When I started adopting rescue greyhounds, it was always conditional and contingent upon their getting along with the existing pack, my family, my children's friends and that they were in general, good canine citizens with other animals and strangers. Regardless of my own 'big heart', big dogs with big teeth have the capacity to cause big damage and I wasn't about to put anyone in my home or neighborhood at risk. I never had to give back a single dog, not even the spookie ones.
It took days, months or even years for my adoptees to develop complete trust in me and show their true selves. Ultimately, it is up to you to know up front what you think you can handle regarding a 'troubled' dog as well as what behaviors you can live with in the event that they remain unchanged. There were also times when information regarding an adoptee had been purposely withheld from me, or the dog exhibited new and previously unknown behaviors in my home within the first few days and I had to reevaluate the dog's eligibility to remain with us.
As stated, no dog who came into my home ever had to be returned because I was realistic in calculating what our chances of success were before I took them in. I must confess that more often than not, my heart overruled my head and I DID bite off more than I could chew, but LOVE heals, it really does..... and I simply refused to give up.
I wish you strength and patience. I can see that you already have a big heart..
__________________ Smokey's personal assistant,
Jeff  |