Doggie Drama

A few weeks ago we had quite the Dog Drama. I was doing a newborn session at my house and got a knock on the door. My dogs had gotten out of the dog kennel and ran through the swamps and to another road and had killed 2 pet turkeys (who were running free in the peoples yards, not in a pen).

They called Animal Control and we were ordered to quarantine the dogs b/c they "bit". OMG seriously? They ate a bird.... isn't that what wild dogs do?? So, our dogs were in quarantine for 10 days (also a factor was that we were late on getting their rabies this year... they were due for their booster in June and we hadn't gotten around to taking them).

Ryan went to apologize and talked to the guy and gave him $100. Everything was resolved.

Now our issue is mainly with Zoey. Ramsey, the full rottie, is a great dog... she stays in the yard, she's calm, she is great with the kids. She can be let out into the yard to go potty and comes right back up to the door to be let in.

Zoey, on the other hand, has a rottie mom and an obviously hound dad. She takes off in a split second, is not calm at all because she's constantly trying to sniff out something or other. We knew if she got loose again she'd be taking off to find those birds straight away. Ramsey tends to be a follower.

Of course, a few days into quarantine they got out and took off. We were frantic as them being turned in could turn into huge fines for us. Luckily we found them after about half an hour of searching.

The dogs are now out of quarantine and we have resumed letting Ramsey stay in the house, letting her out the back door to go potty etc. She's doing great. Zoey, on the other hand, we can't trust in the yard. We are still in the process of getting up a "secure structure" up (a kennel) so we have no way to let her out without being on a leash.

She's nuts. She keeps pooping and peeing in the mud room overnight. She barks and barks when she's outside tied up. She's a pain in my ass. And she's on her way out the door to the Humane Society. We never thought we'd be doing this... "getting rid of" a dog. We've always been the ones to take in strays.... to feel sorry for homeless animals. But its come to a point where she just is not a good fit for our family. She can't be 100% trusted around the kids because she guards food. She runs off if she gets loose. She is hyper. The neighbors no longer take her for playdates because she dug up their yard. (They've since adopted a new puppy... so Zoey is no longer an option for them).

I feel terrible but I'm trying not to think about it. My dogs used to be my babies, but I now have 2 much more important babies to worry about and the dogs, unfortunately, are second fiddle. Sorry....