Vinson

Vinson. What can I say about this guy. He's been with us for almost 5 years now. He's been a great dog for our family. Here he is on Day 1 at the breeder's hiding from us...

Not happy to be held...

   

Learning to walk on a lead.

An early sign that being in a kennel was going to be trouble for him...

He always loved riding in our car...

At the park

Chilling at home as a pup

Playing with Chris

He still loves the mud

 

 Right after Katelynn was born. Chillin on the bed with me while I nursed.

He loves the snow

 Always laying where he shouldn't!

And of course he's done his share of damages...I'm sorry did you say you were leaving me at home. Not acceptable!

I think you need new doors!

...and a new car seat!

...and new carpet!

What? I wasn't supposed to run around off leash at your parent's farm??

It's been quite the adventure with this guy. We have a tough decision to make about Vinson. This week he nipped Denver twice and I thought maybe I was overreacting and Denver was just being too rough. Then yesterday Katelynn was petting Vinson with a toy and after a few minutes he barked at her and bit her arm. He did not draw blood, but turned her arm very red and left a mark. She was so upset. It took me a while to calm her down. When Chris got home we had a long discussion. Today Vinson is at doggy daycare while Chris is at work, then tonight we are taking him to the vet. We will get their opinion. When I called the SPCA about releasing him to them and what they do with dogs that don't like kennels she said that he wouldn't even be adoptable because he has bitten and they could be sued, and that if we try and sell him and he bites that they can come back and sue us as well. The rescues I've found are all run by volunteers and so far no one has returned my calls or e-mails. I've contacted 5 of them...all husky rescues. I'm not sure about the other ones (I saw some large breed rescues that depending on what the vet recommends I will try tomorrow). I'm not sure what our odds would be of finding a family who stays home all day and doesn't have cats or small children and who would tolerate his separation anxiety are, but we are giving it a try. We kind of have a deadline. Chris is leaving next week for 3 weeks. I was nervous about keeping Vinson since he has done it 3 times this week (even if it was just nips at first), it is obviously getting a little worse and if he actually draws blood or does worse I'm going to be a complete mess for just not doing what might need to be done. That sounds so cruel when I see it. I didn't sleep last night, my hands are shaking while I type this...I'm just a complete mess. How could our dog do this to our children?? He's always been so good with them. It seems like a giant nightmare right now. Anyway, I just wanted to let my friends and family know what is going on with us and to please keep us in your thoughts and prayers while we work through this. Thank you.