The Real Red Scare

I adopted Red when he was around 4 months old.  He had kennel cough so severe the vet wasn't sure he'd make it through his first night at home.  That was almost three years ago. 

  I had quite a bit of freedom with my job at the time, and, as a result, we spent almost every second together.  We spent about a year as best friends.

  I moved to Wisconsin when Red was about 1-12 years old, and ended up with a normal 9-5ish job.  I felt bad because he was home alone for a good part of the day, so we started looking for another pup.  Enter Dozer ...

  Dozer turned out to be the perfect dog (for me.)  He's big, dumb, lazy, and LOVE's his daddy ... a guy can't ask for much else. I think if it would have been just Red and Dozer, things would have been ok.  Since I got Dozer so young, he and Red really had the chance to bond well. 

  Through the grapevine, I heard that Mr. X, who had adopted two of Dozer's littermates, was putting them up for adoption.  Well, having grown so attached to Dozer, I took it upon myself to make sure that his brothers found good homes.  Enter Shadow and Boomer (no pic, sorry.)

  Boomer was friendly and outgoing, so he was easy to get rid of, but little Shadow was timid and difficult to befriend, so I decided to keep him.  Of course he adapted into the family well.  He's the little guy on the left.

  I think it's the strain of too many other dogs getting my attention.  At least I think that's what started it all.  Red started to become defiant.  He started having mood swings.  He would lash out at the other dogs.

  He used to get so excited to meet a person that he would tinkle all over your shoes... now he's bitten at least four or five people that I know of, including me on multiple occasions.

  Two more dogs have recently been added to the family, Neeko and Naboo.

  Well, the new dogs are old and frail, and Red is just too unpredictable, and uncontrollable.  He's lashed out at both of them more than once.  If he would just be stable, everything would be fine.  Sometimes he's still a great dog.  He's funny, and talkative, he just has a ton of personality... the problem is that I'm not sure how many personalities he has, or which one of them is lurking around the corner.

  He went to the vet to get tested for Rabies today.  He goes back next Thursday to be put to sleep.  He's 3 years old.  I'm gonna miss you, little red dog.