Mocha was a 6 months old PitBull we bailed out of the shelter in May. Unfortunately, her problems proved too serious to be a good candidate for adoption. After a very difficult and extremely painful week of struggling with this decision, little Mocha was euthanised for what we believe were behavior problems beyond our ability to resolve. Mocha was not only already highly dog-aggressive at 6 months old, but she would redirect her aggression towards us when we tried to stop her from fighting. This behavior was first noticed by Mocha's foster parents who were very distressed by it. It was decided that I should reevaluate Mocha before adopting her out. While being here, Mocha had a few more aggression crisis where she would attack one of the big guy here with all her little heart. Thankfully, they were always separated by a crate or the kennel. She would be completely fired up though, and no longer distinguishing between the dog she wanted to fight and us trying to control her.

Mocha was very food-aggressive with both people and dogs. She was also unwilling to share attention. There was so many triggers that would set her off that it was difficult to anticipate and prevent her next moment of rage. We realized that finding her the right kind of home where she would never get in trouble would be close to impossible.

Even though I have been giving people a lot of advice concerning people-aggression, finding myself in that situation was extremely hard. I went through my difficulties with Mocha with a lot of resentment towards pit fighters and animal abusers who have transformed some of these dogs into neurotic specimens. Mocha's uncontrollable fighting drive was no longer gameness, it was suicide. She even attacked our most dog-aggressive male here... He would have been done with her in a minutes had he not been in his crate. No normal puppy will attack a full grown adult like that. They simply don't stand a chance. Mocha was not able to control the fighting urge inside her. Dog-aggression would have been one thing, but redirect aggression on humans is simply unacceptable. How can you correct a behavior when you know you can't eliminate the one that causes it (dog-aggression)? Mocha's problems were too much for us, especially knowing that so many great PitBulls with no issues die homeless everyday... I shared my difficulties with fellow rescuer friends, and all were unanimously in support of euthanasia. Everyone agreed that we owe it to the breed to not place difficult and untrustworthy dogs that could become a liability. I agree too.. But trust me, it wasn't an easy decision.. It just so unbelievably hard to euthanase a little dog you promised you would save... It breaks your heart in thousands of pieces...

Until the last minute Rob and I kept hope for a miracle. To help us come at peace with our decision we decided to put Mocha through one last test and see what happens. We said one growl and that's it.... Rob gave her a pork shop and tried to remove it from her.... She snarled and growled at him with so much intensity that he let her finish it since he knew then, it was going to be her last one....

Mocha was sedated before she received the lethal injection. Rob sat on the floor with her in the vet's office. He held her head and petted her until she took her last breath....

 

A very special thanks to Melissa and Matt for giving Mocha a chance. Thanks to them, Mocha's life ended in joy and happiness, surrounded by people who cared. Mocha will be remembered as a happy and silly little pup with a lot of spirit.