size,”  Martha said,  “you made the right decision to help him go. The recent behavior you described is very typical of the imbalance I mentioned to you.  When they are so large the risk can just be too great and you obviously know that.”

How fast we become attached

We believe that there was a reason Tommy briefly became part of our lives.  How fast we become attached to our canine companions, and the depth of pain we experience when having to say goodbye!

Our vet came to our home the next day.  Tommy was euthanized with Merritt and me by his side,  but even after two hours of slow,  gentle,  gradual oral sedation,  Tommy was still reactive enough to bite Merritt on the left wrist while receiving an injected final sedation,  fortunately not breaking skin,  and to lunge after the veterinarian before the needle even touched him.

Tommy’s last days of his eight-year life were happy ones.  We enjoyed his presence in our home.  Tommy was our dog and we loved him.

Tommy was buried in our yard,  as have been many other loved animals who came before him.  Behavioral euthanasia is a tough, but necessary pill to swallow.

Tommy in his short time with us made an indelible mark in our hearts and memories.  Tommy was a good dog today,  his last day,  and that is how we want to remember him.

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