12/13/2025
We have been having some tough convos, lately, in our group, and I am going to share some of the facts about our group and euthanasia decisions. These conversations are about US and our process, not anyone else and we are not here to judge anyone else's decisions that we don't know all the facts about. I have seen some posts circling around about other groups and their decisions and I just want to be CLEAR that this has nothing to do with any of that. We had to make a difficult decision, which I will post about separately, as this will be a long one, by itself.
We understand that behavioral euthanasia is a difficult conversation. We also know that some people will not agree with our stance and we do believe you should get to choose who you support, with the knowledge of how that group works. We respect opinions on both sides of the line as long as disclosures are happening and a behavior is manageable. For us, we do have dogs in foster (and try to get them all there) but we also have dogs in our facility. Typically, these are the ones who were returned from foster, adoption or have some quirks we need to work out. It is a kennel but it is also structured, the dogs are out while we are there, mostly. This year, especially, we have kept a lesser amount to hopefully avoid stress on our current dogs. Those dogs are who we made a commitment to. The facility is a blessing and a curse. It has allowed us the ability to save more than we ever could with just fosters but it is still not a home. We have some dogs, who do well and aren't too phased. Or maybe they have a stressor that we can pivot and navigate easily. Those dogs will live with us as long as it takes, as long as they are not a danger to themselves, our crew, the public, and not constantly stressed, etc. And their behaviors can change, over time.
Because we are usually able to find work arounds and we try to take in dogs with their ability to be kenneled in mind, we don't have euthanasia conversations a lot but they happen. We feel that it is our duty to not only protect the lives we have committed to, but to protect the lives of the community that we expect to be able to manage the dogs we love.
This gets tricky because most of the time, the dogs are good with half or more than half of our crew. Angels, even. So, emotions run super high and our board truly has to attempt to make an impossible decision based on the realities and not our emotions. It sucks and those are the times where shutting the whole thing down seems like the better option. I am just going to copy/paste a note posted to our volunteers so you know how we operate and when/how decisions are made. I am changing a couple of things because if you aren't doing shifts, you wouldn't know what it meant.
Reasons for euthanasia or the conversations to begin...
-If a dog bites or is biting for no reason, with no trigger - when a human is not facing them - when the human is walking away, and the human is posing zero threat or perceived threat to them - the dog is continuing to go back for another bite, there is no conversation other than- have these listed scenarios been the case and are we positive there was no trigger. We will consult a trainer and take to the vet to ensure we aren't missing something but this is an unpredictable dog and is not one we can/will adopt out. We have had a couple of instances where there was no time to consult a trainer because no one could handle the dog. The 2 times I can remember off the top of my head were both returned after years of being in their homes.
-If a dog is so severely animal aggressive, that it will hurt a human to get to another animal.
-If a dog is not getting adopted- as long as they are not going crazy, consistently, hurting anyone (including themselves), they can live with us for as long as is needed. However, if they are going nuts, a danger to us or will be a danger to place in a home, or are harming themselves AND we CANNOT find a work around, conversations begin.
-Medical- do we have a path forward? Can we manage this in a way that ensures the quality of their life is better than just keeping them alive?
Convos that happen and factors that are taken into account:
-What is the risk of liability? For those of you who don't know, we got sued once. Small dog was a jerk and nailed a lady. She was also a jerk and lied about some things but our insurance still dropped us and it was HELL for 5 years to find and keep insurance. A second one would be really bad and would probably limit our ability to continue to save dogs.
-What are the odds the behaviors can be managed by the general public? The same public who returns dogs because they p*e in the house, don't have time for them, work too much, or all the other stupid reasons that animals are returned. Adding that the unicorn adopters who could manage some dogs already have dogs or are just not coming forward like they used to.
-If a mistake is made, in the home, what does that look like? What is the damage? If the behaviors are extreme, what happens to the public, if the animal were to get out of a fence or a home, when the adopter inevitably puts more trust in the animal than they should?
-Can training help? A lot of the time, this answer is yes HOWEVER, we have several dogs who have been to training that we spent a pretty penny on and in our building, it is not always able to be continued, by every single person, so they revert, quickly. Training works best when in a home setting. Adding that, at this point, we have usually worked or been working with a trainer or at least consulted one.
-Can our volunteers handle this dog, safely? Can we find a way to curb some of the stress or behaviors we are struggling with- have less dogs so there is more time out, find a calmer space for them, leave them out (adding in our indoor play areas so you guys don't think this means outside) overnight, find a foster (but most of the time when we are at this point, no one has stepped up for them), etc.
-Has the animal had any interest? Again, this wouldn't matter IF they are coping well in our building but if not, what resources do we take from other potential needs to put into this animal that has not had a home step up?
-Would we take the animal home? This is huge because we aren't the general public. Would we be able to manage this dog/cat at home and if not, how in the world could we expect someone else to. And this question doesn't mean COULD we. That answer is usually no due to houses already being full, kids, etc. Would we, if those things weren't a factor.
-What is this animal's mental state? Are they living in a constant state of chaos in their mind? Can they keep weight on? Are they having diarrhea, panting, pacing, jumping off their kennels all the time? Do they have any peace?
-Vet visit- is there something medical going on? Will stress/behavior modification meds help? What is the vet's opinion on the situation?
-Will another group take them? We have to trust them, first and foremost because there are groups who will let an animal rot mentally, forever. Or ones that will let anyone take animals home and that is not something that can happen. Would we be putting that group at risk? We know we aren't the best situation for all dogs and we have placed dogs with other groups, before successfully.
-What do other groups, who don't know the animal, think? I cannot tell you how many times I have called other people, at other groups to talk things through. I can't even think of a time, where as long as we had time to make a decision, that we haven't talked things through with at least 2 vets, trainers and another group or two. Adding a note that at the point convos start, the dog has seen the vet (minus the ones we couldn't handle at all) and most of the time a trainer or been turned down for training due to a level of bite.
-Did they do this at the place they came from? If not, will they take them back? Most of the time, the answer is "you can bring them back and we will euthanize them". We aren't having our animal euthanized with people they no longer know or don't love them as much as we do because they had too many to spend a ton of time with them. Adding that we mostly pull from shelters, so sending them back to an overcrowded shelter isn't a great option, either.
-Was this a one off or were there signs? How many instances have we had? What could we have missed? Was that thing we saw a sign and it just hadn't progressed, yet?
-Will this animal become a headline?
-What does their "peace" look like and can we give it to them?
-Was the situation human error? Can we prevent it in the future?
-Can we beg a foster? Is the animal safe to go into a foster home?
Also noting that we are NOT perfect, by any means. There are several things we need to change and improve and we will continue to work on those. On that note, if anything, we may wait longer than we should because we want to make sure we have tried everything.
If you have read this far, you are a trooper because I know this was insanely long but ANY decisions about a life should be a thought out process. Sometimes, our board doesn't agree and we have to regroup and come up with a plan that keeps everyone safe. But sometimes, we are faced with decisions that are not fair but need to be made.
Sending love out to any of you that also have to figure these situations out. It is hell.
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