06/19/2026
Let's talk about human aggressive dogs and behavioral euthanasia for a second.
There is such a big push in the dog world for "no kill" shelters. The mindset of "no bad dogs, just bad owners!" is prevalent, and oftentimes is used to justify a lot of things I do not align myself with.
I got my start working in a shelter. I volunteered throughout high school, and it was there I realized I was drawn to the dogs nobody else would look at twice. The old dogs, the anxious dogs, the dogs labeled "problem" or "STAFF ONLY!"- those were my babies.
When I moved out, the first dog I ever adopted was a human aggressive senior beagle who took two years to warm up to me. He bit a hole through my arm his first week with me. I loved him. I mourn him now.
My first cat I adopted as an adult was from a cat cafe. She had been adopted previously and returned TWICE, and at only 18 months old had such bad trust issues it took months before I could pet her without getting scratched. She is my baby. Today, she's the most loving cat you could ask for.
And then there was Azula.
Azula was the first dog I ever got as a puppy. She came from a breeder. I researched the breed for years before bringing her home. I worked with Dutchies, I read up about them. I talked to military dog handlers. I prepared obsessively for months to bring her home after placing a deposit. I Volhard temperament tested her at 7 weeks old and she passed with flying colors. When Azula was 9 months old, she suffered a heat stroke indoors. We have no idea how that happened, inside in the AC with the fan blowing on her, but when we got to the vet her internal body temperature was 106.3. Brain-melting temperatures. She survived, and I had to spend the next several weeks monitoring her for seizures.
Over the course of the next three months, Azula had two more heat strokes. All were above 104°. By the time she was a year and a half old, she was a completely different dog. As a baby, she passed her puppy class with flying colors. She was the valedictorian. Confident without being cocky, a good listener, well-socialized in a variety of environments. At a year and a half old, she was an anxious, constantly on edge bundle of nerves who barked at anything that moved and couldn't be walked in the daytime.
She could not be around other dogs, people, cars, or animals. I could not travel, because her long-time petsitter no longer felt safe working with her, and she couldn't handle meeting a new person. At 45lbs, she dislocated both my shoulders lunging down a hill at a vehicle at 10pm on an otherwise quiet street. I brought in outside trainers. I had my mentor work with her. We tried medicine. We added more enrichment. I moved into a house with a big yard, and she just jumped at the window for hours until I brought her inside. She was unhappy and suffering, every single day. So, at the ripe old age of two years and eleven months, I behaviorally euthanized my miracle puppy. And then I was diagnosed with acute PTSD.
The point of this ramble is that not every dog can be saved. Even someone with endless time and resources can't save every dog. You can do everything right and still have it not be enough. And yes, some dogs are beyond saving. There is no shame in that. It doesn't make them a bad dog, but some dogs are bad at BEING dogs. When that happens, the kindest thing is to let them go.
To see a trainer post that they are AWARE the dog is SEVERELY human aggressive, with multiple bites to its name, and say they're going to do a "9 week training program" and then he'll be sent back out, is an insult to dog trainers everywhere. Not only are they creating unrealistic expectations for actual aggression specialists, but they're willfully endangering the lives of everyone this dog comes into contact with for the remainder of his life. He WILL bite someone again, and next time, it might be a child. Next time, they might not be so lucky. And when it happens, it's only going to further the narrative against dogs.
To this trainer: Do better. You owe it not only to this dog, but to every dog you work with.
