Andrea Dickson, editor of personal finance blog Wise Bread, sent us this story of making the hard decision when a dog owner has a dog that is aggressive:
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I’ve been told before that the hardest decision to make is the mature decision. I’m sure I first heard the saying from my mother, who was trying to get me to stop spending irresponsibly. But it only occurred to me recently just how true it really is – the most important decisions are the hardest to make, and the most mature decision is often the most horrible option.
My friend, I’ll call her Anna, recently adopted a dog from a shelter outside of Seattle. He was a medium-sized sporting dog, and he took to her immediately. The shelter said that he had had some minor aggression problems (something like extreme barking) and that they had put him through an intensive training course to cure him of his annoying behavior.
Anna was very excited to have a dog in her life. A canine lover through and through, Anna would often come to hang out at my place, where my dogs would loll about on her lap, vying for her attention and her doggie massages. Anna never cared if she was covered in dog hair; she tolerated my dogs’ sneaky face-licking, and was always patient and sweet, even if my dogs were annoying (which they frequently are). Having her own dog to love was obviously a very important thing for her, and she was determined to give this abandoned pooch a good, safe, and happy existence.
Anna brought the dog home and within a few days, began to notice some behavioral problems. The dog, who I’ll call Rover, had some strange territorial aggressiveness. Rover would greet family and friends enthusiastically, with plenty of tail wags, but might suddenly growl should the person linger in the foyer while preparing to leave. Anyone who got into the car at the same time as Rover was considered a friend, but if anyone (save Anna) attempted to get into the car after Rover was already happily ensconced in the back seat, he would growl menacingly.
The rest of the story after the jump.
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