surely if it did go to the state to make a decision on this, they would be given all the relevant details by the vet who saw the dog. They would be able to say that the dog died from shock rather than its physical injuries.. So there for your dog is not a danger to society and there is NO reason for it to be PTS. Like has been said before if he wanted to cause injury he could have but he sat down that is not an aggressive dog. You have acted correctly and appropriately....

How absolutely awful for you. I have no advice to give you, but just wanted to say how sorry I am that you're going through this at the moment. I hope something can be worked out that gives you a bit more peace of mind. Hugs for you and your family xox

In most cars there are headrests that lift out on two steel rods. We now have a lead permantly with the hand loop round one of the rods, then every time Bara is in the car (Which is pretty much every trip ) we just clip the lead to her collar, job done

On every trip she usually sees something that attracts her attention but has never got out. We were forced to come up with this solution 'cos the rear windows don't go up and down they slide sideways and even if only 1 inch open she just puts her nose in and slides it sideways. Did I mention she's really very intelligent

Hello and welcome to Dogsey, I'm sorry that it is under such sad circumstances.

As many others have said, there is no way you could have predicted this happening, sadly it was a very freak incident.

The fact that the other man managed to get a large dog off the dog that he was walking, without any apparent difficulty, does suggest that Bond is not aggressive as such because otherwise I think the other man would have really struggled to get him off. Obviously at the time you were preoccupied with getting out of the car to get to Bond so may not have taken the whole situation in, is there any possibility that Bond just grabbed the other dog roughly, but in play?

Your other dogs are also large dogs so I'm just wondering if Bond is more used to a tougher companion?

I understand that you are devastated by what has happend and it really is a tragedy and I am so sorry for everyone concerned. I hope that you can overcome this, you are obviously very dedicated to your dogs. Seek the advice of your trainer and be extra vigilant at all times and I hope that you will continue to be able to offer Bond a very happy life with you. xx

This is the problem with muzzles the one time it's not on is when there's a incident. OK I'll admit I don't like muzzles I will (reluctantly) admit they can sometimes have their uses but I will never use one myself.

In your situation all you have to do is have a lead permantly in the car with the hand loop around some non moveable point (Seat mounting points, or headrests etc.) Then just clip the other end onto his collar when he gets in the car.

As I mentioned above Bara shot out through the window once and we started this, and she's never been a problem since.

It also helps when you stop on a busy highway and open the door 'cos you can put the long lead (or whatever you use when he's out of the car) on before unclipping the permanent 'in car' lead.

OH, that's a brilliant idea. When there are two of us in the car, we have often put the lead on his collar and pulled it through the dog gate so that the person in the passenger seat can tug on him when he starts barking. I think that fastening it to the headrest post, on a short lead, is a really good idea. Thank you so much.

I had a dog - who was "killed" by another dog - there was no way "that" dog would ever walk, run, jump out of a window again. It was "put down", humanely, not like my dog.
Sorry, unless you have gone through the pain, you do not understand.

I'm sorry you lost your dog, it's a terrible thing to happen.

Sometimes they do the strangest things, and dogs are sometimes just dogs and instincts take over when you least expect them too.

just a word of warning on tethering a dog in a car, you will have to make sure that the lead isn't long enough to allow the dog out of the car at all, it should be short, otherwise you may find yourself with a dog half way out of your window and being strangled by its collar.

Can I say please don't blame yourself, as someone who has had dogs killed by other dogs and a dog killing dog (my own) I am probably in the hopefully unique position of knowing what it is like from both sides.
Please don't consider putting him down. If he'd got out of the car and attacked a person then yes I wouldn't hesitate but he didn't, he clearly didn't savage the dog and the poor thing probably died of shock more than anything else.
Can't add any more to what else has been said but thinking of you.
Becky