[puppylove2009]

What could have been wrong with him? Was it his past? Was he sick? Was it both?

Okay this was 13 years ago I know but I'm just trying to find closure.

When I was a kid I had this Shih Tzu.

We got him when he was 7 months old and he was kept in a bathroom for most of his life. From what I understand someone else who had him....beat him with a newspaper and a belt. And a kid had him before and wasn't very nice to him.


Well we got him and he was fine for about 2 years but then one night my mom was laying in bed reading and Pongo was under the bed and she heard him making some whining noise and then she heard a thump and he was shaking.....

He had had a pretty big seizure. Well in the two years leading up to this he had started having some issues.....mainly agression. They worked hard with him...read books on training....they never took him to classes though.

He became very agressive toward men and children. He had another 2 small seizures before he was 3.

Around the time my sister was born my grandfather told my Parents "That dog has to go"

And they wouldn't do that....he had never shown any agression toward me and they knew that dog was my best friend.

After my sister was born he turned on my mom

and after 3 years with him....my grandfather took him to the shelter.

A shelter worker actually took him home that day...problems and all. She thought she could help him.

I was 10 years old when I lost my best friend and didn't know until the day of that it was going to happen.

What could have been wrong with him? Why did that happen?

I hated my parents for 10 years over this. I hated them for taking away my best friend and I hated them for not doing more or trying harder.

I wasted 10 years of good relationship time over this and I feel bad but its in the past

I never knew what all he did until I was 20.


Basically he In the 3 years we had him.....he went after two of my friends...bit one. Got into a fight with an american bulldog and a golden retriever. Tried to attack my 2 male cousins from inside the cage....actually flipped the cage down the stairs from the inside. And before the end of things turned on my mom.

All the while never harming or attempting to harm myself of my sister.


Anyways I'm just looking for some closure and I have all these questions and can't get answers. I'm just looking to leave him in the past well put him in the past.


This is him:

I'm afraid you won't get answers. There's no way of knowing if his aggression was behavioral or caused by a neurological condition. It's time to let it go. Holding onto all that anger and bitterness only hurts you.

There's a concept I learned in a 12-step program for adult children of alcholics: "they did the best they could". Made me mad as H E double toothpicks when I first heard that....but, with time spent learning about the life my father had had I came to realize that it's true--he did the best he could with the skills he had to work with.

Your parents did the best they could for the dog with the skills and knowledge they had to work with.

And, when it comes right down to it, it was a choice between a dog and humans. They made the right call. I would never choose a dog (no matter how much I loved them) over a person's safety. They could not just sit back and allow the dog to attack someone and hurt them. From the sounds of it, they did that for way too long as it was. Your childhood home was not the right place for that dog. Hopefully, the next owner was able to care for the dog and keep humans safe at the same time.

It's time to forgive your parents. It's time to let go of the bitterness and allow peace to take it's place. Bitterness is an energy drainer.

[puppylove2009]

I already forgave them but the thing that I can let go of is he turned on my mom trying to defend me.

I was always getting yelled at for not cleaning my room right and for leaving a mess.....and I was a kid so there was a lot of yelling. He didn't like my Dad because my dad was always yelling

One day I back talked at my mom (this was the day) and she spanked me and that is when he turned on her and went at her. He didn't bite her but he showed his teeth and growled at her until she stepped away from me

He was protecting me. When he bit my friend it was when she pushed me down. We had an arguement. And he bit her leg.

her mom didn't press charges....he didn't even break the skin and she knew how much that dog meant to me. And she still let her daughter come over. (As long as Pongo was crated)

Once again he was defending me. I'm certain he never would have hurt me and I feel its my fault he did those things.

The dogs he went after came into our yard while I was on the swingset....one dog charged for me and I managed to get up to the top (it had a fort on it) and Pongo chased them both off. With the help of my dad.

All those things involved me. He was protecting me. So its my fault they got rid of him.


I'm trying to let go but I know its my fault. If he wasn't constantly defending me.

It's time to cut yourself some slack, then. Guilt will only eat you up and steal your joy. That dog wouldn't have wanted that for you. It's past. It's over. It can't be undone. Everyone did the best they knew how to do.