This last weekend was a difficult one for me. I had to make a discion I was hoping I would never have to make. You see I kind of knew it was coming but I was living in deep denial even though the evidence was stacking up.
You are probably wondering what on earth I am talking about. Well lets start about a year ago when we bought this most adorable little puppy and named her Sassy. She was and still is one of the sweetest dogs to humans but to chickens she is not. When we first got her we also got six little chickens that we were free ranging by the house. One day I heard a commotion and I ran outside to find her chasing the chickens around. I scolded her and she stopped I figured the excitement of puppy hood got the best of her and that is why she was chasing them. But as Sassy was growing into a dog I noticed her wanting to chase more and more. She was constantly getting in trouble for chasing the cats and the chickens but she didn't show any viciousness to them so I honestly didn't think she would become a chicken killer.
At first when the birds started to go missing I honestly thought it was the coyotes coming up from the river since they were spotted often around our street. But what we didn't understand was the guy down the road who had lots of chickens wasn't losing any of his chickens. I blamed it on location I figured my place was easier than his and that's why I was losing mine instead of his. The thought that it could have been Sassy never crossed my mind until I found a dead chicken in my driveway. Again I blamed it on the coyotte but now I was getting really worried because I figured the coyotte responsible was getting too bold for my liking. I was gettig really worried for my kids and my cats safety.
I was totally in denial and so was my husband or atleast we were not sharing our thoughts to one another. But as everyone knows the truth always has a way to surface and this past weekend it did. First on Thursday our chicken named Sonny went missing. I figured she got tired of being cooped up with her baby and went to free range for awhile. You see the chickens are right by my house and I thought they were safe. So I didn't worry about her. Well when she didn't come back that evening I still didn't worry. The next day was Friday and the kids went outside to play. All of a sudden the kids come running inside to tell me Sassy killed a chicken. They did not see it happen thank goodness but found the chicken later and Sassy had blood on her paws. Well she got scolded big time and she really acted sad so I figured she had learned her lesson. Wow was I wrong the next evening I came outside and found her on top of my favorite chicken. She had just killed it. I was devastated I was now forced to make a decision I did not want to make. My favorite dog and my favorite chicken my head and heart was in such a mess.
All of a sudden all the past killings started to make sense. I didn't want to look at the evidence but it all made incredible sense. I had a dog who was a chicken killer and I needed to do something about it. So against my heart breaking I made the decision to re home her with the strict commands of never putting her on a farm or around chickens. She is now living in a home with other dogs as companions and a mommy human who dotes on her. I needed to let go for everyone and everything involved. Sometimes the hardest decisions are the best ones after all.
So my advice for all is if your gut is telling you something is wrong believe it even if it is going to hurt for a long time afterwards. My wish for you is that none of you have to face what I did. Happy homesteading and happy chicken raising.
Sassy enjoying the river with her new family
