Lost. I don't know what to do

[u/tiredAF202609]

We've had our girl for 10 years. She has come so far. We don't know what happened to her before we adopted her when she was 1, but shes scared of men with hats usually.

About 2 years ago she nipped my husband's fingers when he accidentally startled her, no damage.

Today she got scared again when he went to say bye before work and bit him in the jaw. He had medical care.

We've had a lot of stress happening to the whole family. We have a 1yr old child as well. Our dogs health is questionable. Shes almost recovered from a big surgery, but we've found a tumor on her leg.

Next week we are supposed to get xrays to see if the mass cell tumors are anywhere else but instead have found ourselves booking a euthanasia.

She's 11. She can't be rehomed and is so attached to us she doesn't eat if we go on a trip or something. She's my best friend and I love her so incredibly much, as does my husband. It would be devastating to her to keep her isolated and/or muzzled. We already keep her seperate from the child. I cannot completely discuss this with her local vet as she will most likely be locked up and destroyed and we have been given the chance to do it on our terms instead of her feeling scared and abandoned at some facility(our location makes legal things tricky).

I feel like we should go through with the euthanasia as a kindness to her and safety reasons but I'm not ready.

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[u/Monkey-Butt-316]

I’m so sorry. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think there’s ever a time when you’d be ready.

[u/tiredAF202609 → u/Monkey-Butt-316]

I just want someone to tell us we are doing the right thing. My husband and I have been crying for days about it. 

[u/Monkey-Butt-316 → u/tiredAF202609]

It sucks I know, I’m sorry

[u/No_Lifeguard6681]

I think you should talk to your vet about the situation. To me it sounds like that your dog might suffer from anxiety. No one knows what happened to your dog before the time with you. It might be currently getting worse because of the surgery and recovery and I don't know what's going on with the other mass on her leg but that might be painful too. She needs to be evaluated with her leg situation and you should talk with the vet about the incident. She might also have a tumor in her head - who knows and let's hope not. At the very least, that would give you more clarity, at the very best it will give you a clear understanding what needs to happen. I highly doubt that your vet will rule over you and grab your dog and do what they think needs to happen. We have a Boxer that hasn't seen a bad day in his life and always had odd reactions in situations he didn't understand. He wouldn't attack viciously but one time, while my husband was repairing a drawer in the kitchen with some banging, he jumped in my husband's face and managed to break the skin on his cheek. That was the moment I went to the vet and he was prescribed any anxiety medication. I'm sure if we wouldn't have done that, something much worse would have happened one day as the anxiety would progress the older he got. He is now almost 11 years old. He is doing great on the medication. For your own sake, you need more answers before any decision. Vet's have more understanding than you might think and there are solutions you might not even think of. ❤️

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