So upset over the stray we took in

[bcla]

Cane corsos take a lot of work. They're supposed to be difficult dogs to deal with. It's not that they can't be great family pets, but that's a lot of dog to deal with and they have instincts that take a lot of training to handle. I suppose you knew all of this when you took this dog in.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

OP have you had him scanned for a microchip? I know it's probably unlikely he'll have one, but I'd check anyway, you never know.

 

[yoopermom]

Our hounds sometimes come to us, or develop, entropy/cherry eye, some it doesn't bother at all, and others will just go crazy trying to get away from the pain. I would think it would also affect the vision on that side, maybe the cat approached it and caught it unawares, triggering the chase/kill instinct. Just guessing...

Terri

 

[SandiR]

I don't have advice, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss (of your cat) and I'm sorry for your difficult situation. I hope you find a suitable resolution.

 

[Ambear]

If my dog attacked my kitty I'd be absolutely traumatized. And like your kids I'd have a very hard time tolerating the dog anymore. So sorry that happened to you. I've never had a lot of luck with strays... So many unknowns. For me it'd be an easy decision to take it to a local shelter and warn them it may have aggression issues.

Not sure finding a no kill shelter would be worth it. At least around me, our no kill shelter holds the dogs and tries to get them adopted. But if it's draining resources they just give it up to a kill shelter anyway.

 

[Colleen27]

I would put the dog down and asap, before he attacks a person. Now that the family dynamic is hateful towards the dog, the dog will know it and might lash out.

I hope you find someone to take the dog though. I just would not drag it out because of safety for your family.

I'd keep the dog separated from the family because they do sense the vibe/mood of people towards them, but it isn't all that unusual for dogs that are good with people to display aggression toward animals that look like "prey". It isn't viciousness, it is just that hunting/chase instinct in them that makes them a danger to smaller creatures. We've been lucky, our two dogs were/are gentle even with our rabbits despite being hunting breeds, but in our 4H community I've heard about more than one disaster caused by a sweet family dog that got aggressive with a bunny or chicken or duck.

OP, I would keep reaching out to breed rescues. Search for local rescues on FB too - there are a few in my area that are very small and wouldn't turn up in a simple google or Petfinder search but they do have a FB presence and they do a lot of work with bully breeds since so many of the bigger shelters and rescues either won't take them or put them down immediately. Maybe you can find something similar in your area.

 

[Ponygirl]

To those who would consider a dog vicious and recommend dumping it at a shelter, and I'm not saying this dog is, why would you do that? Why would you visit your problem on a shelter that is most likely already overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed? If it is your dog, and you truly believe it is a danger to others, why not just deal with the issue and have the dog humanely euthanized at your own vet? If it is vicious, the shelter will not take a chance of placing it in a home and will euthanize it. I think we owe it to our pets to be there for them, no matter what. Not to let a shelter do our dirty work.

OP, I hope you find a good solution to your problem.

 

[sonnyjane]

To those who would consider a dog vicious and recommend dumping it at a shelter, and I'm not saying this dog is, why would you do that? Why would you visit your problem on a shelter that is most likely already overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed? If it is your dog, and you truly believe it is a danger to others, why not just deal with the issue and have the dog humanely euthanized at your own vet? If it is vicious, the shelter will not take a chance of placing it in a home and will euthanize it. I think we owe it to our pets to be there for them, no matter what. Not to let a shelter do our dirty work.

OP, I hope you find a good solution to your problem.

Tough situation to be sure, so I won't even try to offer advice to the OP, but for the above poster, as far as why would you try to rehome instead of putting the dog down automatically, there are many animals in shelters that have stipulations like "no children" or "no cats". If the dog was the only animal in the home, then maybe (and the shelter's behaviorists would determine that) the dog could go on to live a long, happy life.

 

[Mom-2-2Princesses]

Definitely reach out to Cane Corso Rescue. They can help. I think they may even help with transport if there isn't a volunteer near you.

https://m.facebook.com/CaneCorsoRescue?refsrc=https://www.facebook.com/CaneCorsoRescue

 

[Pea-n-Me]

To those who would consider a dog vicious and recommend dumping it at a shelter, and I'm not saying this dog is, why would you do that? Why would you visit your problem on a shelter that is most likely already overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed? If it is your dog, and you truly believe it is a danger to others, why not just deal with the issue and have the dog humanely euthanized at your own vet? If it is vicious, the shelter will not take a chance of placing it in a home and will euthanize it. I think we owe it to our pets to be there for them, no matter what. Not to let a shelter do our dirty work.

OP, I hope you find a good solution to your problem.

Because it hasn't been established the dog is "vicious".

We've already established the a dog hurting another animal does not necessarily determine it's aggression toward humans.

We do know the dog has an untreated medical condition and that is unfair to him. (And illegal most places. It is a duty to someone in charge of a pet to get it proper medical care.)

Do you ever read Petfinder or Facebook? Many rescues try to find a suitable home for a dog like this in light of all the facts.

 

[yoopermom]

Tough situation to be sure, so I won't even try to offer advice to the OP, but for the above poster, as far as why would you try to rehome instead of putting the dog down automatically, there are many animals in shelters that have stipulations like "no children" or "no cats". If the dog was the only animal in the home, then maybe (and the shelter's behaviorists would determine that) the dog could go on to live a long, happy life.

My issue with this is that many shelters are understaffed, and I would venture to say that most do not have a behaviorist on staff. Our local shelter is relatively well funded, has well meaning employees, and yet still posted a dog's information today with the line, "My former owners gave me up because I was a little too protective of them and their other pets. I'm sure you can work with me so that I can be better." To me, this is a RED flag that should not be "prettied up". In a perfect world, all shelters would have behaviorists and dog trainers, but unfortunately, that's not the world we live in today....

Terri

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, I don't have answers for you. I just want to say I'm sorry and hope you find an answer.

 

[Ponygirl]

I didn't word my post very well. I was not referring to the OP because I have no idea about her dog. However, having volunteered for shelters and some rescue, I see animals dropped off at shelters that have no hope of ever getting adopted and the family that gives them up knows this. They just don't want to deal with a solution and want someone else to handle it. This is what frustrates me. It has nothing to do with the OP and her dog. One or two of the responses just triggered a hot button for me. I'm sorry I said anything because I was not judging the OP.

I see lots of cats and dogs labeled in shelters as single pet households only and I have no problem with that. I have dogs that cannot be left around cats and in no way do I consider my dogs vicious. They are prey driven and I know my limitations.

Obviously, the OP needs to rehome her dog. She may have to work at it but I feel this is very possible.

 

[yoopermom]

Don't worry ponygirl, I totally get it. We have had dogs euthanized in the past because I would *never* pawn off on a shelter/possible adopter an unstable dog that could cause harm to others. There are just not enough "one dog only/no other pets/no kids" type potential adopters out there.

Our local shelter had to post a long "letter to the editor" in the local paper recently explaining that although they are a "low kill" shelter, that it is not ethical to truly be a "no kill" shelter since some dogs are simply to dangerous/damaged to ever be rehomed.

Terri

 

[PollyannaMom]

I just want to say I'm so sorry about your cat. What an awful situation to be in.

 

[LilyWDW]

There are a few things that really stand out to me...

1) The dog has shown now to be small animal aggressive for one reason or another.
2) The OP has NO history about the dog.
3) The dog has an eye issue that has not been cared for which can be seen as neglect (medical care is the responsibility of the party who has possession of the animal).
4) The family is now angry towards the dog which could lead to aggression towards the animal. This could cause further problems.

It is obvious that this dog should be taken/given to another caregiver because the current situation is not a good one for the animal in any way.

That said, the shelter I used to volunteer with would most likely consider the dog unadoptable based off of the given information combined with the breed that it is. It's sad to say that but when you have very limited money and space, those decisions have to be made. Now, we would have the animal evaluated by a vet and an animal behaviorist to see if the issues may have been caused by an untreated medical conditions instead of pure aggression which could change the adoption possibilities.

But if nothing else, the dog needs some medical attention for the eye issue no matter what it is.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, after reading some of the further posts, I do have to agree that there is really only one, unfortunate, answer/solution here.
I think many of us have been trying to very nice and understanding to the OP and the situation.

And, while I am not that familiar with this breed, I was not making a direct comparison to my Lab.
I was just addressing the comments that were making the leap that any dog that would be aggressive towards a cat must be, like, vicious.

OP, I know that, as an animal lover, this must be so hard!

I do think that sometimes love can make doing the right thing even harder.

I am so sorry for what happened to your cat, and what you and your children are going thru.

 

[weeniecat2442]

Hi OP- so sorry about your kitty and the decision you have to make. I would not want to be in your shoes. It was so nice of you to take this dog in.

I have worked with a vet who works closely with a couple of local Animal Control Officers and local kennels/boarding facilities. Two of the ACO's are AMAZING and true animal lovers who spend a lot of time figuring out the temperament of an abandoned dog, what type of vetting and training it might need and go from there. We have a few local kennels/boarding facilities that do the same. They have staff that do everything they can to help out a dog like this. I have seen a few stray dogs come through that after a few weeks of trying to train etc, the dog has to be put down because their temperament makes them unadoptable.
I don't think you're at that step yet. If you can find out the reputation of your local ACO's and if they seem to be helpful and wanting to better a situation like this (rather than just immediately euthanize) I would give them a call.
Best of luck to you all!!

 

[luvwinnie]

If I were kind enough to take in a dog~shelter it, feed it and generally welcome it into my family and it repayed me by killing the family cat it would get driven straight to the pound. period.

Yes, because that's how dogs think..."I'm going to repay this kind woman by killing her cat...with malicious intent."

OP: I empathize with you. We adopted our last bulldog from a horrible situation and he was reactive/aggressive even towards some people. If we had children, we wouldn't have been able to keep him. Took a lot of behavior modification and patience and it was stressful. A dog who kills a small animal though...well, that's being a dog for some dogs, sadly. But I sure understand tha tyou cannot keep him. I'd keep trying to breed rescues also. Praying for a good outcome for all!

 

[footballmouse]

To be clear, I did take the dog to the vet as soon as we got her. She has inverted eyelids. Surgery costs about $300. It's uncomfortable but not painful according to my vet, kind of like having an eyelash in your eye. She recommended using artificial tear drops for her and that's what we've been doing for 9 months. I don't have the extra money laying around for the surgery so I was waiting until I received my tax refund. Well that money went to helping our cat before he died. No, I did not take her to obdience school b/c I didn't really want to put in the money for a dog I was trying to find a home for. I did discuss what happened with our vet. She said that since she went in to heat for the first time the same week, that could have been what caused her to snap the way she did. And for those of you who disagree with that statement, I'm sorry but I'm going to trust the vet that we've been using for the past 25 yrs. I am keeping her seperated from the other cats. I'm letting people know that she needs a fenced in yard and no cats in the household. I'm not going to "pass her off" to someone who has a cat so it could possibly happen to them. I didn't actually find her, my son found her running around the streets and brought her home. We couldn't find the owner after advertising on Craigslist and the newspaper. My kids are teenagers and they aren't mistreating her, they just aren't loving to her anymore. I've contacted many rescues in Cinti, they are either full, don't take that breed or will only rescue from a kill shelter. I don't think she needs to be put down, she needs a home w/out cats.