Meet Ridley. He was a 2 year old Boxer/Mastiff mix, and was an absolute sweetheart. He just loved everybody he met, and was a big hit at an offsite event that the shelter took him to. He greeted everyone with his stub of a tail wagging vigorously. He arrived at the shelter at a time when they were not having a lot of space issues. He was there for at least 2 months before he finally got adopted.
He was with that family for less than a week. They returned him to the shelter stating that he bit the husband. I never really bought into that story given everything that I witnessed about his temperament. The shelter has a no return policy so my assumption was that the family made up the bite story so that they could return him. If Ridley did bite, thankfully he didn’t break skin. This meant that he didn’t need to be quarantined for ten days and then put down. The staff felt that he was still very much an adoptable dog, and they placed him back on the adoption floor. They did however update his records to list him as a no kids dog.
About a month goes by and he’s still there. The shelter’s getting full now, and I’m getting nervous. So much so, that I decided to take the leap and asked about fostering him. The Foster Coordinator was on vacation that week, and the staff told me that Ridley would be fine until he got back. So I go to the shelter the following weekend and as soon as I walk in the door the Foster Coordinator says, “Before you go into the kennel and get upset, I need to tell you something. Ridley bit a kid.” My heart dropped into my stomach. I didn’t understand how that could be. He was listed as a “no kids” dog, so they never would have allowed him to visit with a family that had children.
It turns out the bite didn’t happen during a visit. It happened while he was still in his cage. Apparently the family was walking through the kennel not paying any attention to their kid. The kid stuck his hand into Ridley’s cage, and that’s how the kid got bit. For all we know the kid had just finished eating lunch, and still had wonderful smells of food on his hands. Ridley might very well have thought a treat was about to come his way. He definitely was not gentle when it came to taking treats.
Regardless, this was now technically Ridley’s second offense, and this time his bite broke skin. He was quarantined for 10 days and then put down. Some might say that putting him down was the right thing to do. And there are instances where I would agree, but not in his case. I truly feel that there was a home out there for Ridley, and that he could have lived out his life as a perfectly happy dog. But now we’ll never know thanks to the family who didn’t teach their kid proper shelter etiquette.
What happened to Ridley was, and still is, very hard for me to reconcile. He left this world too soon, and I felt like his life should stand for something. He should be remembered. Ridley is the reason I started this blog. I wanted to honor his memory by lending my voice to those that can’t speak for themselves.
Ridley now serves as my spokes-dog to help spread awareness against dog fighting. There was never any indication that he was involved in dog fighting. He got along fine with other dogs and there were no battle scars on him. However, he looks like a dog that would be used for dog fighting.
You’ll find his image on our merchandise with this battle cry: “If I Could Talk…Would You Listen. I Don’t Want to Fight Other Dogs. Please Don’t Make Me.” If you would like to honor Ridley’s memory and spread the word against dog fighting at the same time, stop by our Merchandise section. Proceeds from all purchases are donated to area shelters. Rest in peace, Ridley.
