Violet
When Violet first came in she was only a handful of months old. She was still so tiny and bouncy. All I knew- and still know- about her history is that it was difficult and that she if I remember correctly was living on the street. I had no doubt she'd be a success story; she's a puppy, she's a goldie, and she's so stinking cute. On my first walk with her, she carried the squeaky plush around with her the whole time. She was also trying to eat literally everything which included a poop that I had to pry from her mouth.
When she was adopted, I was relieved. Firstly because I'm always relieved to see a dog go home but secondly because I was not looking forward to more poo prying adventures.
A few weeks later a golden retriever puppy showed up in the shelter. She was larger, her fur was slightly darker. When I read Violet on the sheet on the kennel clipboard I thought surely it could not be the same Violet. She recognized me. It was her. Her adoption situation didn't work out so she ended up back in the shelter. In this time away she had developed some unruly behaviours. She got mouthy and pulled so strong on the leash that she was pretty impossible to control. I don't know if something happened to her during her time away or if she was just frustrated to be back in the shelter.
Still, she was adorable. Many people saw her on the website and came in to see her but the meets never went well. She barked when people passed by the kennel door. Eventually she started to show aggression. Aggression for a shelter dog is a death sentence. Any signs of aggression are signs of public risk and lead to a euthanization. This is the very reason that when we have a puppy that chews on your hands, pulls your pant legs, and teeths on your shoes we are warned to not describe it as biting on our volunteer reports but rather as mouthing. It seemed for Violet, though, it went past mouthing. This was so soon after we had lost Maverick and another dog that I had not met. A dark cloud loomed in the shelter's atmosphere and we all grieved for this sweet dog who was otherwise exactly what adopters would normally be looking for but was dealt a bad hand in life.
