Sunny: A Bittersweet End and New Beginning

Some of you were able to read between the lines in my post this past Saturday about Sunny.  Yes, he was supposed to be euthanized on Monday.  Because Sunny belonged to the rescue, it was their decision to make.  We all know that we unfortunately live in a litigious society.  Knowing that you have a dog like Sunny who has "a history" and is one that you have been told by a trainer may bite again, and cannot be safely placed in another home, is a liability to a rescue.  Having served on the board of the rescue for 4 years, I respected and fully understood why the decision was made and as Sunny's foster home, I was willing to follow through on their decision, or so I thought I was.

I found that it ripped me (and Carl) apart inside. We are only supposed to be the foster home that takes in the senior dogs and gives them a good home for whatever time they have left.  We are not the ones who are supposed to have to support a decision to euthanize a dog that sleeps by the bed at night. Who is so happy to see us when we get home, gets along well with the other dogs (and the cat) and has been living with us for nearly 3 months.  I don't know how many of you have ever had to euthanize a pet for reasons other than illness or old age, if you have, you know what we were going through.  It’s hard enough to euthanize a pet when they are ill and you know that you are easing their pain.  But it is much harder to do it when it involves a dog like Sunny who has many good qualities, and you aren't totally, 100% convinced that it's the right thing. The decision to euthanize Sunny followed me around like a huge dark cloud, it was totally consuming.  And so when Monday morning came, I did the only thing I felt I could do and that was to call and cancel the appointment.  I contacted the rescue and told them what I'd done.  Of course they were not happy with me and we were given 24 hours....  (I will add that I think in doing this, I pretty much got us 'fired' from our 14 year fostering career with the rescue.)  

I will skip to the end of the story and tell you that the board of the rescue voted to turn Sunny over to Carl and I.  We signed papers releasing the rescue from any and all future liability and responsibility for Sunny and he has become a permanent member of the gang at Golden Pines. It was a bittersweet moment when I unceremoniously removed his rescue tags from his collar.  Carl and I know that there may be a time when we will be making the decision to let Sunny go because of his behavior. But it will be "our" decision alone to make and not a board of directors.

And so Thursday officially began Sunny's new life and another chance.  I feel strongly that he deserves that.  I also feel strongly that things are how they are meant to be and I am finding great peace in that.

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