I know if I was in her position I would be so upset. Loving all animals, it would be hard for me to bring the dog back to the shelter knowing that she would be pts on arrival. Truely it is heartbreaking. That is why she wanted to hear other options or advise. I personally would not keep the aggressive dog in the house with my personal dogs. It is too risky. One wrong move (not shutting a door) and there could a bad dog fight or worse. I have told her what you all have said so far, and she appreciates it. There is a guy that contacted her about possibly adopting the dog (he has no other pets) but we are not sure yet what will happen.

Have you ever tried living with multiple dogs and then taking in one with aggression issues? I have done it more than once and would only ever do it if the incoming dog was not aggressive to my resident dogs. Breaking up fighting dogs intent on doing damage is not for the faint hearted and with the best intentions in the world why would you endanger your existing dogs. You could end up with several dogs with issues instead of just the incoming dog. You could also end up with massive vet bills and you could end up in A&E. Or you could be lucky and spend the next 10 years rearranging your life and that of your dogs for the next 10 years or so to help a dog with a problem that you had no hand in causing. Comparing an aggressive dog to an aggressive child or teenager isn't comparable as kids don't come equipped with the same weapons.