The "Beagle for Bayley" Debacle (part 2)

When we began to search for a "Beagle for Bayley", my hubby and I decided we wanted a beagle that would ultimately be submissive to Bayley because we feared that otherwise, she would just close off again. We discussed looking for beagles at the pound but did not want to have to rehabilitate another dog. We wanted a dog that was already fairly balanced that would help Bayley maintain her playful energy and help her overcome her anxiety. We also considered getting a puppy from a breeder but eventually vetoed this idea for a few reasons: 1) beagles, we quickly learned, are expensive; 2) we did NOT want a puppy.

Realizing that Bayley had come from Craig's List, I decided I'd check it out. At first, I found a gorgeous tricolored beagle that looked almost identical to Bayley. She was a year old and seemed perfect. I attempted to contact the owner and realized that, to my dismay, I had contacted a client. Uh, no.

After much searching, we found another dog that seemed like a great fit. She was also a tricolored beagle who was 2 years old. We set up a meeting and when we got to the house, I realized that I knew these folks too, and not necessarily from anywhere good. (This should have been my first indication to get the heck out of dodge, but excitement blinded me). We brought Bayley to meet this new dog and the two hit it off fabulously! I had never seen Bayley play with another dog as well as she played with this little beagle. They seemed to be a perfect match! We found out that this dog was currently in heat, so we arranged to come pick her up in 2 weeks, once her heat was over.


(Fast forward two weeks): On a Friday night, after I had been out on call all night the previous evening, we once again brought Bayley to see the new dog to ensure that the two will still get along now that this other dog was out of heat. We brough Bayley into the house and the dog and family all ran to greet us. Bayley immediately tucked her tail underneath her and the two stared at each other for a bit before the other dog nonchalantly walked away. Bayley began to explore the house and came upon the new dog's food. Before we knew it, the new dog was between Bayley and the food and was growling at Bayley. Definitely a difference from the first meeting. (this should have been the second clue to leave while we could). My hubby decided to take the new dog for a walk to release some energy and remove the dog from the tension in the house. The new dog apparently had never been on a leash before and fought my hubby throughout the entire walk. (Clue 3, maybe?) Naive and determined, I guess, we decided that this new dog would just need a bit of time to adjust to us so we took her home. My hubby took her and Bayley for a walk together to help them form into a pack and I got the new dog's belongings set up in the house.


The pack then arrived at the house and we introduced the new dog to the kitchen and living room. The new dog immediately found one of Bayley's hoofs and started to chew it. Bayley came near and the new dog growled at her. Not only that, but the new dog (let's call her Killer... yeah, that seems to be a good name), hunched over this hoof, bared her teeth, and got ready to fight. My sweet hubby forced the dog into submission and I removed Bayley. We then removed all food products. Next, it was time for dinner. We got both Killer and Bayley's food out and attempted to place the two bowls on the floor far apart from each other. Killer went to Bayley's food bowl and attempted to bite Bayley while commendering her bowl. Once again, my hubby forced Killer into submission and I removed Bayley. My hubby then spent an hour trying to teach Killer to be submissive to him regarding food. I quarantined myself and Bayley into a back room but I heard many fights in that hour. Killer turned out to be quite the violent, aggressive dog. By this point in time, we'd had the dog for about two hours and I was ready to give her back! My hubby still believed we could work with this dog so we kept trying. Bed time rolled around and we introduced Killer to our room where we had put her bed next to Bayley's. She refused to acknowledge this bed but went into our bathroom. My hubby tried to remove her from the bathroom and she growled, snarled, and attempted to bite him. Another fight ensued and eventually, we got the dog to lie down on the floor. I drifted off to sleep pretty quickly and was too exhausted to get up throughout the night, but I do know that my poor husband was up every hour with Killer training her to lay down instead of wandering the room.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early and let the girls outside. Killer began to bay. She bayed, and bayed, and bayed some more. Fully convinced that she had awakened the entire neighborhood, I went to call her inside. While outside with the dogs, I ran into my neighbors and their new puppy. Secretly, I began to think about how the puppy would make a great playmate for Bayley and I started to wished that we'd met her about 24 hours earlier, thus avoiding this whole fiasco. Eventually, we coaxed Killer inside and noticed that we hadn't really been paying much attention to Bayley. We looked around the house for her and found her curled into the smallest ball she could possibly form and hidden in a far corner of the house. We quickly realized that she had spent most of the time that we'd had Killer in this spot. With no further ado, my husband and I decided to give the dog back. So, I called the previous owner and left a message. As the hours past, I called the owners several more times with no answer. We began to research safe alternatives for giving up a dog on a Saturday afternoon. We were getting desperate; my nerves were shot, my hubby's nerves were shot, and Bayley had retreated back into herself. Killer had completely upended our peaceful, balanced family. Finally, we decided to just drive Killer back to the house she came from and hope someone was there. I gave the owners one final call and got an answer. Praise Jesus! The owner said that she definitely wanted  Killer back (I gave her the choice to have the dog back or have us take the dog to a shelter) so we brought Killer over, the owner dumped her back in the yard, and we went home. I anticipated that Bayley would be slightly sad for her new "friend" to be gone, so I released her from her crate thinking she'd go looking for the new dog. Instead, Bayley came out of her crate, jumped on my husband and I, waged her tail and pranced through the house. I considered this to be her way of thanking us for saving her from Killer the demon dog.


(Fast Forward to present day): Once and a while, I look on Craig's list and find Killer listed again. Sometimes, she is said to be 2, other times 3. My husband believes that her owners sell her to unsuspecting families as a way to make money. Meanwhile, Bayley has become best friends with the neighbor's puppy.

Maybe a puppy isn't such a bad idea after all.