Gone but not forgotten
 

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time since I have been on, and I wish that I wasn't coming back for this reason. Yesterday February 22nd, my little yorkie Harley was attacked and killed by another dog in our back yard. He was only 7 months old. The Humane Society has been contacted and they have ruled that the other dog is vicious and dangerous an can not be in the City of Hagerstown city limits. The dog will have to be put down, sold or given away to someone outside the city limits, or the owners will have to move. The owner of the other dog could contest the ruling, which then it will be taken to the animal control board for a hearing. The other dog was a Lab and not one of the more notably vicious dogs like Pitt bulls (it's not the dog that is vicious, the owner makes them that way) then there would probably be no question that the ruling would stand. There could also be financial compensation involved as well. The state Maryland does not view pets as family members, they are viewed as property. I think most of you would disagree with that statement. I loved my little guy and hate not having him here. He was a part of our family even if it was only for a short time. He brought a lot of happiness to this house. It really is amazing how something so small, could bring so much joy. We may look to get another Yorkie, but I am not sure how soon that will be. If anyone has any advice on how we should handle this please let us know. We would love to hear how you feel.

So very sorry for ur loss of Harley and how it happened! Embrace the good memories learn from the bad and ull know when u can bring in another furr baby not to replace but to love and learn from! My thoughts r with u during this difficult time.

I am very sorry for your tragic loss. RIP Harley.

I'm so sorry for you and shocked that a Lab was responsible because they are usually so good with other dogs. That makes me suspect the owners made it vicious. I'll pray for you.

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss of little Harley. This is so sad. RIP Harley.

I am so very sorry for your loss. If they deemed him as dangerous he should just be put down not allowed to go to another county and kill another dog that is terrible.

I am so very sorry for you.....you have to take every negative event you encounter with these precious babies, and make it a learning experience. Accidents happen to us all, and we can only learn from them so it doesnt happen again. Figure out how that dog got into your back yard, and negate that option. Rest in peace, little Harley.....you were loved while you were here and what happened to you will NEVER happen to your momma again. My neighbors chow literally was tearing the wooden boards off my fence, trying to get to my babies....I stopped the impending attack with a hard-as-I-could-swing-a-board WHACK! to the dogs head....that stopped him coming thru the fence immediately. That afternoon, I had a chainlink fence erected inside my wooden fence, buried 8 inches into the ground, and standing 6 feet tall, the entire length of the wooden fence.

My heart goes out to you for the tragic loss of your little yorkie. I'm so very sorry.:(

Sorry for your loss and I'm sure you will have many memories of Harley. I am saddened by so many stories like this...(((HUGS)))

True, Labs are not generally thought of being that way, but neither are Golden Retrievers and I know two were were 'randomly' vicious...one toward people and dogs...attacked my Shep/Lab on her run in my yard, and my neighbor working in his yard, then on another occasion came after me in my yard and my dog on her run intervened, and one toward small animals. Both had to be PTS. Regardless what happens to the Lab, nothing makes what happened easier or better for you.

I am so sorry what happened. Your little Harley will always be in your hearts and thoughts...our deepest condolences to you and yours for your tragic loss. RIP, sweet Harley. :littleang

Very sorry for your loss. RIP Harley

According to the owner of the Lab, he has never had a problem with this dog. I seriously doubt that he would have told me if he had.

So sorry about your dog.

I have encountered labs in our local park who were not friendly to my little dog. I think some of them may view a dog this size like rabbits. And we do have a lot of rabbits around this area on the bigger lots. Anyway, I've had enough encounters with labs that make me cautious when I'm walking Copper. Weird, isn't it? Labs aren't usually seen as vicious.

Once again, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how I would feel.

I just wanted to tell you how very, very sorry I am for your loss, as well as your families loss. My heart goes out to you and my thoughts and prayers are with you in this very difficult time.

lots of hugs to you sweetie. I know how you feel. I lost my Missy last month and it has broken my heart! I miss her sweet little face all of the time...what I did to help my pain is I got myself another yorkie puppy. It doesn't make you love your other dog less, but it did help my total grief and devastation! Missy died suddenly, but not viciously. I just want to tell you how sorry I am that this happened to your baby and I know the pain you are feeling. Our new puppy Scarlett has brought a lot of needed joy to my life...maybe in time you will be ready for another one.

First I would like to say how very very sorry I am for your loss :(. I love labs but my sister raises them and one she had raised and loved in her home for 8 years decided one day to bite a 2 year old in the face, and had to be put down. I think like any animal including our beloved little yorkies they can have a bad moment it is just such a tragedy it had to result in this :(

So sorry to hear about your loss also. It is amazing how it feels a piece of you heart goes with them also. Luckily, our sweet baby Annie is 10 months now and is quite the cuddle bug. I don't think we are ready for anymore fur kids right now. Besides Annie we still our first Sheltie baby with us. Nugget is a beautiful 16 year old girl that we love very much. They are so much like our kids. She is now deaf and has a little bit of Dimentia but still a very active playful girl.

I am so sorry for the tragic loss of your little Harley.

Oh, this is so tragic. I am very sorry for the loss of your pup. ((hugs))

I am so sorry for the tragic loss of your little boy. Hold dear your special memories of Harley; he will forever remain in your heart and the love you shared will last forever.

I am so very sorry to hear this and I know how exactly how you feel. I am embarrassed to say I have had this happen, not once but twice. When I had my first yorkie Reggie we lived at the end of a dead end, he was not a runner and would go out to do his business without a leash. I was outside with him and turned to talk to a child in moment a husky came running down the street and Reggie ran out barking and before I could catch up to them, they got into it, I started kicking the Husky and I will never forget his blue eyes looking at me like what's wrong, I think he thought Reggie was rodent, he dropped my dog who was bleeding from what seemed like everywhere. Our vet was just outside of our sub so we got him there within about 5 min. but he did not live through the night. I hated being without a yorkie so about a month later got Murphy then Duffy, both were mild mannered and never off a leash. After they passed from old age, I got Kirby also never off leash. Kirby and I were avid walkers, for a 5 pounder he could cover 5 or more miles with no problem and we often went walking with friends and their larger dogs. One spring evening my gf Deb who lives one door away and I went for a walk, she had her her Weim who has been around Kirby since he was a puppy. After walking for about an hour, we stopped at Deb's mom's house to help her move a ladder, we both were still holding our dogs on their leashes. I climbed up a few steps and just as I started to climb down, Kirby must have gotten bored or something because unprovoked he went on attack mode against her Weim. The Weim not having a human brain did not rationalize, hey I'm 50lbs you're just a 5 lbs ankle biter so she attacked back. Both of us were pulling our dogs apart in an instant so we were shocked to see the gaping whole in Kirby's neck, her mom put the Weim in the house and Deb rushed Kirby and I to the ER vet, but the doc said that so much was severed he did not feel it could be repaired, and I opted to put him to sleep. This was horrible on so many more levels than the first time. Of course losing Kirby was the worst, which was compounded by the embarrassment of this being the second time. Then having it happen by a dog I had known since she was a puppy, owned by a good friend, in a yard so close to my own, just after we spent such an enjoyable time walking together. Even though my dog was the instigator and they were both on leashes the guilt of not protecting my dog was awful. My husband was mad at me, I was mad at myself, I felt guilty, embarrassed and an overwhelming feeling of not being worthy of owning another dog. Yorkies can be challenge to own, they may be small but have the heart and temperament of much larger dog. Many of them are often quick to challenge any dog that crosses their path, so they really need to be protected from themselves. In the second situation I felt that if Kirby had not started barking, biting and jumping up at the Weim he still would be with me today. It took a while but after about a year I could no longer be without a dog, this time I said I want dog sort of like a yorkie but a bit different, that's when I found Lola who is a mix. She is a sweet tempered girl and thinks every dog is her friend so needess to say even though she is anxious to greet other dogs I pick her up whenever we encounter a larger one. Sorry for such a long story.

The OP did ask for some advice and I may have some. The incident with Reggie, involved a dog that came onto our property so we planned on going after them for compensation. But before we could do that, they did the right thing and stepped up to the plate. Their insurance agent was also a neighbor, he came to the house over the next few days and told us that they would be making a claim against their homeowners policy to cover monetary compensation for our expenses. I told him these dogs are expensive and in time I would probably want another dog. They wound up covering all the vet bills, the purchase price of a new puppy (who came from a show breeder) After some conversations they also covered the costs of the vet bills on the new dog for a year. I told them when you purchase a dog as a pet from a show breeder they have you sign a spay agreement, they also have to have shots, and Reggie had all that, they were good about it and did not fight me on it. They were forced by their insurance agent to get rid of the dog and from what I understand since the dog had not been neutered the breeder took her in. With Kirby I felt I was owed nothing, but Deb felt awful and when we were at the vet she quietly arranged to cover all the costs so I was never given a bill.

It sounds like in the OP's case the lab came into her yard and did damage to her dog (property) so compensation should be awarded, don't be shy on asking for everything I did and suggest they call their homeowners insurance. Time heals but you never forget.

Thank you all for all of your kind words. My fiance and I are going to look for a new puppy this weekend, and as you may have guess, it will be a yorkie. We need to fill that void in our life that Harley made so joyful. If anyone is in the Maryland area and knows of someone that has puppies, please let me know. I'm not looking for a show dog, just one that likes lots of love and attention. Wish us luck in our hunt for a new bundle of joy.:animal36

A new puppy will help you have joy in your time of pain but make sure you do your research and are not getting a puppy from a puppy mill or back yard breeder.

That is such a sad story, your poor little Harley getting killed in that way! A similar incident happened with my little Gatsby a few months back, and his attacker was Corgi, also not generally thought of as a vicious breed to say the least. Gatsby was very fortunate and survived after about 6K in vet bills and LOTS of worrying.

I know everyone on this forum can relate to your comments about such a small thing as a Yorkie being so precious to you. Know Harley will live on in your memories and thanks for the post - a reminder to all owners to be on constant watch when your guys are in the back yard or even with you on a walk (Gastby was attacked while I was walking him and I thought his attacker was just coming to socialize).

Also thanks for reporting that dog. In my case, I did the same, but since Gatsby survived the attack, I could not get the attacking dog added to the vicious dog list. I did get my vet bills covered and now I am doubly careful whenever any dog, even a relatively small/mid size one approaches.

I'm so very sorry for your loss :(

That is so sad. I am so sorry for your Harley and your family.

So sorry for your loss, I can\'t even imagine what it must feel like to loose something so precious to you in such a horrifying way!! I am sure he knows just how much you love him!!

Someone commented on another thread about being too over protective of these little dogs. I guess I am guilty of over protection. Some big dogs do see our little Yorkies as something other than a dog. I think they just see that furry little thing and assume it is something they should go after. While some dogs are more aggressive than others sometimes just the size and the way some little ones move can provoke an attack by even a very friendly dog......a dog you might not suspect would attack.

I have been through two dog attacks in my life. One on one of my young children and one against one of my dogs. It\'s a terrifying experience. Both of the attackers were considered "friendly" dogs.

I\'m sorry for the horror the OP must have gone through and I hope hearing of this will make each of us a bit more cautious in the days to come.