Should Dakota Be Saved?
Update: RIP, Dakota.
The French Bulldog Rescue community is currently abuzz over a French Bulldog named Dakota. I have my own experience with a biting French Bulldog that caused a furor – a little cranky dog aptly nicknamed Cujo, who quite honestly is the only Frenchie who has ever scared the beejesus out of me. My friend Charlotte fostered him, and Charlotte was convinced that with enough love and enough training, Cujo could be redeemed. Within five minutes of meeting him, my opinion was that the kindest thing to do with Cujo would be to put him down.
When that happened, the public outcry was enormous – strident enough that I packed it in on a few mailing lists after Charlotte was called a “murderer”. Funny how, when I said to some of the women screaming loudly that, the next time a biting dog showed up on rescue’s doorsteps, we’d happily pack it in a box and ship it to their homes, they instantly let us know that “oh, no – I can’t foster a dog, especially not one who bites. I just think someone else should have done something”.
In Dakota’s case, there are lots of “someone else’s” willing to do something, and that includes volunteers who have previously had Dakota in their homes. In this case, the question becomes “Are you still allowed to call yourself a rescue, if you refuse to allow your volunteers to allow to rescue a dog?”. Or do rescues have the right to make executive decisions about the fate of dogs that people are, quite literally, begging to help?
Let me know your opinions. If you feel, like I do, that Dakota’s supporters deserve the chance to try to save him, then sign the petition. It might not do much, but it will let you make your opinions known to FBRN.
Here’s Dakota’s story, from the Petition Site: