Putting down Sprout was not the GSPCA’s decision
I AM WRITING to the Press in response to a petition which was set up by what I can only think of as well-meaning but clueless people wanting the GSPCA to be called to account for putting down a dog. The dog in question was with my daughter and her fiance for a trial period to see if he could live in a family home. He was nine months old but had spent half his life at the GSPCA, having been surrendered as a puppy.
Despite the excellent care he received and his obvious affection for the GSPCA staff, he was showing physical signs of stress being in the kennels, but he was extremely energetic and strong, capable of knocking an adult over, and was of a nervous temperament.
He had lived with my daughter and her fiance for three weeks and I looked after him a few times during that period. We all bonded with him and did everything we could to help him adjust. Throughout this period the ongoing support for my daughter and fiance from the GSPCA was excellent and everyone wanted him to succeed.
As he got used to living in a family setting, he got bolder and more snappy. Getting his harness on him for his walks was a trial of teeth snapping at us, even though he loved walks. My daughter and her fiance walked him at least three times a day and the day before he attacked my daughter, she had been out with him for four hours.
On the day of the attack, Sprout was on the beach with her. There were no other people or dogs around when he suddenly turned on her, biting her legs and arm in a sustained and terrifying attack.
If she hadn’t been wearing a padded winter coat, he would have bitten chunks out of her. She had dropped the lead in the shock, and he was now running around the beach and could attack anyone, so she had to call the police. The film on the website [on YouTube] catches the GSPCA worker, who Sprout knew, arriving once the dog had calmed down and shows Sprout running up to him wagging his tail.
To have Sprout put down was not actually the GSPCA’s decision in that when a dog attacks, the law defaults to him being put down, and the vet and GSPCA all understood that in this case this would be the best outcome for Sprout.
He was a 9-month-old dog who was miserable in kennels but couldn’t live in a family home, would have to be muzzled whenever walked, and despite wanting to interact with people and other dogs, could not be trusted with them. He had already severely bitten someone he loved and was always excited to see. As it was, he died having had a happy few weeks. Presumably the petition signers would have preferred to have him have 12-14 years of misery muzzled in a kennel.
So I write this in defence of the GSPCA. They gave this young dog a chance and my daughter and her fiance all support. They are a phenomenal organisation. People who love animals had to make impossible decisions and see a dog that they were very fond of put down, and your petition was just cruel to all concerned.
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