I lost my dog this past October, not due to old age or any medical issues, but because he bit one of my sisters friends.

I know he didn't want to. Jake, my dog, was a pitbull mix rescue. We don't know much about his past, just that his past owners took him to the vet for a broken arm and never picked him up. We think whatever caused his injury might have caused him to be extra cautious around other people and dogs. (His injury never fully healed). He was only 6.

How this happened:

So me and my sisters had just gotten home and I had went to go use the bathroom, my sisters friend comes home with us after school. So, as I am using the bathroom, I hear my sisters friend scream. I felt my heart drop. I finished up in the bathroom and went to my room, trying to distract myself from what might have happened. I finally get up the courage to walk into the living room and I see my sisters friend sitting on our couch. Jake ended up only badly nipping her, no puncture wounds, she wasn't even bleeding, atleast not enough to be noticable.

This was Jake's second time he bit a person. He had bitten an older gentleman who shoved Jake when talking to my mom when she was out on a walk with Jake, not knowing it would trigger him. So, my parents decided we had to put him down. Training was to expensive and probably wouldn't work and giving him up to another family wouldn't work either, as he wouldn't trust anybody else.

We spent his last day giving him human food and cuddling. We went on one last walk, I couldn't even enjoy it, I felt this overbearing sense of doom. We even went to a dog park. We never brought Jake to dog parks because he was very defensive and would bark and lounge at other dogs. But the dog park for larger dogs ended up being empty so he was able to go. The fence on one side was shared by the dog park for smaller dogs. He didn't bark once, he even played with some of the dogs through the fence. I will always regret not bringing him sooner.

When we went to the vet I chose to be there when he got the shot. My dad and one of my sisters also chose to stay with Jake. This is the sister whose friend got bit. My other sister and mom opted to sit in the waiting room. Overall it was a very peaceful and sad experience. One detail that threw me off for a while was that right before he past Jake let out this loud raspy whimper. My heart broke then. I couldn't stop crying. I normally don't like showing negative emotions around my family, so crying in front of my sister and dad made my very uncomfortable, but I couldn't stop.

Before he passed we made little cement circles with his paw print. I got to keep his chicken squeaky toy, he would cuddle with it more than he would play with it. I also got to keep a blanket I got for him for Christmas. It still smells like him.

Memories:

Jake would rotate sleeping in my and my sisters beds. Jake was always very fond of pillows. So when he would sleep in my bed he would lay across all of the pillows.

If Jake wanted to be let into a room he would judge the door with his nose and growl through the door.

Whenever Jake would want to leave my bedroom to sleep in my parents he would wake me up by growling and barking, sometimes he would resort to slapping if I was ignoring him.

If he wanted pets/cuddles he would shove his head in between your legs and would nudge your hands until you pet him.

He loved to run around our backyard. He would run and then stop, crouching down, and then you would jump out at him and he would run around with the biggest smile on his face until he stopped again, waiting for you to run after him.

He hated swimming. He hated fetch. He hated carrots. He hated sleeping on the ground.

He loved watermelon. He loved cuddles. He loved my mom, she was his favorite. He loved pillows. He loved chicken. He loved long walks. He loved the 2 shitzus that lived in our neighborhood, they hated him and would nip at his feet. He loved pup cups. He loved beaches. He loved the people at the kennel he would stay at. He loved chasing rabbits. He loved so much.

Thanks for reading💕

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