This is going to be an extremely controversial post but I think dogs with any sort of bite history AND dogs that are already displaying reactive & aggressive behavior should automatically be euthanized at the shelter and not put up for adoption. This sounds cruel but so many temperamentally sound/non-aggressive dogs and puppies end up euthanized merely because there is a lack of shelter space and resources while aggressive and dangerous dogs are put up for adoption with disastrous consequences. Yes, this is about the Tacoma marathon fatality.
If an owner surrenders an animal and tells you, the shelter, they are aggressive/reactive and you observe that aggression and decide the dog is adoptable anyway, you have blood on your hands. Kicking the can down the road is deeply unethical.
It is one thing to be the owner of a dog with reactivity and aggression issues and work to correct, contain and love that dog. It is another thing entirely to be a shelter with a duty to other animals and the public and try to adopt out an aggressive dog surrendered to you. The life of one aggressive dog is not worth the life of the non-reactive dog it took shelter space from or the lives of the dogs (or god forbid, humans) it may harm or kill when it is out of the shelter again.
There is a reason people keep buying purebred dogs with ‘proven’ temperaments and I think if shelters narrowed the parameters of what dogs are adoptable, people would be less afraid to take the chance and adopt.
ellievsbear
jbbartram-illu
blakekathryn
dededos
