My man has this dog and he said he was a bad dog but I didn’t see anything to that effect and I didn’t believe him. Alas, he has food aggression. I, well versed in reactive dogs with serious bite histories including a 4k vet bill for another dog I forked over faster than I could blink in cash.
Now, I have two cats. Two precious bb’s I found at 4 weeks old and when we moved in, the only information I had was, “he is a bad dog.”
He insisted the animals would get along. That everything would be fine and I trusted him. I quite literally had zero reason not to.
Upon my airrival, I quickly noticed the trajectory of this dogs behavior to, “Oh, someone is definitely going to get bit here and it ain’t gunna be my cats.”
I offer to work with the dog as a means to attempt getting ahead of it. Creating a relationship with the animal to foster respect. I offer to hand feed the animal to break his confusion and get him more accustomed with food being handled around him. I know the dog was deeply abused. I want to help. He says no. Accuses me of trying to “steal his dog.”
Despite this, I feed the dog with my hands once and this man’s visceral reaction to it was more than enough for me to completely step back from any possible workings with the dog.
HOWEVER, I’m the only person who stands between this dog and my cats food. It’s getting so bad it’s like hours of my day trying to protect my cats food. They’re hungry. They’re scared. And I’m scared.
I repeatedly try to calmly tell this man. I beg. I plead. And he just keeps avoiding it outside of a gate and some furniture when I am telling him the dog is climbing on and over the barricades and ramming the gate to break through every single day to get to my cats food.
A couple weeks ago, I hear the dog again break through the barricade and start eating shit the man left on the counter I didn’t know about while I’m still in bed at 7 a fucking am.
I walk into that kitchen and I’m like, “John! Get down! Out!” And he gets down, walks directly passed me as I step back from him to give him a wide fucking birth considering, and this dog turns around with lightening speed and my WHOLE ARM IS HIS MOUTH.
Now, like I said, I have been around dogs like this before, like I know what to do, I know my best option, so I didn’t move. I just looked at my arm in the dogs mouth and stayed calm as fuck to deescalate as best I could.
The dog followed suit and let go. I was unscathed. Mild bruising. A part of me is grateful for the rupture because now it’s undeniable to me.
This man says, “Ok. I always said I would pick a person over an animal.” And I’m like, Ok we’re getting somewhere here. So I ask him to come up with an actionable plan for the dog and it suddenly turns into him assuming I am telling him to put his dog down.
Demanding I now work with the dog.
And I’m like no Sir I will NOT work with a dog who already made contact with me. Hard line. Your dog. This isn’t how reality works.
He shoots down crating the animal. Shoots down muzzling the animal. Shoots down moving the cats food up higher. Things with the dog are just getting worse because now dog knows, “It’s ok to bite her.”
Then he asks, “Will you be willing to wait until November?”
FOR WHAT MY GUY!?! And for heavens sake, WHY!?!
THEN he says, “Well if he does it two more times.”
Then he says, “If you want this relationship to work, you need to work with the dog.”
And I am fucking FUMING at this already because how dare he be intentionally this obtuse about the literal safety of everyone including the dog!
Call me inspired, because I’m responsible for my actions. I snap like a fucking twig. Under pressure. I lose it. Full blown cannot blame the man for being disinterested anymore fam, however I struggle with what I believe to be a disproportionate response from him given the circumstances? Something about nuance and people at the their limits are not always “showing true colors” so miss me with that level of emotional immaturity and severe lack of reflection.
So. I leave the next day. Pack Jolene the Jeep like a sardine can, put the cats in their carriers, and I’m gone. I spent too much money on therapy to be dragged directly back to hell.
I knew him for twelve years. We were talking about getting married almost immediately before the dog bit me. He demanded I leave. Refuses to allow me to return to my legal address.
I keep trying to wrap my head around a dog vs a human. I was patient for months about this because let me tell you: I understand and would never want him to do something about it he doesn’t want to do, but this is so fucking absurd I feel like I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone.
I am fine with leaving. I ain’t living with Cujo aware there will be zero changes made to facilitate my safety and I will die on that hill.
But leading up to it to do… nothing… Nothing at all? But disbelieve it? Demand more risk? Withhold civility?
Especially because, his cousin informed the dog has bit HER. Multiple times!
I seriously need a sanity check because this man has me all sorts of discombobulated with how absurd this became.