What would you do in this position?

Hey everyone, a situation has just sprung up and I'd like to know what your thoughts are. Let me give you some background info...

My boyfriend has a younger brother, 17, who has a lovely Staff cross. Looks like a Staff though.He's called Money and I adore him. Money has a typical Staff temperament - friendly, clownish, daft and loveable. The only negative thing about him is the fact he's dog aggressive. Now, the situation is this: my boyfriend's brother now goes to college full-time and his mother is about to start working full time. She struggles to manage the dog and it's the 17 year old who actually owns the dog. He no longer has the time or inclination to take proper care of Money so his mother has told him that he needs to rehome him.

My boyfriend told me this evening that they are going to rehome/take him to a shelter. He also said that his mum asked if we would take Money. As some of you know, I've got my heart set on getting my Akita, have been waiting for ages. I'm supposed to be getting a bitch after the summer. We're moving house in about a month's time, to a bigger place and so are dealing with that at the moment. I feel kinda mean at the mo' because whilst I really don't want to see Money become another Staff statistic/end up with people who won't take care of him or worse, get PTS, I know that if we take him in I won't be able to get an Akita. I don't know if I would love Money the same way I would my puppy that I have waited for and raised. Does this sound selfish?

I really like Money and know we could take good care of him, I'm just thinking that it will be a big sacrifice on my part. I'm going to put some serious thought into this. Since me and my man had the convo' earlier, I'm warming to the thought of taking Money in but at the same time, I feel really disappointed that it would mean not having the dog I've always wanted. I should also add that Money was severely abused and neglected as a puppy. He was in a real state but my man's family rescued him and nursed him to health. We would be his 3rd home in his 2 year life.

What do you think? What would you do in this situation?

It's a tough call Tee You're caught between a rock and a hard place really

If you took Money on, would there be any resentment (no matter how small) towards him as he's then stopping you getting the breed you've always wanted? Can you take on a dog that could have issues? (he's had a few homes in his short life ) Can you cope with a bouncy, lively dog? Can he be left alone? These are some of the questions that you both need to ask yourselves.

Sometimes we have to listen to what our brain says, instead of listening to our hearts, no matter how much the heart strings are pulling

Personally I think you should wait until you have moved to get your dog, I'd help them find a good rescue place, but its no good for him if you always feel cheated if you take him.

I could cope with him, he does pull on the lead but I'd be take him to training classes to help fix this. He IS lively but not hyper. He is house trained and can be left alone for quite a while so no worries practically. I'm just sort of 'weighing it up' in my head. I know I would feel bad if I found out Money was sat in some shelter for how long when I could've given him a home but then there's a small part of me that thinks I might resent him a little bit. My boyfriend loves him and would like us to take him but he also knows how I feel about my Akita. I'm always banging on about that. Arrghh!

Personally, taking Money into your home is just giving this 17 year old and his mother an easy way out of their responsibility! Dogs are NOT disposable. The fact that this boy would be in college soon is something that should have been considered before they got the dog. Having to physically take the dog to the shelter, not knowing what his fate may be, might be the wake up call this family needs so that they don't get another dog only to rehome it again and again.

Sorry, but people like that make me mad.

tough call and only you can ultimately make the decision.
The only things I can say are..
1) You can have more than one dog in a lifetime so an Akita could be put on hold...
2) Can you cope with his dog aggression? It sort of rules out a lot of things...friendly ambles round the park etc. There are lots of people who do cope with dog aggressive staffis, you just need to consider the reality of that situation before committing. You would be this little fellas last hope you so you have to make it the right one? Perhaps post a thread asking how people cope with it and how it effects them???

Good luck, really hard decision that I don't envy you at all.
Hugs.

I agree with Ramble on this, but personally I would talk to the 17 year old and see what the actual problem is, and maybe offer a half way house in as much as I would offer to take him on long walks every day to help wear him out a bit and make him more manageable at home. Also you could dog sit him at yours for perhaps a couple of hours a day, which would give you the opportunity to see how he really behaves and might just take the pressure off for the family concerned.
Don't feel rushed into making any decision you could later regret, take your time and be sure it will work for you.

I agree entirely. Well said!

I TO WOULD WAIT AS YOU MIGHT LATER RESENT TAKING MONEY ON . WHEN YOUR HEART IS SET ON AN AKITA ,I WOULD TRY HELPING UR BOYFRIEND AND HIS FAMILY FIND THE RIGHT SHELTER OR PERFECT HOME FOR MONEY ,ITS A SHAME THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED BUT TEE ITS NOT UR FAULT AND YOUR NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MONEY THATS YOUR BOYFRIENDS BROTHERS PLACE SO DONT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT JUST HELP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN HUN . GOOD LUCK WITH IT

personally i would take him,

China is dog aggressive but with training she has gotten a hundred times better....and we can walk around the park with others and she will play with a lot of other dogs...

You could always get an akita in the future....

I just couldnt sleep at night thinking abou0t this poor dogs future and then go and choose a pup from a breeder who will have a long list of people wanting pups....


Just the way i feel about rescues and pups....but you need to make sure you are happy with the dog

In the end, if you can give him a good home and he gives you all his love, what is the esential differences between him and another dog...its the main reason we get a dog, to look after, nurture, train and for them to love us....

Alex
xx